Brown’s present volume on Philippians is one of the first of the new commentaries in the flagship Tyndale Commentary series—the first volumes published from 1956 to 1974 and the next set between 1983 and 2003 (p. vii). The goal of the series is to provide a simultaneously readable, accessible, and robust exegetical engagement of the text within its historical context—and with an eye toward contemporary theological relevance. Brown’s commentary accomplishes these goals with excellence.The first fifty pages are devoted to introductory matters such as authorship, audience, date, the genre and literary structure of the letter, Paul’s opponents, and theological themes. Brown assumes Paul’s imprisonment in Rome (rather than Caesarea or Ephesus), and so dates the letter to sometime in the early 60s. There are multiple purposes of the letter, including Paul’s desire to frame their understanding of Epaphroditus’s ministry upon his return to Philippi, to comment upon the gifts he had received from the Philippian church, to encourage them that they need not worry about him while he is imprisoned, and to exhort them to grow in unity. The primary theological themes that undergird Paul’s arguments are Christology, eschatology, friendship, communal discernment, unity and resilience in suffering, and Christian imitation.Brown successfully situates Paul’s argument within its ancient historical context but in a way that manages to make his claims easily digestible for nonspecialists. So, for example, in commenting upon Paul’s seeming indifference to whether he lives or dies—so long as Christ is glorified in his body (Phil 1:19–22)—she contrasts Paul’s stance with a Stoic philosophical perspective that would lead one to indifference toward so-called external matters. Rather, for Paul, “Christ himself is the lens for assessing what is valuable and of ultimate worth. . . . What is important to Paul is that the person of Christ would be exalted—shown to be of ultimate value—whatever the outcome” (p. 84). Similarly, Brown draws upon Aristotle’s three categories of proof from his work on rhetoric—pathos, ethos, and logos—to helpfully illuminate Paul’s arguments. For example, Paul draws upon ethos argumentation especially in his commendation of Timothy and Epaphroditus (Phil 2:19–30) as he appeals to their character as those who are single-mindedly committed to Christ’s interests and who work hard for the Philippian church even at great cost to themselves. Brown also notes how Paul frequently uses the philosophical language of phronesis, sometimes translated as prudence or practical wisdom, in order to cultivate a “Christologically focused mindset” that will guide the church’s communal discernment (p. 66). Brown shows how Paul’s theological argumentation intersects with the Philippian church’s situatedness in a Roman veteran colony. So, Paul’s use of the term politeuomai (Phil 1:27) has political and civic connotations. The phrase should be translated something like “live in singularly loyalty to the gospel of Christ” (p. 95). Brown notes: “As cities expected their citizens to live in undivided loyalty to their laws, norms, and ideals, Paul expects believers in Jesus to live in undivided loyalty to the norms and values implicit in the gospel and to Jesus as Lord” (pp. 95–96).With respect to the disputed pistis Christou phrase in Phil 3:9, Brown opts for the subjective genitive, namely, the faithfulness of Christ given that God’s righteousness is gifted to people “through the work of Christ—through his faithfulness or obedience . . . rather than directly through human faith” (p. 181). Paul’s language about Jesus existing in “God’s form” (2:6) and “emptying himself” (2:7), Brown argues, has less to do with ontology and is rather more interested in status, particularly in showing how Christ’s “downward mobility” (p. 117) functions to depict Jesus in his “Godlikeness as the epitome of self-giving” (p. 116). Regarding Phil 4:10–20, Brown argues that the overlap of its themes with other portions of Philippians (e.g., rejoicing, a right mindset, shared partnership, etc.) argues in favor of the integrity of the letter.There is an abundance of excellent options of good commentaries for students, teachers, and pastors today. For those who want a robust reading of Philippians, attuned to both the historical context of the letter and its contemporary theological implications, written in accessible prose—one can do no better than Jeannine Brown’s Philippians.
Read full abstract
Aug 1, 2023
Farqaleet Khokhar 
Open Access