Singing to “Lord Jesus Christ”: A Prose Hymn and Its Philippian Recipients

Religious audiences frequently hear prose hymns as a part of their ceremonies. The “Lord Jesus Christ” hymn in Philippians 2.6–11 is one such example. The Philippian hymn fits an audience’s performance expectations compared to other Greek and Jewish prose hymns and performances. A slave lector likel...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Shiell, William (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: MDPI 2023
In: Religions
Year: 2023, Volume: 14, Issue: 10
Further subjects:B Hymn
B prose hymn
B Narrative
B Rhetoric
B Performance
B Philippians
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:Religious audiences frequently hear prose hymns as a part of their ceremonies. The “Lord Jesus Christ” hymn in Philippians 2.6–11 is one such example. The Philippian hymn fits an audience’s performance expectations compared to other Greek and Jewish prose hymns and performances. A slave lector likely recited or sang the hymn when delivering the epistle and directly addressed at least four named recipients. This article examines the narrative links between the hymn and the address in 4:1–3. Utilizing performance-critical methods, we explore how this hymn likely functioned for the ancient audience. The reading of the “Lord Jesus Christ” hymn localized the worship of Jesus in Philippi, encouraged financial giving to Paul and Timothy, taught moral lessons, and prepared the audience to address their conflict “in the Lord”.
ISSN:2077-1444
Contains:Enthalten in: Religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3390/rel14101228