A warning to the Philippians

A Place and time of writing

Like 1 Corinthians (cf. 1 Cor. 16:8f), Philippians was probably written from Ephesus during the three-year stay there which began soon after the second visit to Galatia (Acts 19:Iff; 20:31). It is true that there is no certain evidence for Paul having been imprisoned in Ephesus, whereas in Philippians it is clear that Paul is writing from prison (1:7, 13f, 17). But in 1 Cor. 16:9, he mentions his many adversaries there, and in 15:32 he seems to be contemplating the possibility of ‘fighting with wild beasts’ in the theatre there. (Paul cannot be there referring to an incident which has already taken place, for v.32 requires his death to function as an argument for the resurrection of the dead: i.e. ‘If the dead are not raised, what would I gain if I ended my life in the arena at Ephesus, as may well happen?’) In 2 Cor. 6:5 and 11:23, he mentions ‘imprisonments’ among his sufferings. He tells in 2 Cor. 1:8–10 of his recent experiences at Ephesus: