Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 67:2 (NA 2016)
Article: The Christ-Story Of Philippians 2:6–11 Narrative Shape And Paraenetic Purpose In Paul’s Letter To Philippi
Author: Richard J. Weymouth

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The Christ-Story Of Philippians 2:6–11
Narrative Shape And Paraenetic Purpose In Paul’s Letter To Philippi1

Richard J. Weymouth

([email protected])

This thesis argues the case that Philippians 2:6–11 represents a Pauline prose narrative (and is not a pre-Pauline hymn), which may be called the Christ-story, and should therefore be interpreted as prose narrative in terms of its form, function, and content; and that doing this provides fresh insights into a much studied and debated passage, some of which have hitherto remained unnoticed (or at least unreported), while providing a framework that now allows some previous major contributions to the study of this passage to be brought together in order to form a comprehensive overall interpretation.

The thesis is arranged in four parts: Part I first introduces the passage of Philippians 2:6–11, noting the vast amount of scholarship written about it, highlighting some important contributions of relevance, and outlining the plan of the study (Chapter 1), then introduces the letter to the Philippians itself, the basic situation of both Paul and his Philippian recipients and the occasion of the letter, including brief discussion of some critical issues, though focussing on the intersecting narratives of the epistle and, given that Philippi in the first century was a Roman colony with life dominated by Roman governance and values, on the letter’s political background (Chapter 2).

Part II then deals with major lines of interpretation in the study of this passage, beginning with the issues of its literary form and authorship, whether Philippians 2:6–11 represents a pre-Pauline hymn or a Pauline narrative (Chapter 3); next attempting to specify the precise function of the passage within its epistolary context — whether

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it is ‘kerygmatic’ or ‘exemplary’, or whether another more nuanced designation may be more appropriate, in particular by providing a detailed treatment of the paraenetic context of verses 6–11 and by strengthening M. Bockmuehl’s case for a particular reading of the elliptical verse 5b, pointing additionally to a paradigmatic understanding of the passage in which participation is invited (Chapter 4); then, thirdly, seeking to identify the implicit stories within the explicit narrative, by focussing on the influential contribution of N. T. Wright on interpretation of the passage ...