Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Philippians · About this commentary
Euodia and Syntyche
Philippians 4:1-3
1 Therefore, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. · WEB
The quarrel the whole letter has been circling is finally named — two women, addressed with equal courtesy and no verdict.
Therefore, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord. Five terms of affection before the difficult sentence, and crown is the victor's wreath — the same thing he called the Thessalonians 1 Thessalonians 2:19.
Then verse 2: I exhort Euodia, and I exhort Syntyche, to think the same way in the Lord.
The verb is repeated for each woman rather than addressed to them jointly, so neither is treated as the party at fault. And the verb for their agreement is phronein, the letter's key word — the same mind asked for in Philippians 2:2 and grounded in the hymn.
No cause is stated, no verdict given, and nothing suggests either was in doctrinal error. Whatever the dispute was, the letter declines to adjudicate it.
Verse 3 asks a third party to help, and the description of the women is the paragraph's most generous stroke: they labored with me in the Good News, along with Clement and the rest, whose names are in the book of life. Two women whose disagreement was serious enough to reach Rome are introduced to posterity as Paul's fellow workers.
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