Philippians
chapter 4
An Exegetical Commentary by the Sangre de
Cristo Seminary Class of 1999, edited by Nate Wilson
Jump to commentary on: 3:17-21, 4:1-7, 4:8-13,
4:14-20, 4:21-23
(Nathan A Wilson)
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3 4 , 
*, 
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7 : 8, 2.
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6 10, ' 
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12 13
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VERBALS:
|
Lexical
Form |
Morphology |
Meaning |
Syntax |
|
2pl. Pres. Act. Imptv. |
stand firm/fast |
M.V./Comparative |
|
1s Pres. Act. Ind. |
exhort,
urge, call with |
M.V. |
|
Pres. Act. Infin. |
think, have attitude |
D.O./Purpose |
|
1s Pres. Act. Ind. |
ask |
M.V. |
|
2s Pres. Mid. Imptv. |
take together, help |
D.O./Purpose |
|
3pl. Aor. Act. Ind. |
cooperate vigorously, struggle w/,
fight tog. |
Rel. Cl./appos. to D.O. of #5? |
|
Pres./Fut? Act. Imptv. |
rejoice, be glad |
aM.V. / b D.O.? |
|
1s Future Act. Ind. |
say |
M.V. |
|
3s Aor. Psv. Imptv. |
known |
M.V. |
|
2p Pres. Act. Imptv. |
be anxious, troubled |
M.V. (-) |
|
3s Pres. P./D? Imptv. |
make known, reveal |
M.V. (+) |
|
NSF Pres. Act. Ptc. |
(sur)pass |
Adj. |
|
3s Future Act. Ind. |
keep (watch), guard |
Result/M.V. |
Notice that 10 of the 13 verbals are related to direct
commands/Imperatives!
Textual Notes
3 {B} p46
(Chester Beatty Papyrus II), Àc
(Correction in Sinaiticus), A (Alexandrinus V), B (Vaticanus IV), D (Bezae
Cantabrigiensis V), G (IX), Ivid
(Washington - poor visibility section V), K (IX), P (Wolfenbüttel VI), Y
33 (IX), 81 (XI), 88 (XII), 104 (XI), 181 (XI), 326 (XII), 330 (XII), 436 (XI),
451 (XI), 614 (XIII), 629 (XIV), 630 (XIV), 1241 (XII), 1739 (X), 1877 (XIV),
1881 (XIV), 1962 (XI), 1984 (XIV), 1985 (XVI), 2127 (XII), 2492 (XIII), 2495
(XIV), Byz (majority of Byzantine
mss.), Lect (majority of Lectionaries), itar (Ardmachanus Itala IX), itc (Colbertinus Itala XI), itdem (Demidouranus Itala XIII),
itdiv (Divionensis Itala XIII), ite (Sangermanensis Itala
IX), itf (Augiensis Itala IX), itg (Boernerianus Itala
IX), itx (Bodleianus Itala IX), itz (Harleianus
Londiniensis Itala VIII), vg (Vulgate IV), syrp (Peshitta Syriac
VI), syrh (Harclean Syriac VI), copsa (Sahidic Coptic
III), copbo (Boharic Coptic III), goth (Gothic IV), arm (Armenian
V), Origen (III), Eusebius (IV)
;
p16vid (III – Poor visibility section), À* (Sinaiticus
original hand IV)
The
only reason the UBS would even question the reading given is the troublesome
fact that despite the overwhelming support for it, two of the most ancient
documents say “my co-workers and the rest” instead of “the rest of my
co-workers.” I think they can pretty easily be dismissed, however, because in
the papyrus, it is a section where the text is too obscured to be sure of the
reading, and in the Sinaiticus, the other reading is also there. It makes
little difference which way is the original reading, although it would make
sense that Paul would only be sure of the status of eternal life for those he
had actually worked with rather with some vague group called “the rest.”
a3
: TR (Textus Receptus XIX), WH (Westcott &
Hort XIX), Bov (Bover XX), BF2 (British & Foreign Bible Society
- Nestle XX), AV (Authorized - King James - Version XVII), RV (Revised English
Version XIX), ASV (American Standard Version XIX), REV (Revised English Version
XIX), NEB (New English Bible XX), Zürmg (marginal note in Hie
Hielige Schriff XX), Luth (The German New Testament XX), Seg (The French New
Testament by Louis Segond XX)
: WHmg (Westcott & Hort - marginal note XIX), Zür (Hie Hielige Schriff XX)
The passage
would make a lot more sense if the addressee were named in it. Thus Westcott
& Hort and our friends in Zurich suggest that “Syzuge” ("Partner")
is actually a guy’s name. Clark
and Vincent also agree, noting that this may be a word-play like the one Paul
used on Onesimus' name ("useful") in the book of Philemon. However, noone by the
name Syzuge is known, and most commentators think it refers to someone already
known, such as Epaphroditus (Lightfoot); it is tenuous enough that no standard
English translation is willing to venture outside the literal rendering “yokefellow.
b5
b major: TR (Textus Receptus XIX),
Bov (Bover XX), BF2 (British & Foreign Bible Society - Nestle
XX), AV (Authorized - King James - Version XVII), RV (Revised English Version
XIX), ASV (American Standard Version XIX), RSV (Revised Standard Version XX),
Zür (Hie Hielige Schriff XX), Luth (The German New Testament XX), Jer (The
French New Testament of the Bible School of Jerusalem), Seg (The French New Testament
by Louis Segond XX) // b minor: WH
(Westcott & Hort XIX), NEB (New English Bible XX)
Should
the Greek equivalent of a comma or a period be placed between
“The Lord is near” and “Be not anxious”? Every major translation puts a period between
them. I find myself wondering if Westcott & Hort just like to challenge the
status quo, but I agree with the fact that logically the two clauses make sense
together. However, it is typical of Paul to throw several somewhat-unrelated
quick thoughts together at the end of a book, and the knowledge that the Lord
is near as well as the injunction to be not anxious could actually be part of a
list of reasons related to the earlier command to Rejoice.
c6
c major:TR Bov (Bover XX), BF2
(British & Foreign Bible Society - Nestle XX), AV (Authorized - King James
- Version XVII), RV (Revised English Version XIX), ASV (American Standard
Version XIX), RSV (Revised Standard Version XX), NEB (New English Bible XX),
Jer (The French New Testament of the Bible School of Jerusalem), Seg (The
French New Testament by Louis Segond XX) // c
minor: WH (Westcott & Hort XIX) // c
exclamation: Zür (Hie Hielige Schriff XX), Luth (German N.T. XX)
It looks like our German brethren want to get a little more excited than standard Koine Greek will allow and once again Westcott & Hort are looking for a creative alternative. The standard and generally-accepted reading is to separate the prayer from the peace of God keeping us (although I see Greene has tried to take a halfway-stance with a semicolon!). As noted in the previous paragraph, this whole thing can be regarded as a series of short closing statements which are not tightly related.
TRANSLATIONS
NAW: 1 Therefore, my brothers, ones who are loved and longed for, my joy
and crown, stand firm1 this way in the Lord, loved ones. 2 I urge2 Euodia and I urge2
Syntyche to be of the same mind3 in the Lord. 3 And I also ask4 you, true Partner, help5
these women, who worked hard together6 with me in the Gospel and
with Clement and the rest of my fellow-workers whose names are in the Book of
Life. 4 Rejoice7a in the
Lord always; again I will say8, “Rejoice!7b” 5 Let your graciousness be known9
to all people; the Lord is near. 6
Do not be anxious10 about anything, but rather in everything by
prayer and by petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known11
before God. 7 And the peace of God
which surpasses12 all understanding will guard13 your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
KJV: Therefore,
my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in
the Lord, my dearly beloved. 2 I
beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the
Lord. 3 And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which
laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow labourers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let your
moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is
at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And
the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.
ASV: 1 Wherefore, my brethren beloved and longed for, my joy
and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my beloved. 2 I exhort Euodia, and I
exhort Syntyche, to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yea, I beseech thee
also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they labored with me in the
gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are
in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. 5
Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 In nothing
be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
NASV: Therefore, my beloved
brethren whom I long to see, my joy
and crown, so stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. 2 I urge Euodia and I urge
Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. 3 Indeed, true comrade, I ask you also
to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also, and the rest
of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the
Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is
near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of
God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus.
NIV: Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and
crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! 2I
plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the
Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who
have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and
the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4Rejoice
in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your
gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.
COMMENTARY
4:1 , , ,
Therefore, my brothers, ones who are loved and longed for, my joy and crown,
What is the
“therefore” there for? It points back to 3:16-21 about the context of there
being evil people around us and yet the hope of looking forward to heaven. As
Clark says, this verse really belongs as the conclusion to chapter 3. In light
of these things, Paul gives a whole bunch of commands which follow.
Paul has a
special place in his heart for the Philippians! He speaks of them as peers
(“brothers”) and as people he really loves and longs to see (cf. I John, which
uses the same term agaphtoi “loved ones,” but addresses its readers
as “children”). Why does Paul love them so much and long so much to see them?
Because they are his “joy and crown” (cf I Thess. 2:19) This word for crown (stefanos) is different from the royal crown worn
by a king or priest (diadhma), it is more a laurel worn by someone at
a party or by an athlete as a prize (Lightfoot). In other words, Paul sees them
as a reward, a prize, a badge of honor, the fruit of his apostleship
(Pershbacher, NAW, ATR). I toyed with using the word “prize” in my translation,
but since all the other English translations went with “crown,” I stepped in
line with them. Paul’s joy and badge of honor was the people whom he had
evangelized and discipled; is this what we are most excited about in our lives?
Paul
is very people-oriented. We think of
him as a theologian, but he keeps up with all his people and is highly
concerned with them. He is constantly thinking how to improve them. He looks
forward to seeing them, and urges them to have good relationships between
themselves. I look at my selfish heart and don’t see this love for others. I
love God and I love myself, and I try to be nice to others, but I don’t have
that self-sacrificing, high-priority mark concerning others that Paul has...
People are the only everlasting thing on this earth – they should be most important
for time-investment. Father, build in me that self-sacrificing, high-priority,
concerned attitude towards others! (NW 1987)
1 ,
stand firm1 this way in the Lord, loved ones.
The outws
here is a comparative which most English translations render “so;” I decided to
use a stronger English comparative “in this way.” Again, the comparison is with
what Paul has said in the previous verses about looking forward to heaven in
the midst of troubling circumstances; “this is how you should stand firm”
(NIV). And it is more than a one-time act of standing firm; the present tense
of this verb (sthkete)
indicates a continual standing firm. This passage parallels the earlier mention
of standing firm and being of one mind in the midst of opponents in 1:27.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep trusting that God is in control when everything
seems to be going wrong, but we must continue steadfast in the faith (ATR,
NAW).
- This standing firm is to be “in the
Lord.” We should not -- and we can not -- stand firm in ourselves. Our anchor
point must be the Lord Jesus Christ; He is the only one who can keep us
steadfast until the end (cf. v7 “and the peace of God will guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus”). It is also interesting to note that Paul has been
using “Christ” and “Jesus” up until this point in his letter, but suddenly
switches to “Lord.” Why? Perhaps Paul is emphasizing the authority behind his
imperatives to “stand firm” (v.1) and “be unified” (v.2), and “help” (v.3), and
“rejoice” (v.4), and “be gentle” (v.5), and “pray” (v.6). As Paul has just said
in 3:20, “our citizenship is in heaven,” and that means that our king is Jesus,
and that means we have to obey the commands Jesus has given us through the
mouth of his messenger, Paul!
It is
interesting that Paul repeats the word agaphtoi in this sentence. As Light foot says, it
“expresses the intensity of the apostle’s love” for the Philippians -- Paul
seems to linger over this word as he remembers the joy they bring to him.
4:2 2 2 3 .
I urge2 Euodia and I urge2 Syntyche to be of the same mind3 in the Lord.
Euodia and
Syntyche are apparently two women in the church at Philippi. Commentators like
to guess at the positions these ladies held in the church, but I’d rather not,
since nobody really knows. All we know is what Paul says in v.3, that they
“shared my struggle.” (The KJV renders Euodia(s) masculine, but the name is feminine,
as is the pronoun in v.3 which refers back to her.) The issue is that these
ladies have not been getting along together. I think Clark is correct when he
notes that this was probably an interpersonal conflict rather than a
theological dispute, otherwise Paul would have corrected them with theological
instruction.
- The verb which Paul uses is a gentle one
used of a peer: literally “call alongside,” and taken here to mean “exhort,
beseech, urge, encourage.” Paul repeats this verb for both of these ladies, “I
urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche,” to make the exhortation individual and
specific to them (Vincent).
Paul’s
exhortation to these women is literally “the same to mind in the Lord.” Green renders
it “to mind the same thing;” I like the KJV rendering “to be of the same mind.”
The NAS and NIV get a little paraphrastic respectively, “to live in harmony”
and “to agree with each other.” This verb, fronew, which is
about thinking / mind/ attitude, is the same one from Phil.2:2, where there is
the exhortation to have the same mind as Christ (R&R). This book is full of
instruction on how we should THINK -- in fact over 1/3 of the 30 occurrences of
this word in the New Testament are found in this one little book of
Philippians! (DFZ)
Note
the reoccurrence of “in the Lord.” Paul gives the command to “stand fast in the
Lord” in v.1, and now in v.2, He gives the exhortation to “be like-minded in
the Lord.” Only the Lord Jesus can give us unity.
4:3 4 ,
And I also ask4 you, true Partner,
Starting a
sentence with nai rather than using kai
or de draws some attention to it, so I may not have rendered the
first word strongly enough; R&R, ASV, and NIV translate it “Yea /Yes.”
Lightfoot says that this, together with the verb erwtw, introduces an
affectionate request of a peer.
The question is,
who was that peer? Commentators run all over the place with this one: Was it Paul’s
wife or perhaps Lydia, the first convert in Philippi? No, the Greek words are
masculine. The word gnhsie means “legitimately born, genuine, true”
(Persh.) I deviated from all the English translations which render the second
word suzuge as “yokefellow” because, to the average
American this word is going to conjure up an image of a strange-looking man
with a piece of wood or perhaps an egg on his head. I went for “partner”
instead, because we use in the same way the Greek word is used of the relationship
between two people in a marriage or a business relationship (Thayer). Most
commentators come down on one of two sides: either this phrase “true
yokefellow” is a proper name, or else it is referring to Epaphroditus.
Lightfoot opts for the latter, but I tend to go with Vincent, Clark, and Earle,
who opt for the former, thus I capitalized the word “Partner” to indicate a
proper name. The reasons for this are:
1) It is in the middle of a list of proper
names (Euodius, Syntyche, Syzuge, and Clement),
2) It was a name in use at the time,
3) If it is not a proper name, how is anyone
supposed to know who it is?
4) It makes sense as a play on words, i.e.
“this guy named ‘Partner,’ indeed he has been a true Partner with me – a
colleague in fact as well as in name!”
5) This wouldn’t be the only place Paul made
a play on words out of someone’s name. He did it with Onesimus, whose name
literally means “useful,” and Paul talks about how “useless” he was but how
“useful” he had become (Philemon 11).
Whatever the
case, let us ask ourselves, “Are we the sort of person who could be called a
‘genuine partner’?”
5 , 6
help5 these
women, who worked hard together6 with me in the Gospel
- The main verb is translated “help” in all
the major English versions; it actually focuses on the “hands-on” aspect of
help, literally “to take and bring together” (R&R). Again, the present
tense of a Greek verb, like the earlier command to “stand fast,” does not mean
a one-time act, but continuous action. People who need help, may need help
again and again, and we should be patient with them.
- a curious use of the indefinite relative pronoun, usually translated “whoever.” Here it identifies a class of people and calls attention to certain characteristic features (Lightfoot), “for they belonged to the number of those who
struggled together with me in the Gospel” (Vincent). There is almost a causal
sense – “help them because they helped me.” This correlates to 2:29, where Paul
exhorts the Philippians to hold a man in high regard who had risked his life
for the work of Christ.
- “to contend with someone against a
common enemy, fight alongside, labor together with” (R&R), “cooperate
vigorously with” (Pershbacher). We get the word “athletics” from it. The idea
is that they were on the same team together, working hard at evangelism. The
word “gospel” here literally means “good news,” and our word “evangelism” is a
transliteration of this Greek word. To Paul, the Good News is that Christ died
for our sins and rose from the dead! What exactly it was that Euodia and
Syntyche and the others did in the process of evangelism is not known, but
women had a definite part in Paul’s consideration of ministry. Paul, in his epistles,
commends all sorts of people as co-workers, from apostles to apologists, to
pastors to scribes to couriers, to hostesses to financial donors – all of these
roles were considered a strategic part of the process of making the Good News
of Jesus Christ known to those who had never heard before! Are we “laboring”
(KJV) and “working hard” (NAW) to fill one of these roles in the spread of the
Gospel? Evangelists have their problems too, are we “helping” other Christians
like Paul exhorts his “true yokefellow” to do?
, .
and with Clement and the rest of my fellow-workers whose names are in the Book of Life.
Paul is always
working together with co-workers and mentioning them by name. This is a good
model for us to follow! The singular “you” as the direct object of “I ask
you...to help” as well as the placement of the “with Clement and the rest of my
fellow workers” after “worked hard with me in the Gospel” makes it seem grammatically
that Paul is only asking the “Partner” to help and that Clement and the rest
were among those who had worked hard with Paul along with Euodia and Syntyche.
However, it does makes sense to take it as Lightfoot does, that Paul is tacking
on “Clement and the rest” as an afterthought to his address to the “Partner,”
in other words, “I ask you, Partner, to help... and I also ask Clement and the
rest [to help].” Lightfoot says, “the apostle is anxious to engage ALL in the
work of conciliation.” By the way, it is generally agreed that this is not
Clement of Rome.
whose names are in the Book of Life.
Paul runs out of space to list everybody’s names, but he assures them that even if they are not mentioned in his letter, God has them written in His book (Lightfoot). This concept of the Book of Life goes back to the Old Testament concept of how God keeps track of His covenant people (Vincent) cf. Isa. 4:3. In Malachi 3:16-17, it says, “Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name, ‘And they will be Mine,’ says the LORD