Book Description

Employing the traditional tools of historical-critical methodology as well as a selected mix of techniques from newer literary criticism, this book provides a close analysis of the syntactic and semantic content of Phil 3:7-11 in its immediate and broader context, concluding that this passage represents a very high christological statement on the part of Paul, and discusses some of the implications of these findings in regard to the interpretation of Phil 2:5-11, the wisdom ambience of the letters of Paul, and relevance for modern christologies. In Philippians 3:7-11, Paul makes a very strong statement about how much Christ Jesus means to him. This study seeks to demonstrate how the passage within its context gives expression to a high christological statement which is frequently disregarded in treatments of Pauline christology. Chapter One presents a concise summary of the history of exegesis of Phil 3:7-11 and identifies the elements present within that history which indicated the desirability of a more in-depth treatment. Chapter Two focuses on the entire letter to the Philippians as the context of interpretation of Phil 3:7-11, beginning with a discussion of the methodology employed in the remainder of the work. Chapter Three focuses on Phil 3:7-11, first considering the textual variants within these verses, then describing in detail the relation of the complex sentence consisting of vv. 8-11. Chapters Four and Five deal with those issues of semantics in vv. 8-11 which require more extensive treatment. Chapter Six returns to a consideration of the meaning of knowledge of Christ, concluding with a consideration of the results of this study for current discussions of New Testament Christology.