Philippians and Philemon - MR Vincent - 1906.pdf
Philippians and Philemon - MR Vincent - 1906.pdf
Philippians and Philemon - MR Vincent - 1906.pdf
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XX INTRODUCTION<br />
pride in his own city {S/. Paul the Traveller, etc., p. 206). Mepts,<br />
which does not mean 'province' ()<br />
, may indicate some<br />
subdivision, not recognised in the formal poHtical arrangement, of<br />
which PhiUppi was the centre ; <strong>and</strong> may mark an emphasis<br />
on its colonial rank as possessing the jus Italicuvi (note the<br />
5 being<br />
emphatic position of); so that PhiUppi is designated as<br />
the most considerable colonial city of this part of Macedonia,<br />
taken together. In this designation lies the<br />
motive expressed by ' lyns , seeing it is,' — that the prominence<br />
of the city led Paul to choose it as the starting-point of his<br />
missionary work.<br />
Ramsay, The Church in the Roman<br />
See Wendt's Meyer on Acts xvi. 12 ;<br />
Empire^ p. 156 f. ; O. Holtzmann, Neutestamentliche Zeitgeschichte, p. 104;<br />
Lightf., Phil., p. 50.<br />
The events of St. Paul's Macedonian ministry are related in<br />
Acts xvi., xvii. Imprisoned at PhiUppi, <strong>and</strong> then expelled by the<br />
magistrates, he went to Thessalonica, <strong>and</strong> thence to Bercea, from<br />
both which places he was driven by the fanatical opposition of the<br />
Jews. From Bercea he went to Athens.<br />
The narrative in Acts is sketchy <strong>and</strong> full of movement, dwelUng<br />
only upon salient points, <strong>and</strong> furnishing no definite information as<br />
to the length of the apostle's stay in PhiUppi. Slight hints like<br />
Tivas (xvi. 1 2), <strong>and</strong> inl? (xvi. 18), <strong>and</strong> the<br />
fact that some time must have been required to form a circle of<br />
" brethren " (xvi. 40), <strong>and</strong> to develop those strong <strong>and</strong> affectionate<br />
relations which appear in the Philippian letter, seem to indicate a<br />
longer stay than might be inferred from the surface of the narrative.<br />
See Clemen, Die Chronologie der paulinischen Briefe, s. 192; Klopper,<br />
Komm. Einleit., S. 3.<br />
From the dropping of the first person plural at Acts xvi. 40, it<br />
has been inferred that Luke remained behind in PhiUppi. About<br />
five years later the apostle again visited Macedonia, <strong>and</strong> having<br />
gone thence to Corinth, was about to return to Syria by sea, when<br />
a plot against his life determined him to return to Macedonia<br />
(Acts xix. 21, XX. 1-3 ; 2 Cor. i. 15, 17, ii. 13, vii. 5). The last<br />
meeting with his Philippian converts is noted (Acts xx. 6), after<br />
which he departed for Troas. This is our last notice of the<br />
<strong>Philippians</strong> until the time of the Roman imprisonment.