Reconstructing Honor in Roman Philippi


Book Description

This book examines Paul's letter to the Philippians against the social background of the colony at Philippi. After an extensive survey of Roman social values, Professor Hellerman argues that the cursus honorum, the formalized sequence of public offices that marked out the prescribed social pilgrimage for aspiring senatorial aristocrats in Rome (and which was replicated in miniature in municipalities and in voluntary associations), forms the background against which Paul has framed his picture of Jesus in the great Christ hymn in Philippians 2. In marked contrast to the values of the dominant culture, Paul portrays Jesus descending what the author describes as a cursus pudorum ('course of ignominies'). The passage has thus been intentionally framed to subvert Roman cursus ideology and, by extension, to redefine the manner in which honour and power were to be utilized among the Christians at Philippi.




Christ’s Enthronement at God’s Right Hand and Its Greco-Roman Cultural Context


Book Description

Given the dearth of non-messianic interpretations of Psalm 110:1 in non-Christian Second Temple Jewish texts, why did it become such a widely used messianic prooftext in the New Testament and early Christianity? Previous attempts to answer this question have focused on why the earliest Christians first began to use Ps 110:1. The result is that these proposals do not provide an adequate explanation for why first century Christians living in the Greek East employed the verse and also applied it to Jesus’s exaltation. I contend that two Greco-Roman politico-religious practices, royal and imperial temple and throne sharing—which were cross-cultural rewards that Greco-Roman communities bestowed on beneficent, pious, and divinely approved rulers—contributed to the widespread use of Ps 110:1 in earliest Christianity. This means that the earliest Christians interpreted Jesus’s heavenly session as messianic and thus political, as well as religious, in nature.




Paul: Servant of the New Covenant


Book Description

Taking 2 Cor 3:6 as its starting point, the new and updated essays here assembled investigate the key passages in Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Philippians in which the covenant content and eschatological context of Paul's theology interpret one another. Developed over thirty years, Scott Hafemann's close reading of Paul's arguments, with an eye toward their OT/Jewish milieu, also advances the larger thesis that the various Israel/church, works/faith, and justification/judgment polarities in Paul's thinking do not represent a material contrast between a "law-way" and a "gospel-way" of relating to God. Rather, they epitomize an eschatological contrast between the character of God's people within the two eras of salvation history in which, by virtue of the Messiah and the Spirit, the Torah of the "old covenant" is now being kept in the "new."




Philippians


Book Description

Showcases integration of multiple methods as well as reflections on the reception of Philippians and its meaning for today.




The People beside Paul


Book Description

Who are the people beside Paul, and what can we know about them? This volume brings together an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars with a broad range of expertise and a common interest: Philippi in antiquity. Each essay engages one set of contextual particularities for Paul and the ordinary people of the Philippian assembly, while simultaneously placing them in wider settings. This 'people's history' uses both traditional and more cutting-edge methods to reconsider archaeology and architecture, economy and ethnicity, prisons and priestesses, slavery, syncretism, stereotypes of Jews, the colony of Philippi, and a range of communities. The contributors are Valerie Abrahamsen, Richard S. Ascough, Robert L. Brawley, Noelle Damico, Richard A. Horsley, Joseph A. Marchal, Mark D. Nanos, Peter Oakes, Gerardo Reyes Chavez, Angela Standhartinger, Eduard Verhoef, and Antoinette Clark Wire. Features An examination of the social forms and forces that shaped and affected the Philippian church Essays offer insight into standard questions about the letter s hymn and audience, Paul's 'opponents,' and the sites of the community and of Paul's imprisonment A focused exploration of more marginalized topics and groups, including women, slaves, Jews, and members of localized cults




Philippi, From Colonia Augusta to Communitas Christiana


Book Description

This book combines careful reading of texts, inscriptions, coins and other archaeological materials to examine how religious practice, material culture and urban landscape changed as Philippi developed from a Roman colony to a major center for Christian worship and pilgrimage.




Philippians and Philemon


Book Description

In this latest volume in the Belief series, Daniel L. Migliore plumbs the depth of Paul's letters to the Philippians and to Philemon. With splendid theological reflection, Migliore explores central themes of these remarkable lettersùthemes that include the practice of prayer, righteousness from God, and the work of reconciliation and transformation through Jesus Christ. Migliore shows how Philippians continues to speak to churches that, like the church at Philippi, struggle to be faithful to Christ, worry about the future, and need guidance. And in Philemon, Migliore finds a letter with importance far beyond its sizeùa letter that can enrich our understanding of the fullness of the gospel that Paul proclaims. In both books, Migliore deftly shows Paul as a remarkable theologian and pastor with a message instructive to the church of every age.




The First Urban Churches 4


Book Description

Investigate the challenges and opportunities experienced by the early church This fourth installment of The First Urban Churches, edited by James R. Harrison and L. L. Welborn, focuses on the urban context of Christian churches in first-century Roman Philippi. The international team of New Testament and classical scholars contributing to the volume present essays that use inscriptions, papyri, archaeological remains, coins, and iconography to examine the rivalries, imperial context, and ecclesial setting of the Philippian church. Features: Analysis of the material and epigraphic evidence relating to first- and second-century CE Roman Philippi Examination of important passages from Philippians within their ancient urban context Investigation of the social composition and membership of the Philippian church from the archaeological and documentary evidence




The City-State of Boston


Book Description

In the vaunted annals of America's founding, Boston has long been held up as an exemplary "city upon a hill" and the "cradle of liberty" for an independent United States. Wresting this iconic urban center from these misleading, tired clich s, The City-State of Boston highlights Boston's overlooked past as an autonomous city-state, and in doing so, offers a pathbreaking and brilliant new history of early America. Following Boston's development over three centuries, Mark Peterson discusses how this self-governing Atlantic trading center began as a refuge from Britain's Stuart monarchs and how--through its bargain with slavery and ratification of the Constitution - it would tragically lose integrity and autonomy as it became incorporated into the greater United States. Drawing from vast archives, and featuring unfamiliar alongside well-known figures, such as John Winthrop, Cotton Mather, and John Adams, Peterson explores Boston's origins in sixteenth-century utopian ideals, its founding and expansion into the hinterland of New England, and the growth of its distinctive political economy, with ties to the West Indies and southern Europe. By the 1700s, Boston was at full strength, with wide Atlantic trading circuits and cultural ties, both within and beyond Britain's empire. After the cataclysmic Revolutionary War, "Bostoners" aimed to negotiate a relationship with the American confederation, but through the next century, the new United States unraveled Boston's regional reign. The fateful decision to ratify the Constitution undercut its power, as Southern planters and slave owners dominated national politics and corroded the city-state's vision of a common good for all. Peeling away the layers of myth surrounding a revered city, The City-State of Boston offers a startlingly fresh understanding of America's history.




Philippians


Book Description

Designed for the pastor and Bible teacher, the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament features today's top New Testament scholars and brings together commentary features rarely gathered together in one volume. With careful analysis and interpretation of the Greek text, the authors trace the flow of argument in each New Testament book, giving readers the tools they need to properly understand and communicate the meaning of the text. Commentary on each passage follows a clear structure to help readers grasp the flow and meaning of the text: Literary Context: A brief discussion of how the passage functions in the broader literary context of the book. Main Idea: A one- or two-sentence statement of the big idea or central thrust of the passage. Translation and Graphical Layout: Presents each commentator's translation of the Greek text in a graphical layout to help the reader visualize, and thus better understand, the flow of thought within the text. Structure: Describes the flow of thought in the passage and explains how certain interpretive decisions regarding the relationship of the clauses were made in the passage. Exegetical Outline: The overall structure of the passage is described in a detailed exegetical outline. This will be particularly helpful for those who are looking for a way to concisely explain the flow of thought in the passage in a teaching or preaching setting. Explanation of the Text: Commentators examine words and images, grammatical details, relevant Old Testament and Jewish background to a particular concept, historical and cultural context, important text-critical issues, and various interpretive issues that surface. Theology in Application: The theological message of the passage is summarized. The author discusses the theology of the text in terms of its place within the book and in a broader biblical-theological context. Finally, each commentator provides some suggestions on what the message of the passage is for the church today. The Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series is the go-to resource for pastors and Bible teachers looking for deep but accessible study that equips them to connect the needs of Christians today with the biblical text.