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Loading...Now that I have provided a nutshell summary of the letter to the Philippians in my previous post, I can move into the questions of authorship, date, and motivating purpose (who, when, and why).
Philippians is almost always considered a Pauline letter, one of the seven “undisputed” epistles. There seems very little reason to doubt it. The letter is filled with Pauline themes and thoughts; it uses his typical kind of writing style; its concerns line up with what we find in others of his writings; and the presupposed historical circumstances are perfectly in line with what we would expect.
As I’ve indicated, the letter claims to be written from prison, but we do not know where. The “where” matters a good bit for the “when,” since if it was written, as many have argued, from Rome, then it must be toward the end of Paul’s life (since he went there after all his other known journeys and was apparently martyred there), so in the early 60s. If it was written from somewhere else – say, Ephesus – then it more likely dates to the mid 50s. That’s become the more widely accepted view.
Far more important is
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Dr. Ehrman,
I recently watched your Danny Jones Podcast interview. It was a great interview, very candid, and you seem to be an honest man; one false thing being they had no ‘eye drops’ in antiquity. Now, I left the academic world with its many flaws; needfully pursuing my own intellectual path and intuitions instead. Since then, I have learned and accomplished many things I would otherwise not have accomplished. This includes major restoration of my eyesight, which began declining when I was nine years old. I accomplished the last stages of this healing process using eye drops made of common drugs from Greek texts: saffron and myrhh and frankincense (I used other practices like sun-gazing, and sources like traditional Chinese medicine manuals, too). Unfathomable by my former academic self, self guided research including figures like Dr. Ammon Hillman got me here. Dr. Hillman was indispensable in refining my personal practices and intellectual ability. Having briefly met Dr. Hillman, I believe he is an important and serious man despite his literally theatrical approach. I would greatly appreciate you talking to Dr. Hillman, or encouraging a high level conversation about ancient medicine, religion, and language. He CAN do that civilly. Thank you!
I’m happy to hear your vision was restored!
“He wrote the Philippians a letter, partially embodied now in chapters 3–4…
After Paul sent this letter, Epaphroditus became ill, the Philippians learned of it and became concerned”
The proposed sequence doesn’t seem to fit.
In Philippians 2:30, Paul explains: “for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.”
Apparently, Epaphroditus had to work in order to COMPLETE that “service.”
Yet in 4:18, Paul writes: “I have received FULL payment and have more than enough.”
So, if he had already received full payment, why did Epaphroditus need to complete anything?
The order must be reversed.
Letter 1: A response to an initial, incomplete service from Epaphroditus (Phil 1–3:1).
Letter 2: A response to a later, completed service (Phil 4).
I’ve always found Paul’s “eagerness” to send Epaphroditus back a bit curious. Paul even says he’ll be less anxious once Epaphroditus returns. While he doesn’t specify the nature of Epaphroditus’s illness, he does say that Epaphroditus nearly died “for the work of Christ” and that he “risked his life” in serving Paul. This is speculative, but could it be that someone tried to poison Paul while he was in prison—and Epaphroditus took the poison instead?
If that were the case, it would explain several things: Paul’s urgency to send him away (perhaps to protect him), the idea that Epaphroditus’s near-death experience was due to his service to Christ, and why Paul saw it as a life-risking act on his behalf. It would also account for the severity of his condition.
If Philippians was written late, from Rome, and if the tradition is correct that Paul was executed under Nero, the theory becomes even more plausible. Poisoning plots weren’t uncommon in Nero’s circle during the mid-60s, and those associated with him often lived under threat.