The Pulpit Commentary — Philippians — Section 155

EXPOSITION. Ver. 2.-I beseech Enodias, e.nd l>egecch OIIAPTEil IV. Syntyche, that thf;y be of thij same mind in Ver. l,_.:.Thorofore, my brethren doarly tho Lord; rather, Euodia. It is plain from beloved and longed for, my joy and crown. the m,xt verse that both are female names. The apostle here, o.s in l Cor. xv. 58, urges The naITative in Acts xvi. shows ti.at the the hope of a glorious resurreclion as ail female element was more than uaually incentive to ~teadfostness in the Christian important in the early Philippian Church. life. He seems scarcely able to fintl words These ladies seem to have hehl a high o.dequo.te to express his love for the Philip- position in that Clrnrch; possibly they may pio.ns; he . ht'aps together epithets of hllvc been deaconesses, like Phcebe at affection, cl welling tenderly on the word Ceuchrea. Their dis,cnsions tlisturb(;(l the " beloved." He tells them of his longing peaco of the Church. The repeated " I be- desire to see them, repeating the word used seech•· is emphatic; it may, perhaps. also iu eh. i. 8. He calls them his "joy and imply that both were in fault. St. Pan! crown "-his joy now, his crown hereafter. earnestly begs them to be reconciletl, and to He use.s the samo worcls of the other great be reconcileJ as Christians, in the Lortl, o., l\Jacedouie.n Chul'ch in 1 Thess. ii. 19, members of hi.3 hody, in the cou.sciousness "What is our hope, or joy, or crown of of his presence. l\Iark how often the words, rejoicing? Are not even ye?" The Greek " in Christ," " in the Lord," occur in this word • for " crown" ( rrTl,Pavos) means Epistle; how constantly the thonght of commonly either the wrenth ("the corruptible spiritual union with Christ was present to crown," l Cor. ix. 25) which was the prize of the apestle's mind. victors at the Grecian games ; or a garland Ver. 3.-And I cutreat thee a.lso, tne worn at banquets and festivities. The yokefellow; rather, yea, with R. V. an,l the ·royal crown is generally 6,cf.071µ.a. But best manuscripts : Kaf is a particle of ea.mes t UT<,Pavor is usetl in the Septuagint for a appea.l (comp. P .. ilem. 20 and Rev. xxii. king's crown ( see (in the Greek) 2 Sam. xii. 20); I asl, ar request. The Greek wnrtl 30; Ps. xx. 4 (A.V., x.xi. S); Esth.'viii. 15). lpwTw is usetl in New Testament Greek (in The crown of tl1or1is, too, which was u~ed in classical Greek it mea.ns "to inquire") of mockery of the Saviour's kingly title, was requests addressed to an equal; airw is need ud,pavos l( a.,cavOwv, though this mlLy in addreBBing a superior (comp. Trench, rossibly ho.ve been suggested by the laurel 'Synonyms of the New 'fcsta.ment,' sect. :tl.). wreath woro by the Rome.n Cmsars (see Who was the " true yokefellow"? Some, Trench, 'Synonyms of the New Testament,' following Clement of Alexandria, interpret sect. xxiii.). "The crown of life," "the the words of a supposed wife of St. Paul. crown of glory .that fodeth not away," is the But the Greek a.djert:ve has the masculine en,blem both of viclory and of gladness. termination ; and it is plo.in, from 1 Cor. Yet it is also in sonie sense kingly : the vii. S, tha.t St. Paul was unmarriet.!. saints ~l.inll sit with Christ in his throne; Others ta.kc one of the Gre~k words a.s tho they shall 1·eign with him ; they are kings proper name of the person a,IJ.resoed, (" e. kingt.!om," Il.V., with the best ruo.nu- Syzygus or Gnesius. On the first snpposi1inn, scripts) and priests unto God (Rev. i. 6). In the ple.y on the meaning of Syzy'}n~. yoke- this plo.cc victory seems to be the thought fellow, would resr·mblo St. Paul', reforenc-, present to the npostle'a miutl. In eh. ii. 16 to Onesiwus in l'hilem. 11. But neither of and iii. 12-14 ha has been comparing tho these words seems to occur as a proper Christio.n life with the course of the Grecian name. Some ago.in, as Chrysostom, interpret athletes. Now he represents his converts the word of the husband of Euodia or as constituting his crown or wre1Lth of Syntyche: this cloes not seem likely. Others victory e.t the lust; their salvation is the think that Lydia. may be a.dtlressed here. crowning reward of his lllbours and suffer- The omission of her name is remarkt\blc,; ings. Bo stand fe.st in the Lord, my dearly but she mo.y have been tl,l\tl or no longer beloved. So; lh1Lt is, as ye have us for nn resident u.t Philippi. Others understan,l example; or perh!Lps, as beoomes citizens of the chief pastor of the Church at Philippi, the heavenly conuuonwelllth. 'fhe au.me who ml\y very possibly htwe been Epa.phro- word (uTf/KEn) is_ usod in eh. i. 27, nlso in ditus himself, the betuorofthe letter. Thi~. tonnection with the idell of citizenship. on the whole, seems 'the most pru\J,1\ilu 156 THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. (aa.n.1--IL