Philippians 2:25

This verse opens a passage which Clemen (op. cit., pp. 138 141) assigns to the second of the two letters into which he proposes to divide the Epistle. See our Introduction. The Apostle, as a matter of fact, passes most naturally from the two visits which he half promises to the return of Epaphroditus, which is an immediate certainty. ἡγησ. Epistolary aorist. He writes from the point of view of those who receive the letter. Ἐπαφ. Only mentioned in this Epistle, unless we are to suppose him to be the same person as Ἐπαφρᾶς of Colossians 1:7; Philemon 1:23. Such contractions of names were quite common, e.g., Ζηνᾶς = Ζηνόδωρος, Μενέστας = Μενέστρατος (see W-Sch [1]., pp. 142 143). But this hypothesis ill accords with the description in Colossians 4:12, Ἐπ. ὁ ἐξ ὑμῶν, to say nothing of the fact that, on our view of the dating of the Imprisonment-Epistles, Epaphras would by this time have left Rome. ἀδ. κ. συνεργ. κ. συστρ. Aptly Anselm: Frater in fide, cooperator in praedicatione, commilito in adversis. There is no need to suppose (with Gw [2].) that συνεργ. implies that Epaphroditus was in the ministry, or (with Ws [3].) that συστρ. points to Paul's conflict at Philippi. Both terms suit his circumstances at Rome. ὑμῶν δὲ ἀπ. κ. λειτ. τ. χρ. μ. ἀπόστολος is always used of some one entrusted with a mission; it is a word of dignified tone. Moule (PS., p. 133) thinks we have here “a gentle pleasantry,” their gift being a sort of Gospel to him. But its ordinary Greek use as = “delegate” makes this unnecessary. λειτουργόν. “Minister.” Evidently the technical, ritual use of this word and its cognates which prevailed in the postclassical age and is found in LXX (of priests and esp [4]. Levites) and Egyptian Papyri (see H. Anz, Dissertationes Philol. Halenses, xii., 2, pp. 346 347; Dsm [5]., BS [6]., p. 137 ff.) suggests the idea of their gift as being a sacrifice, an oblation to God. In chap. Philippians 4:18 he calls it expressly a θυσία. See an interesting discussion of Paul's use of pagan terms in Expository Times, x., Nos. 1 5, by Prof. W. M. Ramsay.

[1] Sch. Schmiedel's Ed. of Winer.

[2]. Gwynn.

[3]. Weiss.

[4] especially.

[5] Deissmann (BS. = Bibelstudien, NBS. = Neue Bibelstudien).

[6] . Bibelstudien