Bible Question: I am looking for background information on Phillipians. What was going on in the city and church when Paul was writing his letter? What was Paul doing then? (I know he was in jail, but where and why?) What was Paul's reason for writing the letter? What were the people like (geography, information like that)? I had this information at one point, but am trying to figure out how to find it again to help me understand Paul's purpose for writing the letter (get the context, essentially). |
Bible Answer: Greetings Pucktricks, Here is some info on Philippi (Acts 16:12-40; Acts 20:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 2:2).. "Philippi (1.) Formerly Crenides, “the fountain,” the capital of the province of Macedonia. It stood near the head of the Sea, about 8 miles north-west of Kavalla. It is now a ruined village, called Philibedjik. Philip of Macedonia fortified the old Thracian town of Crenides, and called it after his own name Philippi (359-336 B.C.). In the time of the Emperor Augustus this city became a Roman colony, i.e., a military settlement of Roman soldiers, there planted for the purpose of controlling the district recently conquered. It was a “miniature Rome,” under the municipal law of Rome, and governed by military officers, called duumviri, who were appointed directly from Rome. Having been providentially guided thither, here Paul and his companion Silas preached the gospel and formed the first church in Europe. (See LYDIA.) This success stirred up the enmity of the people, and they were “shamefully entreated” (Acts 16:9-40; 1Th_2:2). Paul and Silas at length left this city and proceeded to Amphipolis (q.v.)." (Easton's Bible Dictionary) "Philippi Philip'pi. (named from Philip of Macedonia). A city of Macedonia about nine miles from the sea, to the northwest of the island of Thasos, which is twelve miles distant from its port Neapolis, the modern Kavalla. It is situated in a plain between the ranges of Pangaeus and Haemus. The Philippi which St. Paul visited was a Roman colony founded by Augustus after the famous battle of Philippi, fought here between Antony and Octavius and Brutus and Cassius, B.C. 42. The remains which strew the ground near the modern Turkish village Bereketli are, no doubt, derived from that city. The original town, built by Philip of Macedonia, was probably not exactly on the same site." "Philip, when he acquired possession of the site, found there a town named Datus or Datum, which was probably in its origin a factory of the Phoenicians, who were the first that worked the gold-mines in the mountains here, as in the neighboring Thasos. The proximity of the goldmines was of course the origin of so large a city as Philippi, but the plain in which it lies is of extraordinary fertility. The position, too, was on the main road from Rome to Asia, the Via Egnatia, which from Thessalonica to Constantinople followed the same course as the existing post-road." "On St. Paul's visits to Philippi, see Philippians, The Epistle to The. At Philippi, the gospel was first preached in Europe. Lydia was the first convert. Here too, Paul and Silas were imprisoned. Act_16:23. The Philippians sent contributions to Paul to relieve his temporal wants." (Smith's Bible Dictionary) Of the place of writing, Ryrie's Study Bible writes: "Paul was imprisoned when this letter was written, but there is disagreement as to where. Some think he was in Caesarea, others Ephesus; yet he must undoubtedly have been in Rome. In 1:13 he mentions the praetorian guard, a Roman body of troops assigned to the emperor in Rome (see also 4:22). It is also clear that, in the trial facing Paul, his life was at stake, indicating that the trial was before Caesar in Rome (1:20). Although Paul was confined in Caesarea for two years, no final decision of his case was even in prospect there (Acts 24). Ephesus has been suggested as the place of writing on the basis of 1 Cor. 15:32, but there is no clear reference in that verse to an imprisonment." Blessings to you, Makarios |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Philippians | Author | ||
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pucktricks | ||
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Emmaus | ||
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Makarios | ||
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joygidget | ||
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ybfu | ||
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Edwardeddy2 | ||
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weit74 | ||
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rhphipp | ||
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Ghislaine | ||
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GHelen | ||
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PJLOVECHRIST | ||
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PJLOVECHRIST |