Philippians & Philemon

The commentary demonstrates how to work through the texts of Philippians

and Philemon in the light of relevant scholarship but also with the use of one’s own

critical judgment. While traditional exegetical questions are dealt with,

contemporary theological concerns are highlighted, and there is a special effort to

probe the social issues that arose in the Pauline churches. Gender roles and slavery

are given particular attention as they arise in the texts.

Scholarship, now enlightened by greater knowledge of the social structures

and relationships of Mediterranean antiquity, is just beginning to explore questions

of how women functioned in house-church communities, how early Christians dealt with

the institution of slavery, and how slaves were integrated into their communities.

To the extent allowed by the commentary format, these questions are given special

attention in contributing to an ongoing discussion. “Osiek

deftly weaves new rhetorical, social-historical, and social-scientific insights into

classical historical and philological research on Philippians and Philemon. She has

the special gift of discussing difficult issues in simple language and with great

clarity. The result is a remarkable synthesis in which readers of all kinds will

come to a deeper understanding not only of these two letters and recent scholarship

on them, but of Paul and the ancient world he inhabited.” —Dennis C. Duling,