The Word of Life and the Simultaneous Presence of Scriptural Allusions: Resonances of Phil 2:12–18 with Deuteronomy, Deutero-Isaiah, and Daniel

Abstract

In recent scholarship on Philippians, there is renewed interest in Paul’s use of Israel’s Scriptures. While the separate textual interactions between Phil 2:12–18 and its evoked texts have been explored in detail by McAuley and others, this article attends to the simultaneous presence of the allusions to Deuteronomy, Deutero-Isaiah, and Daniel as a contribution to a coherent overall pragmatics, which does not, however, reduce the allusive force of scriptural passages. Attention to the composite nature of Paul’s scriptural intertext discovers the motif of the word of God as a central concern of the evoked texts, which has implications for the interpretation of the word of life in Phil 2:16.

1. Introduction

Scholarly interest in Paul’s use of Israel’s Scriptures is alive and well, producing a plethora of readings attuned to possible resonances of Paul’s arguments with this or that portion of Scripture as well as generating heated debates about methods, criteria, and sometimes taxonomy.

While such endeavours have often focussed mainly on Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, and Galatians, more recently Philippians too has been probed with a view to echoes and allusions to the Old Testament.1 That initially Philippians might seem like an unpromising candidate for such treatments, given its notorious lack of explicit citations of Scripture, has not deterred such investigations, and perhaps even spurred them on.2

While the allusion in Phil 1:19 to Job 13:16 has been recognised by many interpreters, not least since its forceful exposition by Hays, more recently, Phil 2:12–18 has attracted readings in the light of Israel’s Scriptures.3 Given its recognisably scriptural language, this should perhaps not be surprising. Philippians 2:12–18 has even been described as exhibiting a “sudden and profuse influx of echoes from the OT, which is unlike anything else in the Pauline corpus.”4 A few years ago, McAuley devoted an entire monograph to the passage and its various intertexts (including Deut 32:5)5 and in an article Allen has suggested further links to the song of Moses.6 Others have been less struck by the effect of the putative echoes. Yet, the question that arises for the interpretation of Phil 2:12–18 is the following: how does the supposed presence of the alluded scriptural texts shape the overall pragmatics of the passage?

Four sets of issues concerning method are up for debate.7 First, where (e.g., in Philippians) do such scriptural resonances occur?8 How can they be detected and by what criteria can they be defended? Second, to which scriptural passage or passages does any proposed locus of resonance point? And how can general use of the language of Old Greek traditions of Israel’s Scriptures be distinguished from concrete allusions? Third, how much of any scriptural passage that putatively resonates should be taken into consideration (let us call this metaleptic scope)?9 And at what level of meaning should the metaleptical potential be located (further words in the co-text, themes, narratives, etc.)?10 Fourth, for which aspect of the proposed overall interpretation are these resonances deemed to be relevant? Is the interpretation focused on the thoughts of the author (communicative intent or the thought process in the composition) or on the properties of the text itself or on its reception among its first or later readers?11

When it comes to a passage such as Phil 2:12–18, however, the simultaneous presence of several scriptural resonances can give rise to further interpretative considerations, which have not hitherto been sufficiently explored. Namely, do the various resonances interact with each other in their meaning contribution?12 Do the further co-texts of the textual units to which allusion is detected stand in relations to each other that might enhance a reading of the alluding text?

These questions require a preliminary remark on method. Metaleptic meaning contributions from allusions can have a recognisable effect on the overall pragmatics of a passage. Sometimes, considerations of the overall pragmatics are used as criteria for determining the metaleptic scope of allusions. For instance, McAuley sees the theme of suffering as an important aspect of the overall pragmatics of Phil 2.12–18 and uses this as a criterion to determine the metaleptic scope of the alluded-to texts.13 McAuley uses a model of rhetorical situation and “exigencies” and then discusses the effect of the allusions given the reconstructed rhetorical situation. This is a step forward, because it notices how the detection and effect of an allusion forms part of the overall pragmatics. For McAuley, Paul’s argument in Phil 2:12–18 aims at opposing a view of suffering which sees it as contrary to God’s will for Christ followers in Philippi. But making these reconstructed rhetorical “constraints” the criterion for determining how much of the original context of the alluded-to passages impinges on the reading of Philippians seems problematic. For this might, first, filter out potential meaning contributions from a recognised allusion that go beyond or stand in tension with the postulated pragmatics (just as an illustration might not be a great fit for the point it is adduced to clarify). Second, the determination of the overall pragmatics is not always separable from the contributions of metaleptic meanings. Third, intertextual relations between texts can range widely and go beyond what an author or a given audience envisaged or was able to realise.

Rather, it seems preferable, as I wish to propose here, to distinguish between the allusive–intertextual relations and their (literary) metaleptic meaning potential, on the one hand, and the postulated selective activations that contribute to an interpretation of the text containing allusions, on the other. In terms of method too, it seems preferable to separate the probing of metaleptic potential (which is based on textual relations) from the selection of the metaleptic scope to be brought in as a contribution to a specific interpretation of Phil 2:12–18. At least in principle, the textual exploration of metaleptical potential could command easier agreement from scholars, insofar as a certain literary relation between texts is concerned, than a correlation with a pragmatic situation that selects for activation only some of these elements.

This theoretical division is not meant as a neat separation of what is in practice interwoven. But it might help to avoid turning explorations of subtler echoes immediately into discussions about what Paul or his audiences might have recognised or not.14 What Paul meant or what some audience understood is, of course, the crucial issue for an interpretation of an alluding text such as Phil 2:12–18. But different interpretations could agree on the metaleptic landscape (or parts of it at least) without agreeing on the paths Paul or some reconstructed audience might have taken (or not taken) within it.

In this paper, I will do the following. First, I will walk through some of the main allusions of Phil 2:12–18 to Deuteronomy, Deutero-Isaiah, and Daniel that have been discussed by McAuley and others, and explore their metaleptic potential (Section 2). Second, I will discuss the composite intertext that results from attending to the relations between the alluded-to texts in their wider contexts and their interaction (Section 3). Third, I will correlate these observations with suggestions about a coherent overall pragmatics of the passage (Section 4), in which the motif of the word of God and an overall vocational constellation are made central.

2. Analysis of the Echoes in Phil 2:12–18 and Exploration of Their Metaleptic Potential

We begin with a discussion of the allusions to Scripture in Phil 2:12–18, recapitulating some of the results of McAuley and Allen, while adding further observations. In particular, I will draw attention to the motif of the word of God.

2.1. Phil 2:10–11

We will include, however, Phil 2:10–11 because of the close connection between the song of the Messiah (Phil 2:6–11) and our passage (Phil 2:12–18).15 For our purposes here, the question of authorship is not directly relevant; functionally, the hymn is fully integrated by Paul into a broader context (Phil 1:27–2:18).16 The lexematic links to the language of the hymn have often been noticed; for instance, ὑπηκούσατε in Phil 2:12 takes up ὑπήκοος in Phil 2:8.17 Now, if Paul did not compose the hymn, then the allusion to Isa 45:23 in Phil 2:10–11 is also not his decision; yet, without question, Paul is aware of the echo of the Isaiah passage in the language of Phil 2:10–11, and by drawing on the hymn he also adopts, as it were, its metaleptic heritage.18

The first allusion, then, that McAuley investigates, and which is well known and studied by scholarship on Philippians, is the universal acclamation of Jesus as Lord in Phil 2.10–11 (πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ; πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσηται), which alludes to Isa 45:23 OG:

By myself I swear (κατʼ ἐμαυτοῦ ὀμνύω), ‘Verily (Ἦ μὴν) righteousness shall go forth from my mouth; my words (οἱ λόγοι μου) shall not be turned back (οὐκ ἀποστραφήσονται), because to me every knee shall bow (ἐμοὶ κάμψει πᾶν γόνυ) and every tongue shall acknowledge God (ἐξομολογήσεται πᾶσα γλῶσσα τῷ θεῷ).’19

With this allusion to a decidedly monotheistic passage, it seems that the wider literary frame of Isa 40–55 is already evoked. We note here in particular, however, the statement about the words of God and their efficacy: οἱ λόγοι μου οὐκ ἀποστραφήσονται (Isa 45:23) (though they do not appear in the allusion marker in Phil 2:10–11).

2.2. Phil 2:12

The next allusion McAuley discusses is in Phil 2:12.20 He sees in the language of Phil 2:12 (μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου) a probable allusion to Ps 2:11 (δουλεύσατε τῷ κυρίῳ ἐν φόβῳ καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε αὐτῷ ἐν τρόμῳ). But this case is much less sure, as the collocation is commonly used by Paul,21 could point to various scriptural contexts,22 and is used in different senses.23 Hence, we will not consider it further for our purposes.

2.3. Phil 2:14

An important scriptural resonance, however, occurs in Phil 2:14 (χωρὶς γογγυσμῶν).24 As is often noted, this harks back to a tradition about “murmuring“ of the people of Israel in the desert against their leaders, especially Moses. The lexemes γογγυσμός and γογγύζειν occur frequently in the Exodus narrative. Often, a lack of water to drink is the immediate cause of murmuring,25 for instance in Exod 17:3 (ἐγόγγυζεν ἐκεῖ ὁ λαὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν).26

The murmuring is sometimes directed towards the leaders of Israel, but this indirectly implies the Lord, for instance in Num 14:27 (ἃ αὐτοὶ γογγύζουσιν ἐναντίον ἐμοῦ, τὴν γόγγυσιν τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ, ἣν ἐγόγγυσαν περὶ ὑμῶν, ἀκήκοα), where the Lord has heard the complaint against Moses and Aaron. But it can also directly be used as a complaint against God, such as in Num 14:29 (ὅσοι ἐγόγγυσαν ἐπʼ ἐμοί). The wider co-text contains the motifs of the name, of glory, and the Lord making an emphatic statement (Num 14:21 [ἀλλὰ ζῶ ἐγὼ καὶ ζῶν τὸ ὄνομά μου καὶ ἐμπλήσει ἡ δόξα κυρίου πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν]). The name and the glory are also important for Phil 2:10–11.27 But, in particular, we should note the similarly emphatic statement of Isa 45:23 (to which Phil 2.10–11 alludes).28

In the reminiscence of the wilderness murmuring of Psalm 105:25 (ἐγόγγυσαν ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασιν αὐτῶν), the motif of the word of God occurs in the co-text (οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν τῷ λόγῳ αὐτοῦ [Ps 105:24], cf. οὐκ εἰσήκουσαν τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου [Ps 105:25]).

The language of murmuring is also used in a context of disobedience, as a contrast to obedience to the word of God, and even trusting in a false word, for instance in Isa 30:12 LXX (Ὅτι ἠπειθήσατε τοῖς λόγοις τούτοις καὶ ἠλπίσατε ἐπὶ ψεύδει καὶ ὅτι ἐγόγγυσας καὶ πεποιθὼς ἐγένου ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ). In such a context, the language of sonship for the members of the people of Israel is put in question, as can be seen in Isa 30:9 (λαὸς ἀπειθής ἐστιν, υἱοὶ ψευδεῖς), in the co-text of Isa 30:12.

The language of sonship is used in Exod 4:22 in particular with regard to the people of Israel brought out from Egypt (Υἱὸς πρωτότοκός μου Ισραηλ). The term sonship in this sense is used normatively, with regard to maintaining a standard of obedience, which can in a sense be revoked, as might be the case in Deut 32:5 LXX (to which Phil 2:15 alludes).

In the same way, a connected passage, Isa 29:24 LXX, makes it clear that the contrast to murmuring is obedience (οἱ δὲ γογγύζοντες μαθήσονται ὑπακούειν). As the prophet speaks concretely about those who want to return to Egypt (Isa 30:2), he draws on the Exodus traditions, and calls in doubt the application of the language of sonship (Oὐαὶ τέκνα ἀποστάται [Isa 30:1]). Part of the cluster of motifs in the textual vicinity is the fear of God and the sanctification of the name of God (Isa 19:23: τὸν θεὸν τοῦ Ισραηλ φοβηθήσονται; ἁγιάσουσιν τὸ ὄνομά μου).

2.4. Phil 2:15

We will only mention in passing certain of the minor allusions proposed by scholars; for instance, in the statement ἵνα γένησθε ἄμεμπτοι (Phil 2:15), some have seen reference to Abraham in Gen 17:1 LXX (γίνου ἄμεμπτος).29 More suggestive might be the frequent use of the language of ἄμεμπτος in Job as a characterisation of Job himself, which is interesting in view of his not complaining against God even though he is sorely tried. This makes him a kind of contrast figure to the people murmuring in the wilderness. In Wis 16:21, Aaron is allusively characterised as a blameless man (ἀνὴρ ἄμεμπτος), which looks back to the episode in Num 16:41–50, following the challenge to the leadership of Moses and Aaron cited above.

We now turn to one of the major literary allusions in our passage, which has often been discussed.30 The words of Phil 2:15 (τέκνα θεοῦ ἄμωμα μέσον γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης) recall Deut 32:5:

ἡμάρτοσαν οὐκ αὐτῷ τέκνα μωμητά, γενεὰ σκολιὰ καὶ διεστραμμένη

“blemished children, not his, have sinned, a generation, crooked and perverse”31

The extent of the alluding text is debated, but the formulation γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης clearly evokes γενεὰ σκολιὰ καὶ διεστραμμένη in Deut 32:5 LXX. A similar formulation also occurs at Deut 32:20 LXX (γενεὰ ἐξεστραμμένη ἐστίν), where the application of the language of sonship is similarly cast in doubt (υἱοί, οἷς οὐκ ἔστιν πίστις ἐν αὐτοῖς).

Furthermore, the use of the language of τέκνα θεοῦ ἄμωμα in Phil 2:15 contrasts with the οὐκ αὐτῷ τέκνα μωμητά of Deut 32:5. Some manuscripts of Phil 2:15 read ἀμώμητα instead of ἄμωμα, offering a more direct contrast to the wording of Deuteronomy, though the two variants are semantically close.32 The variant can be interpreted as an adaptation to strengthen the link to Deut 32:5 and hence as evidence that ancient readers recognised the allusion.33 It is also possible, that the variant is a result of a different Vorlage, the action of memory, or due to the transformation from a negative statement into a positive one. The addition of θεοῦ to τέκνα seems to make explicit what on one possible reading of Deut 32:5 is in contrast with οὐκ αὐτῷ [sc. θεῷ, SD, cf. θεός in Deut 32:4 as the subject] τέκνα. It also perhaps expands the sense of sonship as a metaphor for the people of God implicit in Exod 4:22.

2.5. Phil 2:16

The allusion in Phil 2:15 is to the song of Moses in Deut 32, one of the more well-known passages towards the end of the Pentateuch.34 This is not the only resonance, however. Phil 2:12–18 also resonates at further points with the song of Moses, as Allen (2017) already observed. For the language of λόγον ζωῆς in Phil 2:16 overlaps at multiple points with the language used after the song of Moses in Deut 32, which will be worth considering in more detail. In Deut 32:46–47, the following exhortation is enjoined by Moses:

“Pay heed with your heart to all these words (ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς λόγους τούτους) that I am testifying against you today, which things you shall command your sons, to guard and to perform all the words of this law (πάντας τοὺς λόγους τοῦ νόμου τούτου). 47 Because this is not an empty word for you (οὐχὶ λόγος κενὸς οὗτος ὑμῖν), since it is your very life (αὕτη ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν), and through this word (ἕνεκεν τοῦ λόγου τούτου) you shall live long in the land into which you are crossing over the Jordan there to inherit.”35

Here, the words spoken by Moses in one day, according to the literary setting of Deuteronomy (cf. Deut 1:3), including the Song of Moses (Deut 32:1–43), are to be kept and held on to. The words of this law—or, in a summative phrase, this word (λόγος … οὗτος; τοῦ λόγου τούτου [Deut 32:47])—are identified as the very life of the hearers, that according to which their life is to be lived (αὕτη ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν [Deut 32:47]). The phrase λόγος ζωῆς as applied to this “testament” of Moses would neatly sum up the point of Deut 32:47 and the point of the exhortation at the end is that they keep it and hold on to it (cf. φυλάσσειν καὶ ποιεῖν [Deut 32:47]). Thus, the phrase λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες in Phil 2:16 seems strongly to resonate also with this aspect of the Song of Moses, as Allen has observed.36

Perhaps the narrative context of the entering in the land hinted in Deut 32:47 (“crossing over the Jordan there to inherit”) could be correlated with the opponents envisaged in Philippians.37 In the larger literary unit of our passage, Phil 1:27–2:18, they figure, for instance, in Phil 1:28 (μὴ πτυρόμενοι ἐν μηδενὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντικειμένων).38 Recognising such an allusion would be an example for a meaning potential at the level of larger narrative configurations, which could be activated in an interpretation of Phil 2:12–18.

Rather than being simply an element of Paul’s Mosaic self-characterisation, the entire constellation would then be relevant for a comparison with Paul: as Moses towards the end of his life and before the promised land speaks the words of life to be held on to by the people of God as their vocation without fear in the light of opponents, so now does Paul, facing possible death in prison, speak the words of the gospel which the Christ followers in Philippi, without fear in the face of opposition, are called to hold on to and to hold forth.

The resonance of Deut 32:47 brought to bear in Phil 2:16 is also interesting in light of the motif of κενός which qualifies the contrast in Deut 32:47 between a word which brings life and a word which is empty.39 Though the language of κενός is used differently in Phil 2:16 (οὐκ εἰς κενὸν ἔδραμον οὐδὲ εἰς κενὸν ἐκοπίασα), as it probably alludes to Isa 49:4 (and Isa 65:4), its presence in Deut 32:47 should also be noted. A word that is empty is one that does not bear out in effects in the life of those to whom it is addressed. In the case of Moses, the consequence is the threat of exile (cf. Deut 32:26). In the case of Paul, it would mean that the work that began in Philippi is not completed and the grounds for mutual boasting on the day of judgment falls away.40

The language of λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες in Phil 2:16, however, might also resonate with the book of Daniel, once the more explicit allusion to Dan 12:3 already in Phil 2:15 is recognised.41 For the language of ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ in Phil 2:15 probably alludes to Dan 12:3 OG:42

“And those who are intelligent (οἱ συνιέντες) will light up like the luminaries of heaven (φανοῦσιν ὡς φωστῆρες τοῦ οὐρανοῦ), and those who strengthen my words (οἱ κατισχύοντες τοὺς λόγους μου) will be as the stars of heaven (τὰ ἄστρα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ) forever and ever”.43

While the connection of Phil 2:15 with Dan 12:3 is frequently observed, the further, secondary, link with Phil 2:16 is less often noted.44 But, of course, λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες in Phil 2:16 and οἱ κατισχύοντες τοὺς λόγους μου in Dan 12:3 OG are further possible resonances. The semantic ranges of ἐπέχοντες and κατισχύοντες share some similar territory at least on certain interpretations.45 Interestingly, it seems that both standard interpretations of ἐπέχοντες in Phil 2:15, holding fast and holding forth, could be semantically seen as allusively parallel to κατισχύοντες, either as making the words stronger in the way they are held or in the way they are presented to others.

The motif of the word (λόγος) would then appear both in the surface text of Phil 2:15, but also in the co-text of the passages alluded to in Phil 2:10–18, namely Isa 45:23, Deut 32:47 (co-text of Dan 32:5), and Dan 12:3. This would be an example for an interaction between the intertexts, or a shared thematic overlap in the metaleptic meaning potential.

The meaning of the allusion to Dan 12:3 in Phil 2:15 is controversial, though the general import seems clear. The comparison of the language of φανεῖν ὡς φωστῆρες τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (Dan 12:3) and φανεῖν ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῷ (Phil 2:15) indicates a subtle change (or a different memory), if this wording was indeed in the Vorlage. The word φωστήρ could be used simply of a lamp or it could refer to the “lamps” in the night sky, the stars (cf. Gen 1:14 LXX). The word κόσμος could be used to refer to the universe as a whole or just to the sky or to the world.46 The phrase ἐν κόσμῷ could thus either be part of the description of the source of the figurative language (“shine like stars in the universe”), or of the language used in applying the figurative language (“shine like stars” or “shine like lights”) in the world, among the people who by implication are in the dark like the night sky or the darkness in absence of lights.47

At the level of the application of the imagery, it is debated whether specifically missionary activity is implied (speaking the word of the gospel, cf. Phil 1:14 τὸν λόγον λαλεῖν) or whether it is more broadly about a life-style and behaviour (which may include words of proclaiming the gospel), or even whether the image is merely used as contrastive without specific determination.48

The final allusion that is discussed by McAuley and others, and at which we hinted already, concerns the language of εἰς κενὸν τρέχειν (aor. ἔδραμον) and εἰς κενὸν κοπιᾶν (Phil 2:15). It is frequently recognised that allusion is made to Isa 49:4:

But I said, “I have labored vainly (Κενῶς ἐκοπίασα), and I have given my strength in vain (εἰς μάταιον) and for nothing (εἰς οὐθὲν); therefore my judgment is with the Lord (ἡ κρίσις μου παρὰ κυρίῳ), and my toil before my God.”49

There is some linguistic variation here (the adverb κενῶς instead of the prepositional phrase εἰς κενὸν; the prepositional construction, however, occurs in the semantically near parallels εἰς μάταιον or εἰς οὐθὲν). There are other possible candidates for the allusion (e.g., Isa 65:23), which is why McAuley argues for this reference specifically.50 Note that the theme of judgment (κρίσις) would resonate with the implicit judgment envisaged in the day of the Christ in Phil 2:16 (εἰς ἡμέραν Χριστοῦ).51 In its own literary context, these words are spoken by the figure of the servant.

Also, Isa 65:23 resonates with the language used in Phil 2:16:

And my chosen ones shall not labor in vain (οὐ κοπιάσουσιν εἰς κενὸν), nor bear children for a curse, because they are an offspring blessed by God.

In Isa 65 the literary context speaks of an eschatological new creation.

3. The Nature of the Composite Intertext and Its Resonances as Functions of Pragmatic Aspects

In this section, we consider the composite nature of the intertext that Paul evokes in Phil 2:12–18. The co-texts of the evoked passages have meaning potentials—thematic, narrative (e.g., related to a figure), or others. These might be brought to bear separately on an interpretation of Phil 2:12–18, which would postulate some selection of them as activated and suggest their pragmatic import.52

However, in the case of the intertexts evoked in Phil 2:12–18, a fuller type of interpretation seems possible, which considers the meaning potential of the intertexts concurrently. There are certain interconnections between the resonances which result in an overall composite intertext.

In this section, we consider some of the meaning potential of these interconnections, which are textual–literary relations. Only in the next section will we consider how an interpretation might stipulate some of them as activated (though there will be advance hints already in this section).

3.1. Literary Relations between the Intertexts

For the purpose of this first step, the evaluation of the simultaneous metaleptic potential, we will consider larger literary units, such as Deut 32 OG and Isaiah 40–55 OG (as Paul alludes explicitly to Isa 45 and Isa 49 and thereby also activates larger contexts).53 While Paul will not have considered Isa 40–55 a literary unit in the way modern scholarship sees it,54 there is still some merit in assuming that the servant motifs and the thematic inclusio concerning the word of God might have made this a recognisable unit.55

We begin by a consideration of Deuteronomy 32 and Deutero-Isaiah, two texts that figure prominently in the scriptural reservoir on which Paul draws.56 While Paul alludes to both of these larger texts in Phil 2:10–2:18, the relations between these evoked texts deserve study with regard to the meaning potential that could be activated by a reading of Phil 2:10–18 attuned to the simultaneous presence and interaction of the allusions.

There are strong thematic and literary resonances between Deuteronomy and Deutero-Isaiah.57 We will focus here on the links between Deut 32 and Isa 40–55.58 There are the statements of divine incomparability and exclusive monotheism in Deut 32:39 OG (ἴδετε ἴδετε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν θεὸς πλὴν ἐμοῦ) and in Isa 45:22 OG (ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ θεός, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλος), in the immediate vicinity of Isa 45:23, to which Phil 2:10–11 alludes.59 The kind of divine “I am” statement found in Deut 32:39 OG (ἐγώ εἰμι) occurs frequently in Deutero-Isaiah, clustering especially around Isa 45.60 While the phrase appears elsewhere, only here does it occur in “YHWH’s own self-presentation.”61 This monotheistic context is important in view of the quotation of Isa 45:23 in Phil 2:10–11. Some strong links between Deutero-Isaiah and Deuteronomy are not apparent in the Greek translation, but only show up in the Hebrew.62 Note also that the references to God as faithful in Deut 32:4 (θεὸς πιστός) are matched by Isa 49:7 (πιστός ἐστιν ὁ ἅγιος Ισραηλ).63 Further points of contact between the textual traditions of Deutero-Isaiah and Deut 32, as discussed by Kim, are the exodus (and new exodus) motif of the wing of the eagles,64 the call to heaven and earth65, the call to remember the days of old,66 idol polemics,67 and the vengeance motif,68 where these last two are less pertinent for Philippians.

Of potential relevance for Philippians, however, is a further link between Deut 32 and Deutero-Isaiah, namely the language about the servant and the servants.69 It is used in the plural in Deut 32:36 (ἐπὶ τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ παρακληθήσεται) and in the MT it also occurs in Deut 32:43,70 while it occurs frequently in Deutero-Isaiah, especially in the servant songs.71 Some have suggested that Deutero-Isaiah derives its conception of the “servant” from Deut 32.72 Incidentally, the notion of the servant is also interesting in view of Dan 12:3, to which, as discussed above, Phil 2:16 alludes.73 Indeed, the literary context of Dan 12:1–3 seems influenced by the servant passages from Deutero-Isaiah at multiple points.74 Noteworthy with regard to Phil 2:12–18 (in the wider context of the letter) is the theme of discernment,75 and the motif of shining like stars,76 among others.77

3.2. The Word of God in the Intertexts

A further strong link between Deut 32 and Deutero-Isaiah concerns the motif of the word of God. Indeed, the motif of the word (λόγος, ῥῆμα) appears in a load-bearing fashion in the wider co-text of three of the evoked passages (Isa 40–55 evoked by Isa 45:23 and 49:4; Deut 32 evoked by Deut 32:5 (cf. Deut 32:47), and Dan 12:3),78 but is also present in the surface text of Phil 2:12–18, namely in Phil 2:16 (λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες).

In the case of Deut 32, the motif does not appear in the “marked” of the allusion (Deut 32.5).79 But it is very prominent both in the beginning of the song of Moses (Deut 32:1 [λαλήσω; ῥήματα ἐκ στόματός μου]; 32:2 [τὸ ἀπόφθεγμά μου; τὰ ῥήματά μου])80 and immediately after the song, in passage framing of its intended reception81 (Deut 32:44 [πάντας τοὺς λόγους τοῦ νόμου τούτου]; Deut 32:46 [προσέχετε τῇ καρδίᾳ ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς λόγους τούτους]; Deut 32:47 [οὐχὶ λόγος κενὸς οὗτος ὑμῖν; ἕνεκεν τοῦ λόγου τούτου]).82 And it also corresponds to the wider genre of Deuteronomy, being a song spoken in poetic recapitulation of the giving of the law as a way of life in the context of the desert wanderings, towards the end of life of Moses, as indicated in the literary frame.83

The word of God is also central in prophetic texts. Within Deutero-Isaiah, the motif of the words of God occurs in a context of God being the speaker in Isa 45:23 (ἐξελεύσεται ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου δικαιοσύνη, οἱ λόγοι μου οὐκ ἀποστραφήσονται).84 These words are not in the alluding marker of Phil 2:10–11, but are important in the pre-text.85 Further, note the occurrence in Isa 51:16 (θήσω τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὸ στόμα σου), again God being the speaker, addressing his people in Jerusalem.86 At the beginning of Deutero-Isaiah, the motif occurs in Isa 40:8 (τὸ δὲ ῥῆμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα). It further appears, now thematising the supportive relation of God to the servant with regard to his words, in Isa 44:26 (ἱστῶν ῥήματα παιδὸς αὐτοῦ). But, notably, it can also be found towards the end of Deutero-Isaiah, in Isa 55:11, forming a kind of inclusio with Isa 40:8:

“[S]o shall my word be (οὕτως ἔσται τὸ ῥῆμά μου), whatever goes out from my mouth (ὃ ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου); it shall not return (οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ) until whatever I have willed is fulfilled (ἕως ἂν συντελεσθῇ ὅσα ἠθέλησα)”87

The promise of the efficacy of God’s word and the language of fulfilment (συντελεσθῇ) resonates with the further context of Philippians. Phil 2:12–13 envisages a kind of synergy between divine and human action, which is geared to the fulfilment of divine purpose. The holding fast or forth of the word of life in Phil 2:16 also stresses the confidence in the fulfilment of divine purpose, not least in an eschatological frame (cf. already in Phil 1:6 [ὁ ἐναρξάμενος ἐν ὑμῖν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐπιτελέσει ἄχρι ἡμέρας Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ]). It is notable that the motif of joy occurs in Isa 55:12, immediately following the passage cited above, just as also Phil 2:17–18 ends in a note of joy.88

While Isa 55 is of course not alluded to directly in Phil 2:12–18, the argument here turns on the claim that an allusion may evoke a larger co-text and hence prominent themes within it. And in the case of several intertexts, the interactions between them might further emphasise a shared motif like the word of God, which is even more plausible given its presence in the alluding text (Phil 2:16). In this regard, an interesting example for such an interaction among the evoked texts is the link between the Song of Moses and Isa 55 provided by the simile of the rain in connection with the word of God.

For the beginning of the song of Moses appeals to sky and earth to listen to the words of Moses (ῥήματα ἐκ στόματός μου [Deut 32:1 OG]; τὸ ἀπόφθεγμά μου; τὰ ῥήματά μου [Deut 32:2 OG]) and compares their reception with rain (ὑετός), dew, (δρόσος), a rainstorm (ὄμβρος), and a snowstorm (νιφετός). While in Deut 32 this description is not applied directly to the words of God, but to those of Moses, this difference should not be pressed too strongly. Moses speaks prophetically and Deuteronomy offers itself as a presentation of words of God spoken through Moses to Israel.89 In Isa 55, however, the prophetic words are presented as direct divine speech.90 The effect of the words of God is compared with respect to its inevitability (and possibly fruitfulness) with rain (ὑετός) and snow (χιών) falling from the sky (Isa 55:10), the immediate context for correlative “so shall my word be” in Isa 55:11 (οὕτως ἔσται τὸ ῥῆμά μου).

As we have seen in Section 2, the motif of the word of God also occurs in the context of the murmuring traditions.91

Finally, the motif of the word of God is also important in Dan 12:3 OG (οἱ κατισχύοντες τοὺς λόγους μου), though it does not appear in the rendering of Theodotion (which reads instead ἀπὸ τῶν δικαίων τῶν πολλῶν). As McAuley has shown, it is likely that Paul interacts with a version similar to Dan 12:3 OG in alluding to it in Phil 2:15–16.92 In the wider context of the book of Daniel, λόγος and ῥῆμα are used, but not in connection with a word of God, so that Dan 12:3 appears singular in its reference to the words of God.93 In the case of Dan 12:3 the motif of the word of God appears in the “marked”, though not in the marker, unless Phil 2:16 (λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες) is seen as alluding to it.94

4. Suggestions towards a Coherent Overall Pragmatics

In this section, we draw together our close textual observations and analyse their possible contribution to a coherent pragmatics of the passage.

In the following, I will argue for a specific interpretation of the contribution of the simultaneously evoked intertexts in Phil 2:10–18. That is, I will argue for a selection from the metaleptic meaning potential that I ascribe to Paul’s awareness and perhaps communicative intent.95 To make this more definite, I will first sketch a hypothesis about the pragmatic setting (Section 4.1). Next, I will show that the overall constellation of Paul and his audience in relation to the gospel vocation is relevant for the pragmatics and for the metaleptic meaning contribution from the intertexts (Section 4.2). I will then propose that Paul is aware of the word of God theme in the metaleptic background and uses it for his own presentation of the gospel vocation of the Christ followers in Philippi (Section 4.3). Finally, I will suggest what this might reveal about Paul’s scripturally sourced reflections upon his vocation (Section 4.4).

4.1. The Pragmatic Setting

To give more specificity to a sketch of the overall pragmatics, I will outline here my assumptions about Paul’s context for Phil 2:12–18.96 There are five steps.

First, the general outline of Paul and his task in relation to the task of the Christ followers in Philippi. Paul sees it as his fundamental task to live in such a way that his life displays the meaning of the Christ event. As apostle to the Gentiles (Rom 11:13), he further wants to establish and promote groups of Christ followers, who live in the same missional way.97 In Philippians, this is collaboration in terms of a gospel work, which is also seen as God working in them, towards the completion in the eschaton, is clearly present in Phil 1:6, but also in Phil 1:11. Furthermore, it is stated clearly in Phil 1:27, which rhetorically constitutes a thesis statement, providing a title for the whole section that follows (Phil 1:27–2:18).98 Living a life worthy of the gospel (μόνον ἀξίως τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ πολιτεύεσθε) means producing appropriate signs with all of one’s life’s actions.99

Second, Paul’s specific situation in writing this passage. Paul is imprisoned, perhaps in Ephesus, and faces the possibility that he might die, as he lets on in Phil 2:17.100

Third, his concerns in this situation. This situation prompts specific reflections about on his own vocation and, relatedly, about the vocation of the Christ followers in Philippi. These together are the immediate context for understanding Phil 2:12–18.

Fourth, regarding the vocation of the Philippians. With regard to the Philippians, this means that Paul wants to prepare them for the possibility of his demise. This might entail consoling them anticipatorily but, more importantly, for his concerns, preparing them to be able to live faithfully even after his death, in such a way that the eschatological judgment about their faithful vocational life and his leadership in this respect is positive.101 This message has a double function.102 In case of a positive outcome, with which Paul seems to reckon, this message will encourage them in the way to proceed even if Paul further guides them. In the case of an adverse outcome, which Paul thinks is possible, the writing would be akin to a testamentary writing with instructions for living.103 This might explain the character of a testament of our passage, or least its exhibiting certain features of the genre.104

Fifth, concerning his own vocation. The prospect of Paul’s death probably prompts reflections about his own vocation and what his death might mean about achieving his hopes or missing the goal.

4.2. The Overall Constellation

In this section I argue that one of the aspects of the metaleptic meaning contribution of the intertexts evoked in Phil 2:12–18 of which Paul is aware is a certain overall constellation, which is found analogously in Deut 32, Deutero-Isaiah, and Dan 12, and fits with the basic pragmatics of Phil 1:27–2:18 even without the recognition of the scriptural resonances.

Throughout Phil 1:27–2:18, Paul is concerned with his own vocation, but also with that of the Christ followers in Philippi and their interrelation.105 If this is the case, then the activation of the metaleptic potential brought to bear on a fuller interpretation of the passage should also make its specific contribution in terms of an entire constellation, and not just individual aspects such as the identity of either Paul or the Philippians in isolation.

Thus, while the evoked texts imply an analogy between Paul and Moses (Deuteronomy),106 Paul’s construction of identity as such is not itself the point.107 In the same way, while the evoked texts imply an analogy between the Christ followers in Philippi and Israel in the narratives of the wilderness,108 the determination of the nature of the Philippian Christ followers’ relation to the people of Israel is not as such the pragmatic issue.109 Rather, the primary pragmatic concern of the passage is, I suggest, the gospel vocation of the community and Paul’s role in shaping the life of the communities that this requires. His concern is that their vocation to display Christ in their lives succeeds.110

He discerns actual adversity or expects likely opposition to their living of this calling. The implicit comparison with the wilderness murmuring tradition does indeed cast the community in Philippi in a role analogous to the people of Israel in the desert (though in a different eschatological era).111 But the point is not to explore their identity vis-à-vis Israel but to exhort them to a proper way of life in their circumstances, in which similar temptations might arise.

Again, whether Paul sees analogies between himself and Moses, the figure of the servant, or the Danielic wise men as an aspect of self-understanding or presentation is not the pragmatic point of the passage. Nor should it then be the point of the meaning contribution from a fuller recognition of the activated metaleptic meaning potential in an interpretation.112

Rather, the shared meaning potential of the evoked texts (Deut 32, Deutero-Isaiah, and Dan 12) includes as an overall constellation the relation between a leader figure (Moses, the servant, or the group of the understanding ones)113 and the wider people of God, set in a contested environment, which influences some of the people of God. In all these cases, there is a dialectic between the fulfilment of the purpose of the leadership figure and the life led by the group to which the leader figure is connected.

It is likely that Paul is aware of this constellation within the metaleptic landscape of his evoked texts. Since this constellation fits with his own relationship with the Philippians, it seems probable that Paul is not only aware of it but that it even forms part of his communicative intent for his hearers.114

4.3. The Role of the Word of God

The phrase in which the motif occurs in Phil 2:16 (λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες) is of central importance for Phil 2:12–18, but also for the entire sweep of Phil 1:27–2:18.115

Its interpretation leaves room for debates, especially about the semantics of ἐπέχειν,116 about the question of whether a missional aspect is in view or not, and, if so, in what form,117 and about the verb which the participial phrase is supposed to modify.118

The phrase λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες belongs to the semantic level of a life worthy of the gospel as indicated in the crucial summary phrase in Phil 1:27 (μόνον ἀξίως τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ πολιτεύεσθε; συναθλοῦντες τῇ πίστει τοῦ εὐαγγελίου), and which via Phil 1:30 recalls both Paul’s description of his current plight with a view to the gospel in Phil 1:12–26, and before that Phil 1:5 and Phil 1:10–11. In the light of Phil 1:14 (τὸν λόγον λαλεῖν), the words λόγον ζωῆς of Phil 2:16 almost certainly refer to the gospel.119

What is in view, however, is not simply proclamation of the word about Christ, but an entire way of life that proclaims the gospel (which includes verbal proclamation).120 In the wider co-text, this becomes clear from the comprehensive meaning of Phil 1:27 (ἀξίως τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ πολιτεύεσθε), in the immediate co-text, from the fact that an instruction like Phil 1:14 aims at a way of conduct which leads to holiness and unity in the face of adversity, which itself produces signs of the gospel. Furthermore, the designation as “blameless children of God” (Phil 2:15) opens a dialectic process between a gift and a task which is fulfilled in life’s actions. This behaviour itself is missional. It is oriented towards the word of life and itself a life that proclaims the word.121

In recent literature, it has been recognised that λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες might also be an important allusion. McAuley has heard the allusion to Dan 12:3.122 Allen has noticed the allusion to Deut 32:46–47. I would like to suggest that these are both true. Furthermore, the motif of the word of God, both in the wider context of Deutero-Isaiah and in the murmuring traditions, which we have analysed, should be added here as well. This cumulative case speaks for understanding λόγον ζωῆς really as “word of life” here.123

This, then, is the vocation of the Philippian Christ followers; Paul’s vocation is directly related with this. For Paul intends the Philippians to live congruently with his interpretation of the gospel, and sees it as his own role to promote and encourage such a kind of missional life in his communities. In particular, this is concretised in conditions of adversity, opposition, suffering, and perhaps internal strain over these challenges.

Here, there is an interesting parallel element in the wider setting of the evoked texts. In the case of Deut 32, the words Moses gives in the song are supposed to guide a way of life of the addressed people of Israel, to which the leading figure exhorts them (Deut 32:46–47), as their way of living in a manner pleasing to God, in a context of outsiders who tempt some in the group not to live up to their vocation. In the case of Dan 12:3, though the setting is an eschatological future, the figures of the wise ones are supposed to teach many of the people, again in a context of fierce opposition and various positions within the group against that opposition. Finally, in Deutero-Isaiah, the role of the servant is to lead many others to a righteousness, in which the understanding and instruction in a way of just living are important (cf. Isa 52:13 OG; Isa 53:11 OG).

In all three situations and constellations from the evoked texts, as well as the situation and constellation for Philippians, the word of God is of central importance. The song of Moses, the Isaianic oracles, the instructions of the Danielic wise ones, and also Paul’s exhortation to life worthy of the gospel are all deeply rooted in the words of God which mediate vocational life in the eschatological present.

4.4. Drawing on Scriptural Memory

The evoked texts seem to attest to Scripture’s role in Paul’s personal reflections about his vocation and its achievement, which his imprisonment occasioned. This need not be imagined as a process of consulting scrolls (which might not be available), but as a matter of reflection from scripturally sourced memory. It seems very likely that Paul would have known Deut 32, substantial portions of Deutero-Isaiah, and probably also Dan 12 by heart.

In thinking about the rejection of his message, and possibly also his less-than-ideal court proceedings, Paul perhaps reflected on the word of God and its efficacy. He would already identify the gospel about Christ with the concrete shape of the word of God in the end times, a word spoken in advance in Scripture about Christ and those who belong to him. And this word, the gospel, is to be what shapes their vocation, the way of life to which Paul exhorts them, possibly as a kind of “testament”.124

5. Conclusions

To conclude, I would like to offer the following brief observations.

First, it seems worthwhile further to investigate the simultaneous activation of various scriptural intertexts in Pauline letters.

Second, it seems advisable to distinguish between the metaleptic meaning potential of one or more intertexts, tracing the literary connections, the postulated activations (and their pragmatic import) of some elements from this meaning potential in an interpretation of either Paul’s thought or his first audiences (or some other hermeneutical locus).

Third, Paul’s allusions in Phil 2:12–18 evoke longer passages of Scripture, in particular Deuteronomy, Deutero-Isaiah, and Daniel, in which a constellation between a leader and a group who have a vocation to be faithful to a word of God in a contested environment is particularly prominent. This fits with Paul’s own situation with regard to the Philippians.

Fourth, a connecting thread in the evoked texts from Deuteronomy, Deutero-Isaiah, and Daniel is the motif of the word of God. With the phrase λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες (Phil 2:16), Paul alludes to this motif and in particular to Dan 12:3 and Deut 32:46–47. Hence, attention to the simultaneous presence of several scriptural intertexts seems to offer a glimpse of Paul’s scripturally sourced vocational reflection.