2:27 God can be thanked for his mercy when one of his faithful servants recovers from an illness

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS

I. Gratitude to God for the congregation’s love and faithfulness (1:1-11)

A. Confidence that they may continue to completion (1:1-7)

B Prayer they will grow in knowledge and discernment (1:8-11)

II. Results of Paul’s efforts in prison (1:12-20)

A. His making pubic the reason why he is in bonds encourages brothers to speak fearlessly (1:12-14)

B. Christ publicized whether done in sincerity or contentiousness (1:15-20)

III. Paul’s desire in the Philippians’ behalf, and counsel on conduct (1:21–2:18)

A. He may die, but if he stays on he can benefit them (1:21-26)

B. They should stand firm, without fear, be willing to suffer (1:27-30)

C. Love one another, maintaining humility, as Christ did (2:1-11)

D. Maintain blamelessness, be illuminators, keep grip on word of life (2:12-18)

IV. Timothy and Epaphroditus to be sent to Philippi (2:19-30)

A. Timothy will genuinely care for their interests in Christ (2:19-24)

B. Epaphroditus’ faithfulness, his sickness; exhortation to hold him as dear to them (2:25-30)

V. Warning against “those who mutilate the flesh” (3:1-21)

A. Those of the true “circumcision” serve by God’s spirit and do not boast in the flesh (3:1-4a)

B. Righteousness through faith in Christ the important thing (3:4b-11)

1. Paul could boast in being a Hebrew and keeper of law according to Pharisaical concept (3:4b-6)

2. But he counts these fleshly things as refuse, looks to attaining resurrection through Christ (3:7-11)

C. Though not yet having laid hold on prize, Paul forgets all other things to strive for it (3:12-21)

1. He encourages Philippians to imitate his example (3:17)

2. Enemies of torture stake have minds on earthly things, but true Christians’ citizenship is in heavens (3:18-21)

VI. Exhortation to unity, rejoicing, proper thinking and practice (4:1-9)

A. Euodia and Syntyche exhorted to be of same mind in Lord (4:1-3)

B. Rejoice, be reasonable, not anxious, relying on God (4:4-7)

C. Consider things righteous, true, lovable (4:8, 9)

VII. Report on Paul’s affairs in prison (4:10-23)

A. Through strength of God, Paul self-sufficient (4:10-13)

B. Philippians have always shared; now their provisions through Epaphroditus abundant, as an acceptable sacrifice to God (4:14-18)

C. Assurance of God’s blessing, greetings and prayer for their welfare (4:19-23)

PHILISTIA, PHILISTINES

(Phi·lisʹti·a, Phi·lisʹtines).

During a major part of the Hebrew Scripture period the Philistines occupied the coastal plain of Canaan and were among Israel’s avowed enemies. (Isa. 9:12; 11:14) An uncircumcised (2 Sam. 1:20), polytheistic people (Judg. 16:23; 2 Ki. 1:2; see BAAL-ZEBUB; DAGON), the Philistines superstitiously consulted their priests and diviners to make decisions. (1 Sam. 6:2; compare Isaiah 2:6.) And their warriors, when going into battle, carried idols of their gods. (2 Sam. 5:21) Within their land, known as Philistia (Ex. 15:14; Ps. 60:8; 87:4; 108:9; Isa. 14:29, 31), lay the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath. For centuries each of these cities was ruled over by an axis lord.—Josh. 13:3; 1 Sam. 29:7; see Axis LORDS.

Covering an area from a point near Joppa in the N down to Gaza in the S, Philistia stretched for about fifty miles (80 kilometers) along the Mediterranean Sea (Ex. 23:31), and extended some fifteen miles (24 kilometers) inland. The “sea of the Philistines” evidently refers to the part of the Mediterranean that bordered the coast of Philistia. The sand dunes along the coast penetrate the land for a considerable distance, sometimes for as much as four miles (6.4 kilometers). Apart from this, the region is fertile and supports grain, olive groves and fruit trees.

HISTORY

The island of Crete (usually held to be identical with Caphtor), though not necessarily the original home of the Philistines, was the place from which they migrated to the coast of Canaan. (Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7; see CAPHTOR, CAPHTORIM; CRETE, CRETANS.) Just when this migration began is uncertain. However, as early as the time of Abraham and his son Isaac, Philistines resided at Gerar in southern Canaan. They had a king, Abimelech, and an army under the command of a certain Phicol.—Gen. 20:1, 2; 21:32-34; 26:1-18; see ABIMELECH No. 1 and No. 2.

Some object to the Genesis references to Philistine residence in Canaan, arguing that the Philistines did not settle there until the twelfth century B.C.E. But this objection does not rest on a solid basis. A Dictionary of the Bible, edited by James Hastings (Vol. III, p. 847), comments: “The proofs that the Philistine migration had not begun as early as the time of Abraham are not so decisive as many imagine. Whenever the Philistine settlements began, they probably began on a relatively small scale.” Similarly, The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Vol. IV, p. 2378) observes: “The conjecture that they were Aryan foreigners, arriving in 1200 BC, is not based on any statement of the monuments, but merely rests on a guess which Brugsch subsequently abandoned. It resembles many other supposed discrepancies between Bib[lical] and contemporary records due to the mistakes of modern commentators.”

When Israel left Egypt in 1513 B.C.E. Jehovah chose not to lead the Israelites by way of Philistia (the most direct route from Egypt to the Promised Land), lest they become discouraged because of immediate warfare and decide to return to Egypt. (Ex. 13:17) The Philistines likely would not view the approach of millions of Israelites as mere international traffic, such as normally flowed through their land. They were a settled people, whereas the Sinai region to which Jehovah directed Israel had largely nomadic tribes and many unsettled regions into which Israel could enter without provoking immediate conflict.

At the time aged Joshua apportioned the land W of the Jordan, the Philistine territories were still untouched by the conquest. (Josh. 13:2, 3) Later, however, the men of Judah did capture three of the main Philistine cities, Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron. But