Abstract
AbstractPaul models his autobiography in Phil 3:4–14 not as a paradigmatic embodiment of Phil 2:6–11 but as a Jewish sage. Framed by dramatic and apocalyptic passages, Phil 3:4–14 include the fundamental change of heart, when the wise one becomes aware that all advantages of noble birth and virtues count for nothing in comparison with the overwhelming gifts Wisdom resp. Christ will offer to those who constantly seek and love her and him. Like the sage of Sirach 51:13–30 and Wisdom of Solomon 6–9 Paul will never attain perfection. But similar to the Jewish sage he calls his students to join him in imitation (Phil 3:17). In accordance with ancient philosophy, rhetoric and ethics mimesis does not mean copying or imitation in a modern sense, but describes a creative activity, a call to take the ideal that Paul’s actions represent and join in applying it to one’s own behavior and actions.
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