Articles on Philippians, Part 1 (Provenance)

In the course of my study of Philippians I've read some interesting articles lately. They appear in the edited work New Testament Greek and Exegesis: Essays in Honor of Gerald F. Hawthorne.

Frank Thielman, in "Ephesus and the Literary Setting of Philippians," examines arguments for both Rome and Ephesus as the birthplace of Paul's letter to the Macedonian church at Ephesus. Both proposals have their share of advocates, many utilizing poor arguments, in the estimation of hte author. Thielman's argument for Ephesus, rather than relying on external evidence, proceeds on literary grounds.

Thielman determines that an Ephesian provenance, at a time period near to the apostle's penning of Galatians and 1 Corinthians, provides a solution to two "puzzles" that plague one's interpretation of the epistle--1) why the sudden (sharp) change in tone at chapter 3; 2) why does the apostle seem to combat two opposite tendencies, nomism (3:2f) and anti-nomism (3:18f)? Apparently (per Th.) Paul wrote Philippians during his ministry to the Ephesians when "his conflict with Judaizers in Galatia was still fresh in his mind" (219). At the same time, Paul has had to contend recently with the Corithians, many of whom, because of their exalted view of their own spirituality and their cultural climate, allowed themselves wide latitude in indulging their bodily appetites. Thus, the apostle warns the Philippians against a similar move in their habits. In the way it is easy to see how the apostle might find it necessary to combat both practical errors before they take root among the Philippians.