The Joy of Future Deliverance and Apostolic Life
The Line of Thought in Philipppians 1,18d-26
In his recent publication Studies in Paul's Letter to the
Philippians Hans Dieter Betz deals with Phil 1,21-26 in the
second chapter: "A Statement of Principle (Phil 1:21-26)"1. How
does he analyze this passage?
HANS DIETER BETZ
According
to
"carefully
Betz
Phil
crafted,
1,21-26
21-26
constitutes
quasi-philosophical,
a
sentential
composition"2 which follows the expression at the end of 1,20:

which
"defines at once the most certain and most uncertain points in
human life, and as such articulates a kind of bridge, which
leads out of this life into the hereafter"3. By means of a
number of examples Betz shows how ancient philosophy, sayings
collections and tomb inscriptions reflected on that "bridge".
"Basic
are
immortality
the
of
Pythagorean-Platonic
the
soul
...,
theories
opposed
by
about
Epicureanism,
the
and
recast by Stoicism"4.
Betz
also
calls
Phil
1,21-26
an
"enthymeme"
(=
an
incomplete syllogism). He distinguishes in it the sententia
Hans Dieter BETZ, Studies in Paul's Letter to the Philippians (WUNT 343),
Tübingen 2015, pp. 19-46.
2 Ibid., p. 23.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid., p. 40.
1
2
(v. 21: the maxim), the expositio (vv. 22-25: the commentary)
and the epilogue (v. 26). The passage is then discussed verse
by verse5. At the end of the chapter Betz meditates on the
words

(v.
21)6
and,
after
a
consideration of Phil 2,6-11, he states that the expression
"in
fact
encompasses
theology,
christology,
ethics
and
eschatology in their entirety"7.
As always, Betz' exegesis as well as his Graeco-Roman
approach
are
enriching.
Yet
most
we
interesting
ask
whether,
and
reading
his
grammatically
pages
and
most
regarding
Paul's line of thought, 1,21-26 can be so radically separated
from what precedes, 1,15-20, more specifically vv. 18d-20. In
this note we will limit ourselves to dealing with 1,18d-268.
PHILIPPIANS 1,18d-26
First we may present the Greek text (NA 2828) according to
their grammatical clauses:
18a
b




c 

d
19a 
Ibid., pp. 24-33.
Ibid., pp. 43-46
7 Ibid., p. 45.
8 John REUMANN, Philippians (AB), New Haven - London 2008, pp. 209-261 sees
1,18d-26 ("To Stay in Service") as part of the Narrative of Letter B. We
may refer to this voluminous and excellent commentary for a detailed
discussion of the old and recent literature.
5
6
3
b








20a


b

c








21a 
b 
22a 
b 
c 
23a 
b



c 
24
()

25a 
b


 

26





After the salutation (1,1-2) and the thanksgiving (1,3-11)
Paul
above
all
wants
to
inform
the
Philippians
that
his
imprisonment for Christ helped to spread the gospel and that
4
most of the brothers "dare to speak the word with greater
boldness
and
without
fear"
(vv.
12-14).
He
has
to
admit,
however, that some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, out
of selfish ambition, not sincerely "but intending to increase
my suffering in my imprisonment" (vv. 15-17). Then in v. 18,
rather strikingly, he exclaims: "What does it matter? Just
this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of
false motives or true, and in that I rejoice"9.
a) Verses 18d-20
In v. 18d Paul, with great emphasis, repeats the idea of
rejoicing: . The verb is in
the
future
tense.
That
future
joy
is
motivated
(, v. 19a). Paul points to his faith-certainty:
that (), through the prayers of the Philippians and the
help
of
the
Spirit,
the
whole
matter
will
lead
to
his
deliverance (, v. 19b).
A
first
reading
of
vv.
19-20
makes
you
assume
that
grammatically v. 20 with its -expression belongs to v.
19. Most probably in composing v. 20 Paul wrote the beginning
of
this
verse
as
depending
of

(v.
19a), but his expanded -construction in v. 20b "loosens",
as it were, the whole verse from v. 19. Verse 20 with its
second
-clause
(v.
20b),
which
depends
on
v.
20a,
functions more or less as an autonomous confirmation: "as it
is my eager expectation and hope that..."10. Paul hopes that he
will not be put shame in any way (v. 20b) "but that by my
speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as
always in my body, whether by life or by death" (v. 20c). The
mention
of
"death"
in
the
expression

at the
The translations are mostly taken from the NRSV.
Cf. however REUMANN, Philippians, p. 212: "To begin a new sentence
separates this phrase from what modifies in v 19 and is misleading ...".
9
10
5
end must strike the reader, since it would seem that in vv.
18b-20b
Paul
focuses
on
his
deliverance,
thus
on
staying
alive. It is true that already in v. 20c Paul speaks rather
vaguely by referring to Christ's exaltation in his body. The
way this can happen is then clarified; it is twofold: either
by life or by death. Yet this last addition needs further
explanation.
b) Verses 21-22
Verse
21
explicates
and
motivates

at the
end of v. 20. The verbs are missing in both clauses; the
construction is symmetrical. Yet it is quite possible that the
conjunction  possesses an adversative nuance: "For to me
living is Christ and (= but) dying is gain. The articular verb

in
21a
(continuous
present)
means
"living
on,
continue to live". In what sense  in 21b
(aorist: simple action) outstrips () "living on" is
not yet clear. The clauses are somewhat opposed.
Verse 22 corrects the content of v. 21a. The first two
clauses, again without main verbs, constitute a conditional
period (a "realis"): "But () if (I am to be) living on in
the flesh, (then) that (will mean) fruitful labor for me". In
the apodosis Paul, as it were, dreams of bearing apostolic
fruit
after
his
deliverance.

in
v.
22c
draws
the
conclusion of this supposition. "And (= therefore) I do not
know which I will choose", or: "I cannot tell what to prefer":
to live or to die!11
The punctuations are different. A number of exegetes consider v. 22c as
the apodosis and v. 22a and b together as the protasis. See e.g. M. ZERWICK
- M. GROSVENOR, A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament, Rome
1981, p. 594. They claim: " (in v. 22c) must introduce the apodosis"
and render the sentence as follows: "but if living (on) in the body, this
means that my work will bear fruit (protasis), in that case (= then) I
cannot tell which to choose" (apodosis). Cf. also REUMANN, Philippians, pp.
219-220. BETZ, Studies p. 28, discusses the less probable variant
11
6
c) Verses 23-26
In v. 23a Paul points to his impasse: "I am hard pressed
between the two". Death and life will be opposed again: v.
23bc (death) over against vv. 24-26 (life). Grammatically the
participle  in v. 23b is connected with the personal
verb  of. 23a. But, almost as in v. 20a, verse
23b can be taken as the equivalent of an independent clause:
"My desire is to depart and be with Christ". Or  may
contain a motivating nuance: "Since I have the desire ...". To
be with Christ after death is thus different from a life in
the flesh, even if it is totally given to, totally driven by
the (invisible) Christ. In v. 23c Paul states it explicitly,
be it in a text-critical uncertain and incomplete clause: "for
(that is) much better"12.
In a sober way Paul, in v. 24, recognizes that "to remain
in the flesh", i.e. to live on, "is more necessary for you (=
because
of
you)".
In
vv.
25-26
then
follows
a
lengthy
sentence: a main clause (v. 25a), an object clause (v. 25,
introduced by ) and a purpose clause (v. 26, introduced
by ) which depends on v. 25b. The
that
of
v.
19.
Moreover,
in
each
content is parallel to
verse,
19
and
25,
 is present. Paul expresses his stern hope that
he will be a free man again and that he will go back to
Philippi "for their progress and joy in faith".
The
participle

in
the
emphatic
v.
25a
contains a motivating nuance: "Since I am convinced of this, I
know that ...". In v. 24 we read ; now in v.
25b, by means of the
cognate 
 (deliberative, demonstrative) in v. 22c and renders then
the clause as follows: "What then should I prefer? I do not know".
12 BETZ, Studies, p. 30:  in v. 23c is absent in P46 and a few
other manuscripts and probably secondary. But, following E. Güting, he
assumes that  (also absent in important manuscript) may be original.
Yet if only  is the original text, the phrase could
just be an exclamation.
7
Paul manifests his certainty: "I will remain and continue to
remain" with all of you. The aim is their progress in faith as
well as their joy in faith. The final purpose (or result) is
that, because of his renewed presence in Philippi, they may
have ample cause to boast in Christ because of him (v. 26).
CONCLUSIONS
(1) There can hardly be any doubt about the fact that both
grammatically and as to content Phil 1,18d-26 belong together.
They constitute a unified passage. Paul's reasoning and line
of thought can easily be retraced.
(2) Verse 21 cannot be separated from v. 20d. Like Betz,
we may consider v. 21 as a sententia and vv. 22-25 as (part
of) the expositio. But the purpose clause of v. 26 does not
function as an "epilogue".
(3) With regard to content and, moreover, through the
presence of  in both vv. 19 and 25 as well as "I
will continue to rejoice" in v. 18d and "joy in faith" in v.
25b, the verses 18d-20 and vv. 25-26 form an kind of inclusion
which emphasizes Paul's hope of deliverance and future renewed
presence and apostolate in Philippi. The structure, however,
is not strictly chiastic13.
(4) Life (living on in the flesh) and death alternate in
this passage. We may present the following schematic outline:
life and death:
life:
life and death:
life:
life and death:
death:
life:
13
v. 18d
vv. 19-20c
vv. 20d-21
v. 22
v. 23a
v. 23bc
vv. 24-26
Cf. REUMANN, Philippians, pp. 233-237.
8
It becomes evident at once that in 1,18b-26 living on is by
far the main theme. The future apostolic life will be a source
of joy for Paul and the Philippians alike. This is the firm
hope and, as it were, the certainty which is emphasized in the
passage. Death is by far the better option, but Paul's living
on is more necessary for his Christians in Philippi.
September 2015
Jan LAMBRECHT