PHP 3:5 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–4:1: The Philippians should follow Paul’s example and trust Christ to make them righteous

Paul told the believers to watch out for those who were teaching that believers must be circumcised. He also warned them against those who were proud of doing evil. He encouraged them to follow his example instead. Paul tried to be like Christ and depended on him alone in order to become righteous.

In both 3:1 and 4:1, Paul talked about being joyful. Therefore, it is possible to consider that 3:1 is an introduction to this section and 4:1 is a summary of this section. However, some English versions consider that 3:1a is the final statement in the previous section and so attach it to the end of chapter 2 (REB, NJB, NRSV). You may want to follow whatever the national language version in your area does here.

Paragraph 3:4b–6b

Paul was saying, “If it would do any good, I could trust in my Jewish background and my custom of strictly following the Jewish laws, in order that God would consider me, more than anyone else, as one who belongs to him.”

Translator’s Notes places a paragraph break here (see also SSA) as do some English versions. Other English versions keep 3:4b together with 3:4a. This is perhaps because it divides up a single Greek sentence.

3:5a

circumcised on the eighth day,

I was circumcised when I was a week old, just as God commanded our^(excl) ancestors.
Here are my reasons: When I was seven days old, Jewish religious leaders circumcised me as God’s law said.

In 3:5–6 Paul listed the reasons why he could have trusted in human tradition and his own efforts, if such a thing had been important. His comments fit into two groups. First he listed four things that showed that he was a true Jew (3:5a–c), things that were true about him from the time he was born, not relating to anything he did. Then he listed three things that were the result of what he himself did (3:5d–3:6b). These seven things could have given him reason to be proud of what he was as a Jew. But he chose not to depend on these things.

In your translation you might put a comment at the beginning of 3:5 to show that Paul was giving a list in 3:5–6 of the reasons why he could trust in earthly things. See the second Meaning Line in the Display for 3:5a.

circumcised on the eighth day: One reason Paul could claim to be a true Jew was that he had been circumcised. God’s law, given through Moses, required this of all Jewish males; it said that they were to be circumcised on the eighth day. This was a sign that they were born as members of God’s chosen people. So Paul was saying that he had been circumcised, just as the law commanded.

circumcised: See notes on 3:3a for the meaning of circumcised. If your language does not use passive verbs, you will need to say who circumcised Paul. Normally it was Jewish religious leaders who performed this ceremony.

on the eighth day: By the Jewish method of counting, the day a baby was born was his first day. So on the eighth day means when he was seven days or one week old. Make sure you use the method of counting used by your culture.

Notice that the first meaning line in the Display says “just as God commanded our (excl) ancestors.” The exclusive form of “our” here means that since the Philippians were Gentiles, they did not have the same ancestors as the Jews. See also the meaning lines for 3:5d, 3:6a and 3:6b.

3:5b

of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin;

I belong to the people of Israel. In fact, I belong to the tribe of Benjamin.
I am a descendant of Jacob and even from his son, Benjamin.

of the people of Israel: Paul was a descendant of Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and his descendants were known as the people of Israel. So Paul could say he was related to all the Israelites.

of the tribe of Benjamin: Only a few Jews were able to list the names of their ancestors going back to the beginning of one of the tribes of Israel. But Paul knew that he was a descendant of Benjamin. This means that he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, who was one of the twelve sons of Jacob.Some commentators say that it was a special privilege to be a descendant of Benjamin. For example, according to Hawthorne, there are many reasons why the Jews considered it a special privilege to be a descendant of the tribe of Benjamin. This list includes only a few of these reasons:(a) Benjamin was one of the two favorite sons of Jacob, whose mother was Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife.(b) Benjamin was the only one of Jacob’s twelve sons who was born in the promised land of Canaan.(c) Israel’s first king, Saul, came from the tribe of Benjamin.(d) Jerusalem and the temple were located in the territory of Benjamin.(e) The tribe of Benjamin remained loyal to King David when the kingdom was divided between Judah and Israel. Two ideas for translation are:

I belong to the tribe of Benjamin.

I even come from the family of Benjamin.

tribe: The sons of Jacob were the leaders of their own families, which in time became clans because each son had many descendants. They also called each clan a tribe, even though all the clans or tribes spoke the same language, Hebrew.

3:5c

a Hebrew of Hebrews;

I am a pure Hebrew and my ancestors were also pure Hebrews.
My parents were Hebrews, so I too am a Hebrew.

a Hebrew of Hebrews: Paul was saying that he was a true Jew and so were his parents. You could restate this as:

I am a true Hebrew, born of true Hebrews.

Hebrew: Some commentators say that the word Hebrew refers to those who were racially pure as Jews, with no Gentile blood in them. Others say it refers to Jews who followed the traditional customs, who still spoke the Hebrew language, and who considered themselves to be religious Jews. Still others say the word Hebrew has both of the above meanings.Other Jews not called Hebrews spoke more Greek and had adopted more of the Greek ways. See Acts 6:1 for an example of conflict between these Jews and Jews called “Hebrews.” Paul was born outside Palestine, in Tarsus, but he insisted that he was a true Hebrew.

3:5d

as to the law, a Pharisee;

As far as obeying the law of Moses I was a Pharisee.
I very carefully obeyed all the laws that our^(excl) ancestors gave us^(excl) because I was a Pharisee.

After listing the things that were true of him since he was born, Paul here listed the three things he had done of which he could have been proud.

as to the law, a Pharisee: If anyone questioned whether Paul followed the Jewish laws, his answer was that he was (or had been) a Pharisee. In some languages it will be necessary to use the verb “to be” here. If so, it is necessary to decide which tense to use. Most likely Paul was thinking, as with 3:6a–b, of what he had been, before he became a Christian and so it is better to use a past tense: “in regard to the law I was a Pharisee.” Most English versions which supply a verb here follow this (GNT, NET, NLT, GW, NJB) and it also has good commentary support.

as to: This phrase in 3:5d and the next two phrases in 3:6 start with the same word in Greek: kata. This preposition can be translated in several ways, including, as in the NIV, in regard to. In some languages it is possible to translate it the same way each time, but in other languages it may be necessary to vary the expression.

the law: This refers to the Jewish religious laws in general and to the laws of Moses in particular, on which the religious laws were based.

Pharisee: The Pharisees were a group within Judaism who were particularly strict about obeying the Jewish laws. They were very concerned about each point in the law. Before he became a Christian, Paul had faithfully followed the teachings and practices of this group.

You could translate the word Pharisee as “the Pharisee group.” This is an important word that should be in your glossary if you have one. See “Pharisee" in KBT. Many readers know the name Pharisee because they have read the gospels. In some languages it may be necessary to explain in this context who the Pharisees were. If this is so in your language, you could use a footnote, or include some implicit information in your translation. For example:

I was a Pharisee, which meant that I carefully obeyed the law.

I was a member of the Pharisee group, who thoroughly follow the law.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

περιτομῇ ὀκταήμερος ἐκ γένους Ἰσραήλ φυλῆς Βενιαμείν, Ἑβραῖος ἐξ Ἑβραίων, κατὰ νόμον Φαρισαῖος

˱in˲_circumcision ˓the˒_eight_day of ˓the˒_descent ˱of˲_Israel ˱of˲_˓the˒_tribe (Some words not found in SR-GNT: περιτομῇ ὀκταήμερος ἐκ γένους Ἰσραήλ φυλῆς Βενιαμίν Ἑβραῖος ἐξ Ἑβραίων κατά νόμον Φαρισαῖος)

In this verse and the next verse, Paul lists a total of seven things in which he put his confidence before he believed in Christ. In this verse he lists five of those things and in the next verse he lists the remaining two. If the connection between this statement and the previous one and following one is not clear, you may want to use a connecting word to show how this statement relates to what came before it. Use a natural form in your language for connecting this statement to those before and after it.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

φυλῆς Βενιαμείν

˱of˲_˓the˒_tribe (Some words not found in SR-GNT: περιτομῇ ὀκταήμερος ἐκ γένους Ἰσραήλ φυλῆς Βενιαμίν Ἑβραῖος ἐξ Ἑβραίων κατά νόμον Φαρισαῖος)

The phrase of the tribe of Benjamin means that Paul was from the Israelite tribe of Benjamin and therefore descended from Jacob’s son Benjamin. Consider the best way to say this in your language.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

Ἑβραῖος ἐξ Ἑβραίων

˓a˒_Hebrew of Hebrews

Paul assumes that his readers will understand that the meaning of his statement. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. The phrase a Hebrew of Hebrews could mean: (1) that Paul had retained Hebrew customs and spoke the language of the Hebrew people, which was Aramaic. (2) that Paul had no Gentile ancestors, but rather was a pure-blooded Hebrew. Alternate translation: [a Hebrew whose parents and ancestors are all full-blooded Jews] (3) a combination of both of the above. Alternate translation: [a full-blooded Jew who has retained the Hebrew culture, customs, and language]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

κατὰ νόμον Φαρισαῖος

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: περιτομῇ ὀκταήμερος ἐκ γένους Ἰσραήλ φυλῆς Βενιαμίν Ἑβραῖος ἐξ Ἑβραίων κατά νόμον Φαρισαῖος)

The phrase according to the law, a Pharisee means that prior to his conversion Paul had been a Pharisee. He related to the law of Moses as a Pharisee and, therefore, strictly obeyed it as well as the many rules scribes had added to try to safeguard the law of Moses. Alternate translation: [in relation to the law of Moses, I was a Pharisee] or [in relation to how I observed the law of Moses, I was a Pharisee, and therefore, I strictly obeyed every detail of it including the teachings of the scribes]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear PHP 3:5