Paul's letter to the Philippians : a socio-rhetorical commentary /

"Paul's short, affectionate letter to the Philippians has been much belabored of late by biblical scholars keen to analyze it in light of Greco-Roman letter-writing conventions. Yet Ben Witherington argues that Philippians shouldn't be read as a letter at all but, rather, as a masterf...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Witherington, Ben, III, 1951-
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Grand Rapids, Mich. : Eerdmans, [2011]
Subjects:
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
  • Preliminary considerations
  • Provenance
  • Consistency and change
  • Partition theories
  • A letter of friendship or a family letter
  • Rhetoric
  • Social analysis: dead ends and promising pathways
  • The commentary
  • Epistolary prescript (1:1-2) A closer look: Paul's right-hand man Timothy
  • Exordium: Prayers and previews (1:3-11) A closer look: Joy, the elixir of faith and effervescence of hope
  • Bridging the horizons
  • Narratio: Proclamation's progress (1:12-26) A closer look: Imitation, the highest form of education
  • A closer look: Honor, shame, and apostolic life
  • Bridging the horizons
  • Propositio: Lives worthy of the word (1:27-30)
  • Bridging the horizons
  • Probatio: Four positive appeals (2:1--4:3)
  • The prime paradigm: Christ (2:1-18)
  • A closer look: E.A. Judge and the social world of early Christianity
  • A closer look: The Christ hymn in recent discussion
  • Bridging the horizons
  • The Paradigm's Partners (2:19-30)
  • Bridging the horizons
  • Paul and the dogs (3:1--4.1)
  • A closer look: Synkrisis when there Is no crisis
  • A closer look: Social-scientific criticism--will meeks Inherit the earth?
  • Bridging the horizons
  • An apeal to the leaders (4:2-3)
  • Peroratio: The value of virtue and the joy of Jesus (4:4-9)
  • A closer look: Paul among the ancient moralists
  • Bridging the horizons
  • A postscript: "On giving and receiving" (4:10-20)
  • Final greetings and grace (4.21-23)
  • A closer look: Caesar's household and the household of faith
  • Bridging the horizons.