PHILIPPIANS Society of Biblical Literature Early Christianity and Its Literature Series Editor Gail R. O’Day Editorial Board Warren Carter Beverly Roberts Gaventa Judith M. Lieu Joseph Verheyden Sze-kar Wan Number 3 PHILIPPIANS Let Us Rejoice in Being Conformed to Christ PHILIPPIANS Let Us Rejoice in Being Conformed to Christ John Paul Heil Society of Biblical Literature Atlanta PHILIPPIANS Let Us Rejoice in Being Conformed to Christ Copyright © 2010 by the Society of Biblical Literature All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Offi ce, Society of Biblical Literature, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30333-0399, USA. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Heil, John Paul. Philippians : let us rejoice in being conformed to Christ / by John Paul Heil. p. cm. — (Society of Biblical Literature early Christianity and its literature ; 3) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-58983-482-8 (paper binding : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-58983- 483-5 (electronic library copy) 1. Bible. N.T. Philippians—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title. BS2705.52.H44 2010b 227'.6066—dc22 2010007843 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, recycled paper conforming to ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) and ISO 9706:1994 standards for paper permanence. Contents Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix 1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 A. Philippians: Let Us Rejoice in Being Conformed to Christ. . . . . . . . . 1 B. Authorship and Provenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 C. Audience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 D. Literary-Rhetorical, Audience-Oriented Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 E. Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2. Th e Chiastic Structures of Philippians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 A. Th e Ten Microchiastic Units of the Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 B. Th e Macrochiastic Structure of the Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 C. Overview of the Parallels of the Macrochiasm in Philippians. . . . . .30 D. Outline of the Macrochiastic Structure of Philippians. . . . . . . . . . . .31 E. Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 3. Philippians 1:1–2: Grace from the Lord Jesus Christ to the Holy Ones (A). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 A. Audience Response to Philippians 1:1–2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 B. Summary on Philippians 1:1–2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 4. Philippians 1:3–11: My Prayer Th at You Abound and Be Filled to Glory and Praise of God (B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 A. Audience Response to Philippians 1:3–11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 B. Summary on Philippians 1:3–11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 5. Philippians 1:12–18: I Rejoice and I Will Be Joyful (C). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 A. Audience Response to Philippians 1:12–18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 B. Summary on Philippians 1:12–18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 v vi Contents 6. Philippians 1:19–30: Death in My Body Is Gain but Remaining in the Flesh Is for Your Faith (D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 A. Audience Response to Philippians 1:19–30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 B. Summary on Philippians 1:19–30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 7. Philippians 2:1–16: Joy in Humility for the Day of Christ Who Humbled Himself to the Point of Death (E) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 A. Audience Response to Philippians 2:1–16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 B. Summary on Philippians 2:1–16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 8. Philippians 2:17–30: Rejoice with Th ose Who Neared Death for the Work of Christ (E´). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 A. Chiastic Development from Philippians 2:1–16 (E) to 2:17–30 (E´). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 B. Audience Response to Philippians 2:17–30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 C. Summary on Philippians 2:17–30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112 9. Philippians 3:1–21: Gain in Faith in the Death of Christ and the Body of His Glory (D´) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 A. Chiastic Development from Philippians 1:19–30 (D) to 3:1–21 (D´) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 B. Audience Response to Philippians 3:1–21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116 C. Summary on Philippians 3:1–21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140 10. Philippians 4:1–5: Rejoice in the Lord, Rejoice (C´) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 A. Chiastic Development from Philippians 1:12–18 (C) to 4:1–5 (C´) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142 B. Audience Response to Philippians 4:1–5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143 C. Summary on Philippians 4:1–5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150 11. Philippians 4:6–20: Glory to God Who Will Fulfi ll You as I Am Filled and Abound (B´) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 A. Chiastic Development from Philippians 1:3–11 (B) to 4:6–20 (B´). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152 B. Audience Response to Philippians 4:6–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153 C. Summary on Philippians 4:6–20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173 12. Philippians 4:21–23: Greeting from Holy Ones and Grace from the Lord Jesus Christ (A´). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 A. Chiastic Development from Philippians 1:1–2 (A) to 4:21–23 (A´) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175 Contents vii B. Audience Response to Philippians 4:21–23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175 C. Summary on Philippians 4:21–23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179 13. Summary and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Scripture Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Abbreviations AcT Acta theologica AnBib Analecta biblica AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research BDAG Bauer, W., F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich. Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3d ed. Chicago, 1999 BECNT Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament Bib Biblica BibInt Biblical Interpretation BIS Biblical Interpretation Series BJRL Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester BNTC Black’s New Testament Commentaries BSac Bibliotheca sacra BT Th e Bible Translator BTZ Berliner Th eologische Zeitschrift BZNW Beiheft e zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft CBET Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Th eology CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series ConBNT Coniectanea biblica: New Testament Series DPL Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. Edited by G. F. Hawthorne and R. P. Martin. Downers Grove, 1993 EDNT Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. Edited by H. Balz, G. Schneider. ET. Grand Rapids, 1990–1993 ExpTim Expository Times FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments Greg Gregorianum HBT Horizons in Biblical Th eology ix