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Home > New Testament > Philippians Philippians At a Glance Treatise Genre: (5/5) ***** Reliability of Dating: (2/5) ** Length of Text: Greek Original Language: Ancient Translations: Modern Translations: Estimated Range of Dating: 50-60 A.D. Chronological List of Early Christian Writings Discuss this text on the Early Writings forum. Text American Standard Version King James Version World English Bible Resources e-Catena: References to the New Testament in the Church FathersPatristic References to Philippians 1 2 3 4 Edgar Goodspeed: The Letter to the Philippians Offsite Links Perseus NT (English/Greek/Latin) Letter of Joy: An EasyEnglish Commentary NAB Introduction Daniel Wallace's Introduction IVP Commentary The Epistle to the Philippians Epistles to the Philippians Citizens of Heaven.

Philippians 3:2-21 as a Deutero-Pauline Passage The Background of the Philippians Hymn (2:6-11) Books Peter T. O'Brien, The Epistle to the Philippians : A Commentary on the Greek Text (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1991) Gordon D. Fee, Paul's Letter to the Philippians (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1995) Burton L. Mack, Who Wrote the New Testament? : The Making of the Christian Myth (San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1996), pp. 144-146. Raymond Edward Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament (New York: Doubleday, 1997), pp. 483-501. Udo Schnelle, translated by M. Eugene Boring, The History and Theology of the New Testament Writings (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), pp. 129-143.

Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings Information on Philippians Philippians is generally accepted to be authentic Pauline correspondence. Edgar J. Goodspeed indicates that there are a few problems with thinking that Philippians is a unity (An Introduction to the New Testament, pp. 90-92). The first problem is that the thoughts in this letter appear out of order. "In chapter 1 he is making the best of his imprisonment; in chapter 2 he is sending Epaphroditus back to them; in chapter 3 he bursts forth against the Judaizers; in chapter 4 he acknowledges the gift Epaphroditus has brought him. Paul is usually much more orderly than this."The second problem is that there is a sharp break between 3:1 and 3:2.

"In 3:1 all is serene; they must not mind Paul's repeating himself, for it is for their good. But in the next verse he breaks out against the Judaizers with an intensity unsurpassed even in Galatians."Finally, Polycarp in his letter to the Philippians states in 3:2 that Paul "wrote letters" to the church at Philippi. Thus, the external evidence confirms the internal evidence that Paul wrote more than one letter to the Philippians. Norman Perrin would divide the letter into three fragments (The New Testament: An Introduction, pp. 105-6). In his scheme, 4:10-20 is part "of a letter of thanks to the Philippians for revival of their concern for Paul and the gifts sent to him at the hands of Epaphroditus." Verses 1:1-3:1 contain another letter expressing thanks "for the concern the Philippians have expressed for Paul, who is now enduring a considerable period of imprisonment." Finally, in 3:2-4:9 we have a letter with polemical intent "warning the Philippians of the dangers of the 'circumcision party'" in a situation similar to the one that Paul faced in his letter to the Galatians.

Perrin suggests that this letter was the first written, while the other two have an "attitude of thanksgiving for dangers passed and harmony achieved." Udo Schnelle argues that the letter to the Philippians is to be understood as a literary unity (The History and Theology, pp. 135-137). Burton Mack writes (Who Wrote the New Testament?, pp. 144-145): The letter is actually composed of three letter fragments, accidentally saved as it appears and crudely joined together at some later time by those who collected the letters of Paul in the name of the Pauline school (Phil. 4:10-20; 1:1-3:1; 3:2-4:9). The first two seem to have been written from Ephesus around the time of Paul's imprisonment there (ca.

54-55 C.E.), or five to eight years after Paul first established the congregation in Philippi. . . It is possible that this third letter fragment was not originally addressed to Philippi at all but inserted between the other two letter fragments because of the personal tone. Schnelle argues (The History and Theology, p. 131): "Which place of imprisonment corresponds to this situation in the apostle's life? Of the three suggestions that have been made by scholars (Rome, Caesarea, Ephesus), Rome is the most likely location. The portrayal of the Roman imprisonment in Acts 28.30-31 fits very well with the mild form of imprisonment presupposed by Philippians. Moreover, the most direct way to understand the references to the Pretorian Guard (Phil.

1.13) and the imperial slaves (Phil. 4.22) is in terms of a Roman imprisonment." Schnelle continues with other reasons: (1) The lack of reference to the offering indicates that at the time Philippians was written the collection had already been concluded. (2) Philippians presupposes an imprisonment that had lasted some time. If the letter had been written in Ephesus, there would be no explanation for the silence of Acts about such a long imprisonment in Ephesus, while the two years of the Roman imprisonment (Acts 28.30) fits very well with the situation presupposed in the letter. Paul's allusion to mortal danger he had experienced in the province of Asia (2 Cor. 1.8) is not necessarily evidence for the Ephesian hypothesis, since this report indicates only the fact of the mortal danger, not the circumstances involved.

So also the fighting with 'wild animals' in 1 Cor. 15.32 is no evidence for an extended imprisonment in Ephesus. (3) The somewhat distant manner in which relationships are described at the place where Paul is presently imprisoned (Phil. 1.12-18, esp. vv. 15, 17 and cf. 1 Clem. 5.5!) suggests that the church there had not been founded by the apostle himself. (4) The term episkopoV (overseer) that appears in the authentic Pauline letters only in Phil. 1.1 (cf. further Acts 20.28; 1 Tim. 3.2; Titus 1.7) presupposes a development in the church situation in the direction of the Pastoral letters. (5) The investigation of the Pauline language of Philippians by H. H. Schade shows that the linguistc features of the proemium, in the use of the title 'Christ,' in the use of 'we' and 'I,' and in the presence of rare words (cf.

esp. Beniamin [Benjamin] only Rom. 11.1; Phil 3.5; 'EbraioV (Hebrew) only 2 Cor. 11.22; Phil. 3.5; ergathV (worker) only 2 Cor. 11.13; Phil 3.2; fulh (tribe) only Rom. 11.1; Phil 3.5) all indicate that Philippians is to be located chronologically after Romans. Brown mentions the christological hymn of 2:5-11 (An Introduction, p. 492): Proposals about the background of the hymn (exclusive or in combination) include: gnostic reflections on the Primal Man; the Poimandres tractate in the Hermetic literature (p. 85 above); the Genesis story of Adam and speculations about a second Adam; the Suffering Servant imagery in deuteroIsaiah; the personified figure of divine Wisdom in postexilic Judaism.

A relation to the OT is clear; other proposed references are not. Mack writes of Paul's theology as revealed in this letter (op. cit., p. 146): In Paul's mind, the Christ was now a historic person, now a son of God, a "corporate personality" representing a collective humanity, a cosmic king, a spiritual power pervading the cosmos, the hidden meaning behind the significant events of Israel's history, and the incarnation of the very mind, promise, and intention of God for humankind. That is an extremely dense symbol. A Jewish penchant for personified abstractions and divine agency merged with a Greek prediliction for conceptual abstractions and cosmic order. The Christ had become an overwhelming, all-encompassing symbol of the agency of a Jewish God in a Greek world.

Some Contemporary Texts Passion Narrative (30-60 A.D.) Lost Sayings Gospel Q (40-80 A.D.) 1 Thessalonians (50-60 A.D.) Philippians (50-60 A.D.) Galatians (50-60 A.D.) 2 Corinthians (50-60 A.D.) Romans (50-60 A.D.) Philemon (50-60 A.D.) Go to the Chronological List of all Early Christian Writings Please buy the CD to support the site, view it without ads, and get bonus stuff! Early Christian Writings is copyright © Peter Kirby <E-Mail&gt. Follow @mrpeterkirby MLA Style Kirby, Peter. "Philippians." Early Christian Writings. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/philippians.html>. Gospels Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Letters of Paul Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Letter to the Hebrews General Letters James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation Gospels Gospel of Thomas Egerton Gospel Gospel of Peter Oxyrhynchus 840 Gospel of Mary Epistula Apostolorum Infancy Gospel of James Infancy Gospel of Thomas Acts of Pilate Diatessaron Gospel Fragments Oxyrhynchus 1224 Fayyum Fragment Gospel of the Egyptians Gospel of the Hebrews Gospel of the Ebionites Gospel of the Nazoreans Traditions of Matthias Dura-Europos Gospel Harmony Apostolic Acts Preaching of Peter Acts of Peter Acts of John Acts of Paul Acts of Andrew Acts of Peter and the Twelve Book of Thomas the Contender Acts of Thomas Martyrologies Martyrdom of Polycarp Fifth and Sixth Books of Esra Acts of Carpus, Papylus, and Agathonice Letter from Vienna and Lyons Passion of the Scillitan Martyrs Acts of Apollonius Acts of Perpetua and Felicitas Didache Apocalypse of Peter Didascalia Dialogues with Jesus Sophia of Jesus Christ Secret James Gospel of Mary Dialogue of the Savior Gospel of the Savior Books of Jeu Pistis Sophia Apocalypses 2nd Apocalypse of James Coptic Apocalypse of Paul 1st Apocalypse of James Coptic Apocalypse of Peter Acts Acts of Peter and the Twelve Book of Thomas the Contender Letter of Peter to Philip More Nag Hammadi Apocryphon of John Gospel of Truth Treatise on the Resurrection Gospel of Philip Trimorphic Protennoia Authoritative Teaching Discourse on the Eighth and the Ninth Melchizedek Quoted Authors Basilides Naassene Fragments Valentinus Marcion Epiphanes Ophite Diagrams Gospel of Judas More Quoted Authors Ptolemy Isidore Theodotus Heracleon Apelles Julius Cassianus Apostolic Fathers Didache Epistle of Barnabas First Clement Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Polycarp to the Philippians Second Clement Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus Martyrdom of Polycarp Apologists Aristides Justin Martyr Tatian Minucius Felix Athenagoras of Athens Theophilus of Antioch Quoted Authors Papias Quadratus Aristo of Pella Claudius Apollinaris Melito of Sardis Hegesippus Dionysius of Corinth Rhodon Theophilus of Caesarea More Quoted Authors Bardesanes Maximus of Jerusalem Polycrates of Ephesus Victor I Pantaenus Anonymous Anti-Montanist Serapion of Antioch Apollonius Caius Irenaeus of Lyons Hippolytus of Rome Clement of Alexandria Tertullian Origen Pagan and Jewish Mara bar Serapion Josephus Pliny the Younger Suetonius Tacitus Fronto Lucian of Samosata Marcus Aurelius Galen Celsus Talmud Philostratus Jewish/Christian The Twelve Patriarchs Non-Pagan Sibyllines Odes of Solomon Book of Elchasai Ascension of Isaiah Hypothesized Sources Passion Narrative Sayings Gospel Q Signs Gospel Anti-Marcionite Prologues Muratorian Canon Kerygmata Petrou Inscription of Abercias