Philippians 4:15

δέ marks the transition to his first experience of their generosity. “But this is no new thing, for you have always been generous. You know this as well as I do” (καὶ ὑμεῖς). φιλιππής. (A Latin form, see Ramsay, Journal of Theol. Studies, i., 1, p. 116.) He singles them out from all the other Churches. ἐν ἀρχ. τ. εὐαγ. It is difficult to see (in spite of Haupt's objections) how this could mean anything else than “at the time when the Gospel was first preached to you”. That had been about ten years previously. Cf. 1 Clem. 47, ἀναλάβετε τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου τοῦ ἀποστόλου · τί πρῶτον ὑμῖν ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἔγραψεν; probably this is the gift referred to in 2 Corinthians 11:9 (Cf. Acts 18:5). He refused to take any pecuniary aid at Corinth lest the Judaising teachers should make it a ground for false charges. μοι … ἐκοινών. This use (in N.T.) is apparently confined to the Epistles. A precise parallel (κοιν. with dative and εἰς) is found in Plat., Repub., v., 453 A. εἰς λόγ. δ. κ. λ. Lit. = “No Church communicated with me so as to have an account of giving and receiving” (debit and credit). The whole of the context has a colouring of financial terms. Probably Paul uses them in a half-humorous manner. The combination of [58] δ. and λ. is frequent. Cf. Sir 42:7, δόσις καὶ λῆμψις παντὶ ἐν γραφῇ, and in Latin authors, Cic., Lael., 16, ratio acceptorum et datorum. Numerous exx. are given by Wetst. Paul had bestowed on them priceless spiritual gifts. It was only squaring the account that he should receive material blessings from them. Their mutual relations are expressed by the Apostle very delicately, as throughout this paragraph. His manner here gives a luminous view of his refined sensibility.

[58] Codex Sangallensis