Philippians in the Light of Some Ancient Discussions of Friendship

Abstract

The growing recognition of the importance of friendship language in Philippians coincides with the increasing awareness that Paul's letters have a general affinity with ancient letters of friendship, which ancient Greek and Latin rhetoricians regarded as the most authentic type of letter. This chapter comments on the advantages and disadvantages of characterizing Philippians as a letter of It identifies terminology in Philippians, especially 4: 1-9, that belongs to the topos on friendship. The chapter argues that the thesis that one reason why Paul makes such an extensive use of friendship language in Philippians is because he is attempting to correct the Philippians' understanding of friendship. Like philosophers who use friendship language to describe utopian communities, Paul uses friendship language to depict the Christian community as it should exist ideally, and he adduces several examples of those who practice the friendship that belongs to this ideal society. Keywords: Christian community; friendship language; Greek; Paul; Philippians

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