Philippians 1:15

τινές. Are these included in the πλείονες of Philippians 1:14 or not? We prefer to believe (so also Weizs., Jahrb. f. deutsche Theol., 1876, p. 294 ff.) that the Apostle has changed his point of view. For is it conceivable that those who “had confidence” in his bonds should, on the other hand, “raise affliction” (Philippians 1:17) for those bonds? He thinks now not so much of the emboldening of his Christian brethren as of the fact that the Gospel is being preached with great vigour over a wide area. Accordingly τινές may be taken by itself. Probably καί goes with φθόνον. “Some preach … actually from envy and rivalry.” ἔριν = “rivalry” (not “strife”), as often. Cf. Thuc., vi., 31, 4; Æsch., Eumen. (ed. Paley), 933 (where used in a good sense). To whom does Paul refer? It has usually been taken for granted that it must be to his un-wearying opponents, the Judaisers. So Myr [29], Alf [30], Lft [31], Franke (esp [32] SK [33], 1895, p. 772), Duchesne and others. But, as Hpt [34] clearly shows, we have no grounds for assuming the existence of a definitely anti-Pauline Jewish-Christian party at Rome (so also Hort, Judaistic Christianity, pp. 112 113). At the same time this jealousy of the Apostle, a matter of personal feeling, may well have arisen in the Jewish wing of the Roman Church. They would naturally be roused to some bitterness by Paul's emphasis on the universality of the Gospel and his neglect of its specially Jewish setting. But it is unreasonable to divide all the Christians of the Apostolic Age into Gentile-Christians and Judaisers. There would be many Jewish-Christians who never favoured the extreme methods or even doctrines of the latter. (Cf. M‘Giffert's instructive discussion, Apost. Age, pp. 393 395, and Pfl [35], Urchrist., pp. 147, 151.) It is indeed quite possible that those referred to here are Pauline Christians who for some reason have a personal pique at the Apostle. (Cf. Ws [36], Amer. J. of Theol., i., 2, pp. 388 389, who throws out the interesting suggestion that they may have been old teachers of the Church who had become jealous of Paul's high position, and so wished to outstrip him and destroy his popularity.) “Paul says nothing here which I have not experienced” (Calv.). τινὲς δὲ καί. Although not explicitly, these, of course, belong to the πλείονες of Philippians 1:14. καί marks the contrast with the preceding clause. διʼ εὐδοκίαν. The word can mean nothing else here than “goodwill”. For it is placed in antithesis to φθόνος and ἔρις, and resumed by ἀγάπη below. Cf. Sir 9:12, μὴ εὐδοκήσῃς ἐν εὐδοκίᾳ ἀσεβῶν.

[29] Meyer.

[30] Alford's Greek Testament.

[31] Lightfoot.

[32] especially.

[33] Studien und Kritiken.

[34] Haupt.

[35] Pfleiderer.

[36] Weiss.