Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Philippians 4:9 - 4:9

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Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Philippians 4:9 - 4:9


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9. ἃ καὶ ἐμάθετε … ἐν ἐμοί. On the apparent egotism, see above on Php 3:17.—The aorists refer to the past days at Philippi.

παρελάβετε. In the sense of receiving a truth passed on by a teacher, who on his part παραδίδωσιν. See e.g. 1Co 11:23, ἐγὼ παρέλαβον ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου ὃ καὶ παρέδωκα ὑμῖν. Cp. Gal 1:9, εἴ τις ὑμᾶς εὐαγγελίζεται παρʼ ὃ παρέλαβετε, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω: and 1Th 4:1. Παραλαμβάνειν thus comes very nearly to mean “to learn” and παραδιδόναι (παράδοσις) “to teach.”

ἐν ἐμοί. Strictly, the words attach themselves to εἴδετε only. It is as if he had written ἅ ἐμάθετε κτλ. παρʼ ἐμοῦ καὶ εἴδ. ἐν ἐμοί.

πράσσετε. “Practise.” “Roughly speaking, ποιεῖν may be said to … designate performance, πράσσειν intentional … habitual performance; π. to point to an actual result, πρ. to the scope and character of the result” (Grimm, ed. Thayer, s.v. ποιεῖν).

καὶ. See above on the καὶ which introduces Php 4:7.

ὁ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης. Author and Giver of “The peace of God.” The phrase occurs Rom 15:33; Rom 16:20, ὁ θ. τῆς εἰρ. συντρίψει τὸν σατανᾶν: 2Co 13:11, ὁ θ. τῆς ἀγάπης καὶ τῆς εἰρ. ἔσται μεθʼ ὑμῶν: 1Th 5:23, αὐτὸς ὁ θ. τῆς εἰρ. ἁγιάσαι ὑμᾶς κτλ.: Heb 13:20, ὁ δὲ θ. τῆς εἰρ., ὁ ἀναγαγὼν κτλ. And cp. 2Th 3:16, ὁ κύριος τῆς εἰρ.: and 1Co 14:33, οὐ γὰρ ἀκαταστασίας ὁ θ. ἀλλὰ εἰρήνης. In the last case the peace is plainly social peace rather than internal, personal peace. But the two are closely connected; the peace of God in the individual tends always to the peace of the society, for it means the banishment of the self-spirit. Here very possibly St Paul has in side-view the Philippians’ need of peace in their community, and of a higher tone of Christian thought and feeling as an aid towards it. But the whole context is so full of the inward aspects of Christian experience that it seems best to take this phrase as referring primarily to the sabbath of the soul, the peace of God in the man.