Philippians

Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament

by Joseph H. Hellerman, Andreas J. Köstenberger (Editor), Robert W. Yarbrough (Editor)

The Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) closes the gap between the Greek text and the available lexical and grammatical tools, providing all the necessary information for greater understanding of the text. The series makes interpreting any given New Testament book easier, especially for those who are hard pressed for time but want to preach or teach with accuracy and authority.

Each volume begins with a brief introduction to the particular New Testament book, a basic outline, and a list of recommended commentaries. The body is devoted to paragraph-by-paragraph exegesis of the Greek text and includes homiletical helps and suggestions for further study. A comprehensive exegetical outline of the New Testament book completes each EGGNT volume.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Theology, Christian, Reference

368 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2015

Reviews

[David Bruyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Combining superb exegetical insight, with excellent historical and cultural info, this commentary is a must for the serious student and teacher of Philippians.

[Shane Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022 reads: 23

Rating: 4 stars

[John Waldrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful resource to accompany one's devotional reading and study of the Greek text.

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the humble preacher still plodding along and building slowly on your skills in Greek, this commentary provides invaluable dialogue on what's happening in the Greek text. It will help you in your own exegesis, and it will help you continue to build your ability in the original language. Thanks to Mr Hellerman for his work, and thanks be to God for this resource to the Church.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a student of Biblical Greek, of which this mastery did not come easy, I am always on the lookout for new aids in the study of biblical original languages.  Most of these works are in the form of reference materials, such as grammar books.  The Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testamentseries is a lexical aid and exegetical Biblical Greek commentary.  The newest work in the fantastic series is Philippians by Joseph H. Hellerman, and edited by series editor Andres J. Köstenberger and Robert W. Yarborough and exceeds all of my preconceptions.

Needless to say , one must have a through knowledge of Biblical Greek to use this work.  Yet if you do have a thorough knowledge of Biblical Greek then this exegetical guide is an invaluable resource for those who want to dig deeper into the text and shine light into difficult to translate passages.   Digging into the work itself, it begins with the traditional introductory matters.  This might be the only weakness of this aid, and the reason is that it is only two pages long, which could be expanded upon.  Yet with these matters not being of primary importance in a lexical aid with some added commentary, two pages is all that is needed.

One of the greatest strengths is also found in the introduction section.  Thompson has a small section that details what he perceives are the greatest and most helpful commentaries on the epistle to the Philippians.  After seeing the scholarly work which Thompson put into this exegetical guide these recommendations are worth the cost of the guide itself.

This aid to Philippians is truly unique in its approach; each verse is broken down with each Greek word being expertly dissected with a small argument about syntax and commentary.  I look forward to the new installments in this recently begun series.  In the end I fully recommend this work to any pastors who know their Biblical Greek and want to use it in their sermons.

This book was provided to me free of charge from B & H Academic Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament: Philippians

© 2015 by Joseph H. Hellerman

Publisher: B & H Academic Publishing

Page Count: 368 Pages

ISBN: 978-1433676864

[BJ Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of four commentaries I used for my paper on Philippians in my Greek class. By far it was the best of the commentaries, but it was work to get through it. If you don't have a solid grasp of Greek, this book would most likely... be all Greek to you. For someone with a middle to higher level understanding of Greek, this book is pure gold. I only used the section on Philippians 2:1-11 for my paper, but I enjoyed working my way through that portion so much that I went back and studied it (not read it) from cover to cover after the class ended. It took me forever to do so, but it was so worth it. I have every intention to buy and use other books in the series in the future.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're preaching through Philippians and only have space on your desk for one commentary, make it this one. The exegesis is clear, succinct, and persuasive, with nicely delineated summaries of opposing viewpoints. Frequent references to grammars make this a good tool for people wanting to grow in their Greek too. The length of discussion is about right for busy pastors wanting to go deeper without being overwhelmed. Helpful pointers to thematic further reading too. One negative: The homiletical suggestions leave a lot to be desired, and feel like a rushed afterthought. Dear B&H, cut them out of future volumes in this series and readers won't be missing anything.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hellerman's exegetical guide to the Greek New Testament for Philippians is a wonderful handbook for understanding the Greek text. He covers not only the grammar but also the interpretive issues one must address through translation. He also let you know when a word occurs only once in the Greek New Testament.

This was a very helpful handbook for me as I read and translated through the book of Philippians. There are many words that occur only once, and so the vocabulary can be difficult to master. This guide to the Greek New Testament helped me to understand the interpretive possibilities. I highly recommend this volume for your study of Philippians.

[Camden Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hellerman's was the first book in this series I have interacted with. I will now continue to use this excellent series as I progress in my Greek studies. I appreciate the concise format common in the entire series and the specific socio-historical content unique to Hellerman.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best commentary on the original Greek in Philippians.

[Ryan Linkous · Rating 5 out of 5]

The commentary format is very skeletal and technical, but Hellerman does wonders with it. If you know Greek and are teaching through Philippians, this is a must-have commentar.

[Jonathan Ginn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb resource for studying the Greek text of Philippians. Learned and fair. This was my top guide as I studied and translated the book of Philippians.

[Jonathan Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I worked through this book while taking a class in which I had to translate the prison epistles. It is very helpful and each entry in the series follows a standard format which is handy.

[Craig Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adding to the solid list of contributors to the B&H Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) series, Joseph H. Hellerman has written the newest volume on Philippians. Hellerman, professor of New Testament language and literature at Talbot School of Theology, received his Th.M. in Hebrew and his Ph.D. in the social history of early Christianity. Upon starring as a professor at Talbot, Hellerman began to focus his studies on Philippians, the fruit of which has grown into this commentary.

In keeping with the aim of the series, Hellerman's book accomplishes two primary services for the reader. First, the commentary is solely based on the Greek of the New Testament from the fifth edition of the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament (xvi). 1 Peter is divided into pericopes by its Greek text, block diagrammed and then exegeted phrase-by-phrase. A good grasp of New Testament Greek is required to benefit from this book as well as an ability to understand the grammatical abbreviations used in the book. Second, as a guide, the series goal is to list and discuss all of the grammatical/exegetical possibilities for the translation of each word, construction of the grammar, and possible meanings. They are doing the work of giving you the options so you can focus more time on other work.

What is particularly striking about Hellerman's work on Philippians is his focus on the social-historical aspects of the book (though he does attend to the theological issues at hand as well). This social-historical focus comes to light when discussing the occasion of the letter. The occasion for the book gives way to the social-historical focus of the commentary. First, regarding the translation of 1:3, Hellerman believes that "the immediate occasion for Philippians was a gift Paul received from the church through their emissary Epaphroditus." (4) Thus, contra the traditional translation of 1:3 as stating that Paul was remembering them, Hellerman believes the better translation should be "because of your every remembrance of me," thus making Philippians a book of Paul thanking them for their gift to him (2 Cor. 11:9; Phil. 4:15).

This opportunity to express gratitude to the Philippians for their gift is used by Paul to speak truth about the church "in a highly Romanized sociopolitical environment." (4) There was a cursus honorum ("race of honors") that pervaded the Roman society which Paul took the occasion to resist (4). "The apostle recognized that a stridently Roman honor culture had the potential to seriously undermine the radically different relational ethos that Jesus intended for his community of followers." (4)

For example, Hellerman notes that while "traditional interpretations of Philippians 2:5-11 focus upon ontological Christology,......Paul's agenda, however, is primarily sociological, not ontological." (105) Paul is showing how Jesus used his universal status, which superseded any sociopolitical status on earth, to serve others, rather than lord it over them. "Instead of using social capital to gain more honors and public recognition, Christ leveraged his status in the service of others. Such utilization of power - indeed, a voluntary relinquishing of rank and prestige - would have stuck Roman elites as abject folly." (107) Jesus is the ultimate example for how to serve those whom the world may see as less than us.

As with all of the books in the EGGNT series, Hellerman's work on Philippians is a welcome addition that follows in the tradition of Murray Harris' inaugural volume on Colossians and Philemon. This will serve pastors and teachers well for decades to come.

To get a better sense of Hellermna's work, check out this short interview:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyZBB...]



See the other books in this series:

Colossians and Philemon by Murray Harris

James by Douglas Moo

1 Peter by Greg W. Forbes

John by Murray J. Harris (forthcoming)

I received this book for free from B&H for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[John Kight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few contemporary scholars today are more qualified and equipped for the exegetical task of leading students through Paul’s letter to the Philippians than Joseph H. Hellerman. Hellerman is Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Talbot School of Theology. He received a Th.M. from Talbot School of Theology and a Ph.D. from University of California Los Angeles. He has published a number of academic monographs dealing with the social history of early Christianity, including Reconstructing Honor in Roman Philippi (Cambridge University Press, 2005). He has also published several journal articles dealing with various socio-historical and interpretive issues related to Philippians. So, in many ways, the outpouring of the present commentary is a culmination of years of exegetical consideration and study by an expert in the Roman culture of the first century, and the letter of Philippians as a whole.

Following in the footsteps of the previous volumes, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament: Philippians, looks to eliminate the gap between the Greek text and the available lexical and grammatical tools, synthesizing all the necessary exegetical information into one convenient place. Essentially, aside from bringing his own expertise to the conversation, Hellerman has combed through all the necessary works published in the last few decades—lexical, grammatical, exegetical, etc.—collected the similarities and differences, and brought to the table everything the student would need to make an informed exegetical decision. As a personal exercise I translated the text as I read through the commentary, and there were several times that it felt as if Hellerman was personally walking me through the text providing the various interpretive options and exegetical insights needed to make a well informed decision on the text. This was the first time that I sought to translate and entire book while reading a commentary that dealt with textual and exegetical issues. It was a great exercise and ultimately a testimony to the helpfulness of the present volume for the student, pastor, or teacher.

The commentary begins with a brief introduction to Philippians which includes a concise conversation around typical introductory matters (authorship, date and provenance, occasion, etc.), as well as a ‘Recommended Commentaries’ section that highlights the primary works cited throughout the book. Each section of the commentary deals with a paragraph of text, and begins with a prepositional outline of the Greek text (UBS5). Followed by the prepositional outline, Hellerman guides the reader exegetically through each preposition, commenting on various lexical, grammatical, textual, and socio-historical issues. Ultimately, while discussing the conclusions of various commentators and other popular translations, Hellerman is effectively exhibiting the exegetical landscape of the letter to the student and directing attention where the need arises. I found this to be particularly helpful in the discussion surrounding Philippians 2:5-11. Each section of the book concludes with a “For Further Study” section that has a number of recommended journal articles and monographs on various topics related to the section being discussed. Additionally, each section includes “Homiletical Suggestions” section in which Hellerman has provided the reader with some suggested preaching divisions. Lastly, the back of the commentary includes both a grammar and scripture index, both of which will prove helpful for future reference.

In conclusion, if you are looking to preach or teach through Philippians in the near future, or simply want to obtain a better understanding of the letter in general, I would highly recommend Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament: Philippians. I could not think of a better starting place for the student, pastor, or teacher. The bar for the EGGNT series has just been raised!

[Michael Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books in the Bible that are quite frankly a joy to read. Many enjoy reading the Psalms and Proverbs. Others gravitate towards Romans or perhaps the Gospel of John. If we are talking about a book that is a joy to read, one cannot forget Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians as after all one of the main themes of this book has been stated to be that of joy. What is also a joy to read is a helpful commentary that provides salient exegetical insight into the text. If you are looking for such a tool when it comes to Philippians, I recommend Joseph Sellerman’s Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament: Philippians, edited by Andreas Kostenberger and Robert Yarbrough.

I will state that as noted in the title of the book, Sellerman’s efforts are largely spent exegeting the Greek text. This means there is a great deal of interaction with Greek. If you are not used to that or have not spent much time looking at the original biblical languages, do not let that unfamiliarity scare you off from using this book. Sellerman does a great job of explaining what terms mean in a way that is useful for both the seasoned exegete and Greek experts as well as for any laymen willing to devote time to studying the text.

This commentary begins with helpful background information on issues of authorship, literary integrity, date and location of writing, why Paul wrote this letter, some linguistic and rhetorical points of emphasis, as well as a useful outline of the book of Philippians. From there, Sellerman then begins engaging the text.

I fully appreciated the manner in which Sellerman not only explains word meanings in the context of Philippians, but also how he couches those definitions with salient cultural engagement. In order to grasp what Paul is saying in Philippians, one has to understand the audience, their issues, the culture in which they lived, and various other important points. Sellerman aptly engages all these relevant subjects and intersperses throughout his exegesis how those issues come to play in our understanding of what Paul is saying in this epistle.

A staple of this commentary series is the excellent bibliography located at the conclusion of each section. Most bibliographies are noted in the back of the book and are not divided into subject areas or the portion of the text where that particular resources much be proven useful. This commentary series takes a different approach, dividing the resource suggestions at the end of each periscope as to what portion of that text they address. I found this to be quite useful.

This is a commentary and a commentary series as a whole for that matter I highly recommend for seminary and bible college students, pastors, and anyone willing to dig into the meat of the Greek text. I am convinced you will find this to be a valuable resource for years to come and by using this in your studies of Philippians, you will have a much firmer grasp on what exactly Paul was saying to the believers in Philippi so long ago and why it matters for us today.

I received this book for free from B&H Academic and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”