Greetings from Prison and Greetings from Caesar’s House (Philippians 4.22): A Reconsideration of an Enigmatic Greek Expression in the Light of the Context and Setting of Philippians
The Greek expression οἱ ἐκ τῆς Καίσαρος οἰκίας in Phil. 4.22 is unique. Late antique interpreters identified the group with the imperial court or immediate imperial family. In the nineteenth century, however, Ferdinand Christian Baur was skeptical that the historical Paul preached to Nero’s family a...
| Subtitles: | Special Issue: Paul and the Praetorium, Guest Editors: Ryan S Schellenberg and Heidi Wendt |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2021
|
| In: |
Journal for the study of the New Testament
Year: 2021, Volume: 43, Issue: 4, Pages: 468-484 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Paul Apostle
/ Exegesis
/ History
/ Prison
/ Bible. Philipperbrief 4
/ Ephesus
|
| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament HH Archaeology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The Greek expression οἱ ἐκ τῆς Καίσαρος οἰκίας in Phil. 4.22 is unique. Late antique interpreters identified the group with the imperial court or immediate imperial family. In the nineteenth century, however, Ferdinand Christian Baur was skeptical that the historical Paul preached to Nero’s family and therefore counted Philippians among the post-Pauline pseudepigraphical letters. Against this radical historical-critical approach, Joseph Barber Lightfoot and Adolf Deissmann developed their influential hypothesis: οἰκία Καίσαρος ‘represents’ the Latin familia Caesaris – that is, the whole of the imperial household, including all slaves. However, because there is no technical Latin term familia Caesaris in antiquity, οἱ ἐκ τῆς Καίσαρος οἰκίας cannot mean imperial slaves and freedpersons. Instead, I argue that the expression is a spontaneously coined code, a creative metaphor reflecting the conditions of a prisoner in an imperial prison in Ephesus. The saints from the house of Caesar are most likely Paul’s believing co-prisoners. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1745-5294 |
| Reference: | Kommentar in "The Provenance of Philippians (2021)"
|
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the New Testament
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0142064X21989660 |