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Klappentext This book is a study of Paul's response to the financial help he received from the church in Philippi whilst he was a prisoner in Rome. Philippians 4.10-20 has always puzzled commentators because of its seemingly strained and tortured mode of thanks. Word studies, psychological studies and literary studies have all failed to provide insight into the text, which is unique in the Pauline corpus. Using contemporary sources Dr Peterman reexamines this difficult passage in the light of Greek and Roman practices and language regarding the exchange of gifts and favours in society. He concludes that 'gift exchange' or 'social reciprocity', with its expectations and obligations, permeated every level of society in Paul's day, and that Paul's seemingly ungracious response was an attempt to create a new, Christian attitude to gifts and to giving. Zusammenfassung This book examines Paul's response to the financial help he received from the Philippians whilst he was a prisoner in Rome. The first study to look at this difficult text in the context of Greek and Roman practices of gift exchange! it sheds valuable new light on Paul's attitude to Christian giving and on his financial dealings with his churches. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface; List of Abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. Giving and receiving in the Old Testament and extra-biblical Jewish literature; 3. Giving and receiving in the Graeco-Roman world; 4. Partnership in Philippians 1-2; 5. Philippians 4.10-20: Paul's thank-you section; 6. Giving and receiving elsewhere in Paul's letters; 7. Conclusions and Implications; Appendix A: a selection of Seneca's texts; Appendix B: other uses of ¿O¿I¿ KAI AHM¥I¿; Appendix C: the support of wandering preachers and philosophers; Bibliography, Index of Greaco-Roman authors, Papyri and inscriptions; Index of biblical books with apocrypha and fathers; Index of modern authors.
