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We turn then to 1 Corinthians 15:32, “If it was on purely human
terms I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus [ei kata anthrôpon
ethêriomachêsa en Ephesôi], what good does
that do me [ti moi to ophelos]? If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat
and drink, for tomorrow we die’” [Barrett].22 Much in the
text is obscure. We should like to know: (a) what kata anthrôpon
means here; (b) whether the conditional clause is contrary to fact or
a real condition; (c) whether Paul is speaking literally or figuratively
of fighting with wild beasts;
(d) if figuratively, whether he is referring to religious controversy or
physical danger; and (e) if physical danger, whether Paul was imprisoned,
and if so whether the imprisonment lasted for the several months needed to
accommodate the composition of Philippians.
Leaving the discussion of technical details to a note,23 we
may summarize our conclusions:
 | Paul was not sentenced to the
arena; that is, “fighting with
beasts” is not to be understood literally as a real condition. |
| Paul probably did face a life-threatening situation in the course of
persecution. This conclusion may be based on reading the conditional
clause literally as a condition contrary to fact, or figuratively as a
real condition. |
| In connection with the danger to which he was exposed, he may have
been placed under arrest, pending trial, but the evidence for an
imprisonment of three months or more is non-existent. |
How then does this “fighting with beasts” text fit with the
Philippians template? We find this much agreement with Philippians:
| His life had been at
risk; and |
| At the time of the writing of
1 Corinthians, he was intending to visit Macedonia. |
On the other
hand, telling against a match with Philippians are these points:
| Our text is silent on
imprisonment; and |
| There is no evidence from the letters that Timothy
had been sent to Corinth by way of Macedonia (even though this claim is
made by some interpreters). |
I conclude that while it is possible, it is
nevertheless far from proven that the “beasts at Ephesus” episode
provides the occasion for the composition of Philippians.
22Translation, C. K. Barrett, A Commentary on the
First Epistle to the Corinthians (NY: Harper & Row, 1968) 361.
23As to (a): the phrase kata anthrôpon may mean
different things, depending on the context (see Barrett, 1 Cor
365), so a decision on its meaning here will depend upon the meaning of
the text as a whole.
As to (b): the conditional phrase here would
normally be taken as a real condition. However, a condition contrary to
fact in the protasis may be expressed without an in the apodosis,
though this construction is “remarkably scarce in Paul” (BDF
182). The decision may depend once again on the meaning of the text as a
whole.
As to (c): if ethêriomachêsa is taken literally
as a real condition, it is difficult to understand how Paul could
have survived the arena. If ethêriomachêsa is taken literally
as a condition contrary to fact, it could be read, “if I had
fought with beasts (as I did not), what good would that do me?” (see
Barrett, 1 Cor 366); such a reading would permit the notion that
Paul had faced the threat of the arena, if not the arena itself. This
interpretation would be more convincing if we had evidence that there was
indeed an arena in Ephesus to which Paul might have been condemned (see
Beare, Philippians 23), or that it was indeed the practice in the
provinces to consign victims to the arena; see J. Moffatt, The First
Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, MNTC (NY: Harper, nd) 253-4; C. T.
Craig, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, IB 10 (NY: Abingdon,
1953) 242. Although the implications of Paul’s supposed Roman
citizenship are sometimes introduced into discussions of this episode,
there are increasing doubts about whether he enjoyed Roman citizenship,
not only because it is not supported by the letters, but because in Acts
it appears to be redactional; see the article by W. Stegemann, “War der
Apostel Paulus ein römischer Bürger?” ZNW 78 (1987) 200-29. If ethêriomachêsa
is taken figuratively, and the clause is understood as a real
condition, a range of meanings is possible, some of which would fit
the context better than others.
As to (d): the fighting with beasts might be
interpreted figuratively as religious controversy (see A. J.
Malherbe, “The Beasts at Ephesus,” JBL 87 [1968] 71-80), a view
which fits in well enough with 1 Corinthians generally, but perhaps
does not do justice to the immediate context. More convincingly, fighting
with beasts could be understood figuratively as a reference to
persecution, involving physical danger. This view would fit in well with
the progression of thought in 1 Corinthians 15:29-32, especially the
phrases, “And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour?”, and
“I die every day!”; see H. Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975) 278; cp. Barrett, 1 Cor 366.
As to (e): if Paul was indeed exposed to physical
danger, we do not know whether he was also imprisoned. It is possible that
he was placed under arrest pending trial, but the evidence for a longer
imprisonment is non-existent.
The “Crisis in Asia” Episode
Does 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 provide a better match with the
Philippians template? “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and
sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly,
unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that
we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on
ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He who rescued us from so deadly
a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he
will rescue us again.” In some respects this text looks promising as a
way of locating the composition of Philippians:
| Paul was indeed in a life-threatening situation, as seems to be
implied by his confidence in the God who raises the dead. |
| Although there is no reference to imprisonment, the virtual
“sentence of death” suggests at least arrest, and the threat of
some kind of legal action against him. |
| Since he is disclosing some new episode to his readers,24
and has recently arrived in Macedonia, we may suppose that there is a
good fit with the travel plan in Philippians to go quickly to
Philippi. |
| Since Timothy is a co-sender of 2 Corinthians (at least, of
2 Corinthians 1-9), it is possible that the presence of Timothy
in Macedonia represents a good fit with Paul’s intention in
Philippians to send Timothy to the Philippians. |
Yet there are two problems in particular that raise questions about the
fit with Philippians. On the one hand, 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 makes no
reference to imprisonment.25 On the other hand, this “crisis
in Asia” hypothesis imposes considerable time compression on the
Philippians template, as the following considerations make clear.
| We have already established that we need to allow three to four
months for the events presupposed in Philippians to unfold, events
which would not ex hypothesi have begun until after the
departure of Titus from Ephesus to Corinth with Letter H/10-1326
(otherwise, Paul would not be disclosing the information in
2 Corinthians 1:8-10 as something still unknown to the
Corinthians). We also have to allow travel time for Paul from Ephesus
to Philippi, via Troas.27 Thus three and a half to five
months would be required for the lapse of time on Paul’s side.28 |
| But it would hardly have taken Titus up to five months to deliver
the severe letter to Corinth, to interpret Paul’s interests to the
Corinthians, to size up the situation there, and to travel to
Macedonia to meet up with Paul. All told, Titus would have needed no
more than six weeks to reach Philippi from Ephesus.29 |
| To be sure, we could assume that Titus was somehow delayed in his
travels, or that his mission in Corinth was extended, or that the
scenario on Paul’s side did not take as much time as we have allowed; but such assumptions do not make for valid
chronologies. |
Thus, I am inclined to say that though the “crisis in Asia”
alternative is somewhat more convincing than the “beasts in Ephesus”
one, it falls short of meeting the requirements of the Philippian letter.
24So
V. P. Furnish, II Corinthians (AB 32A. Doubleday: Garden City,
1984) 112, 122; D. Georgi, Die Geschichte der Kollekte des Paulus
für Jerusalem (Hamburg: H. Reich/ Evangelischer Verlag, 1965)
46; and others, against: A. Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on
the Second Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians (ICC. Edinburgh: T.
& T. Clark, 1915) 15; and others.
25Knox, Chapters 61.
26The Harsh Letter, as designated in this web site.
Click on Letter H and
Harsh Letter.
27Paul’s travel time from Ephesus to Macedonia would
have to include: 4-5 days to Troas, assuming that he is going by sea, and
that the weather is favorable; the (unspecified) waiting period in Troas
for Titus, together with the (possible) early stages of promising work
there (“.. . a door was opened for me in the Lord,”
2 Corinthians 2:12); and the trip of several days from Troas to
Philippi by sea.
28And when Paul reaches Macedonia, he has to wait an
unspecified time for the arrival of Titus (2 Corinthians 7:6).
29This assumes actual travel time of 17-27 days between
Ephesus and Philippi, using J. Murphy-O’Connor’s figures (“On
the Road and on the Sea with St. Paul,” Bible Review
1 [1985] 41); or 23-31 days, using R. Jewett’s (A Chronology of
Paul’s Life [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979] 60-61)—the variations
depending upon whether travel between Corinth and Philippi is by land or
sea, and depending upon weather conditions, especially wind and
visibility.
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