Philippians and Philemon - MR Vincent - 1906.pdf

xxii
INTRODUCTION
was a law of Claudius which permitted the discharge of a prisoner
if the prosecutors did not appear within a certain time (Di. Cass.
Ix. 28). The pressure of judicial business also was enormous : a
long time might have been required for bringing witnesses from
Syria and Proconsular Asia after the arrival of the prosecutors ;
and
a vacation occurred during the winter months when judicial pro-
ceedings were suspended (Suet. Aug. 32 ; Claud. 23 ; Galba, 14).
See Wieseler, Ckron., and Geib, Gesch. d. rdmischen Criminalprocess.
EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS : WHERE AND WHEN COMPOSED
That the Philippian letter was written from Rome is now gener-
ally conceded. The view of Paulus (1799), Bottger (1837),
Rilliet (1841), Thiersch (1879), placing its composition at Caesa-
rea, has been mostly abandoned, and even those who assign
Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon to Caesarea, hold that Philip-
pians was written at Rome. The environment of the apostle as
indicated by the letter itself, the different groups of persons which
it includes, the number and complexity of the relations, and the
different and influential party tendencies do not suit the narrow
limits of a provincial city; while the praetorian guard and the
saints of Caesar's household clearly point to Rome. Paul's expec-
tation of a speedy decision of his case (ii. 23) agrees better with
Rome. In i. 25, 27, ii. 24, he expresses the hope of returning to
Philippi in the event of his liberation, while in Caesarea he would
still have been directing his thought to Rome.
The date of composition as related to that of the three Asiatic
letters cannot be determined with certainty. The majority of
critics assign the epistle to the later period of Paul's imprison-
ment, and place it last of the four (Mey., Weiss, Alf., EUic, Kl.,
Godet, Lips., Holtzn., Jul.).
The reasons assigned for this opinion are the following : i. The
evidence assumed to be furnished by the epistle that a long period
of imprisonment has elapsed (i. 12 ff.). 2. The abandonment of
the apostle by his more intimate companions (ii. 20), and the
absence of salutations from Luke and Aristarchus. 3. The time
required for journeys in the communications between Rome and