LILIAN PORTEFAIX Sisters Rejoice PAUL'S LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS AND LUKE-ACTS AS RECEIVED BY FIRST-CENTURY PHILIPPIAN WOMEN CB CONIECTANEA BIBLICA NEW TESTAMENT SERIES 20 ALMQVIST & WIKSELL INTERNATIONAL Printed in Sweden by TRYCJ[J[ONTAKT, Uppsa1a 1988 CONIECTANEA BIBLICA • New Testament Series 20 Lilian Portefaix Sisters Rejoice Paul's Letter to the Philippians and Luke-Acts as Seen "by First-century Philippian Women ALMQVIST & WIKSELL INTERNATIONAL ABSTRACT Portefaix, L., 1988. Sisters Rejoice. Paul's Letter to the Philippians and Luke-Acts as Seen by First-century Philippian women. Coniectanea Biblica. New Testament Series 20. 280 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 91-22-01201-X. The purpose of the present study, based on the 'reception theory' of literary texts held by W. Iser and H.R. Jauss, is to achieve as valid as possible a reconstruction of first century women's understanding of the Christian message. These women are thought to have had little knowledge or experience of Judaism. To this end PhiIippi has been chosen as providing a suitable setting for a case study which aims at the recreation of the historical recipients of Paul's letter and Luke-Acts (particularly Acts 16: 11-40). Consequently, PhiIippian women's socio-cultural and religious backgrounds have been reconstructed from surviving archaeological, epigraphical and literary sources. While Philippian women shared the same socio cultural background, their religious referential frameworks differed: the latter were formed either by their previous pagan worship or by their Christian education and experience. By means of an audience-orientated reading of the New Testament texts as received by these women, the following general conclusions are reached: (1) Paul's initial audience consisted of women who had been converted to Christianity within the first decade after his first visit to the town. These women shared a pagan referential framework. The concepts of 'celestial citizenship' and 'servitude' became key words for their understanding of the letter. Although they were acquainted with these concepts from their pagan background the connection between the two and the moral implications inherent in the idea that taking on the suffering of a deity would open the way to a blessed after-life were alien to them. The 'imitatio Christi' placed their lives in a cosmic setting and gave their sufferings a hitherto unknown meaning. (2) Luke-Acts was received by two different audiences. One consisted of newly converted and pagan women with little or no experience of Christian life and the oth-er of women who had been born into Christianity. For the first Luke's message was seen as referring to an earthly Utopia illustrated by his account of the early church in Jerusalem. They saw the PhiIippian episode (Acts 16: 11-40) as an introduction by Paul of a new Dionysus into the colony-a Dionysus who would prove himself to be stronger than all other deities and above the Roman Empire. The second audience saw Luke-Acts as a 'picture-book' illustrating their Christian upbringing. To them Luke's account of the early church pointed to their coming participation in the citizenship of Heaven and his female characters became models for Christian behaviour: of these Lydia was the most important to Christian women. This book throws light on the manifold interpretations of the New Testament which were attributable to the variety of the religious referential frameworks of the audiences. Where a knowledge of Judaism was lacking and the leavening influence of that tradition was absent, the disparity of interpretation was greatest. Lilian Portefaix. Department of Theology, Uppsala University, Box 1604, S- 751 46 Uppsala, Sweden. © 1988 Lilian Portefaix Distributor: Almqvist & Wiksell International, Stockholm ISBN 91-22-01201-X Printed by Tryckkontakt, Uppsala Dedicated to all the brethren