PHILIP

was overcome by Lysias at Antioch and put to death. He is by many regarded as identical with — 3. A Phrygian who (in B.C. 168). when left in charge of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes, was remarkable for the cruelty of his government (2 Mac 6^^ 6"). Little more is known of him unless the details of his life be filled up by assuming his identity with the former Philip. 4. A king of Mace- donia (B.C. 220-179) overthrown by the Romans (1 Mac 85). T. A. MoxoN.

PHILIP (NT).— 1. The Apostle (Mt 10^ =Mk S" =Lk 6^*); one of the disciples whom Jesus won at Bethany beyond Jordan in the morning of His ministry (Jn l^s-si). He was a fellow-townsman of Andrew and Peter (v.^*), and seems to have had a special friendship with the former (Jn 6» 1221- 22). He was of a timid and retiring dis-position. He did not, like Andrew and John, approach Jesus, but waited tiU Jesus accosted him and invited him to join His company. Andrew and John found Jesus (v."); Jesus found Philip (v.'is). This characteristic gives some countenance to the tradition that the disciple who would fain have declined the Lord's call that he might 'go and bury his lather' (Lk 9"- '"-Mt g2i, 22)^ ^as none other than Philip. Though somewhat slow of heart and dull in spiritual understanding (cf. Jn 14»- '), he had his aptitudes. He had a turn for practical affairs, and, just as Judas was treasurer to the Apostolic company, so Philip was purveyor, attending to the com-missariat (Bengel on Jn 6'). If Andrew was the first missionary of the Kingdom . of heaven, bringing his brother Simon to Jesus (Jn V-'^), Philip was the second, bringing his friend Nathanael (vv.«- «). it is said that after the departure of Jesus he laboured in Asia Minor and was buried at Hierapolis.

2. The Evangelist. — It was soon found necessary in the Apostolic Church that there should be a division of labour; and that the Twelve might give themselves without distraction to prayer and the ministry of the word, seven of the brethren were set apart for the management of the business matters of the Church (Ac 6'-*). Philip was one of these. He seems to have been a Hellenist, i.e. a Greek-speaking Jew; at all events he was a man of liberal sympathies, and he greatly helped in the extension of the gospel to the Gentiles. He was in fact the forerunner of St. Paul. During the persecution which followed the martyrdom of Stephen, he preached in Samaria (Ac 8*-*). He was instrumental in the conversion of the chamberlain of Candace, queen of Ethiopia, thus introducing Christianity into that historic heathen country (S^o-™). On parting from the chamberlain he went to Azotus (Ashdod), and travelled along the sea-board, preaching from city to city, till he reached C^sarea (v.'"). There he settled, and there he was still residing with his four unmarried daughters, who were prophetesses, when Paul visited Cassarea on his last journey to Jerusalem. The two men were like- minded, and it is no wonder that Paul abode with him during his stay at Caesarea (218- »),

3. Herod Philip. — See Herod. David Smith.

PHILIPPI was a city situated E. of Mt. Pangasus, on the E. border of Macedonia, about 10 miles from the coast. It was originally (under the name of Crenides) a settlement of Thasians, who mined the gold of Mt. Pangeeus; but one of the early acts of Philip of Macedon was to assure himself of revenue by seizing these mines and strongly fortifying the city, to which he gave his own name. The mines are said to have yielded him 1000 talents a year. Philippi passed with the rest of Macedonia to the Romans in B.C. 168. Until B.C. 146 Macedonia was divided into four regions, with separate governments, and so divided that a member of one could not marry or hold property in another. But in 146 it received the more regular organization of a province. The great Eastern road of the Roman Empire, the Via Egnatia, after crossing the Strymon at Amphipolis, kept N. of Mt. Pangaeus to Philippi and

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PHILIPPIANS, EPISTLE TO

then turned S.E. to Neapolis, which was the port of Philippi. Philippi stood on the steep side of a hill, and immediately S. of it lay a large marshy lake.

The Church at Philippi was founded by St. Paul on his second missionary journey. With Silas, Timothy, and Luke he landed at Neapolis, and proceeded to Philippi, which St. Luke describes as 'a city of Macedonia, the first of the district, a Roman colony.' Philippi was not the capital city of either of the regions into which Macedonia had been divided in 168, but the most natural explanation of the phrase ' first of the district ' is that the province had at this time a division for official purposes of which we do not know. Other explanations are that it means ' the first city we arrived at' (which the Greek could scarcely mean), or that Philippi claimed a pre-eminence in much the same way that Pergamus, Smyrna, Ephesus all claimed to be the 'first city' of Asia. It had become a Roman colony after the battle of Philippi, B.C. 42, when Octavian and Antony, having vanquished Brutus and Cassius, settled a number of their veterans there. Another body of veterans was settled there after Actium, b.c. 31. As a colony its constitution was modelled on the ancient one of Rome, and its two chief magistrates had not only lictors (EV Serjeants), but also a jurisdiction independent of that of the governor of the province. It was the first essentially Roman town in which St. Paul preached. There was no synagogue, but on the Sabbath, says St. Luke, 'we went forth without the gate by a river-side where we supposed there was a .place of prayer.' At this place, therefore, St. Paul found a number of women assembled, Jewesses or proselytes, one of whom named Lydia (wh. see), a merchant in purple from Thyatira, was immediately converted and baptized. For the subsequent incidents see Python, Magistkate, etc.

It is probable that the Church at Philippi was left in charge of St. Luke, for at this point in the narrative of the Acts the first person is dropped until St. Paul passes through Macedonia on his return from the third missionary journey (20'). The Church flourished, and always remained on terms of peculiar affection with St. Paul, being allowed to minister to his needs more than once. See art. Philippians [Epistle to], which was probably written during his first imprison-ment at Rome. From 1 Ti 1= we assume at least one later visit of the Apostle to Philippi.

Before A.D. 117_Ignatius passed through Philippi on his journey from Antioch to his martyrdom in Rome. He waa welcomed by the Church, and they wrote a letter of consolatioa to the Church of Antioch andanother to Polycarp of Smyrna, asking for copies of any letters that Ignatius had written in Asia. Polycarp wrote his Epistle to the Philippians in answer. In the 4th and 5th centuries we read of the bishop of Philippi as present at Councils, but apart from this the Church passes out of history. A. E. Hillard.

PHILIPPIANS, EPISTLE TO.— 1. The Church oi Philippi . — St . Paul visited Philippi on his second mission-ary journey, and founded there his first Church in Europe. The names in Ph 42'-, probably those of early converts, lead us to infer that the Gentile element continued strong from the days when the Church began in the house-holds of Lydia and the jailor (Ac 16'2-«). it is only by the exercise of much imagination that the character of the city — a Roman colony enjoying the jus Italicum, and therefore with a sense of its own importance — can be discerned in the letter, though probably the fact that St. Paul was a Roman citizen, and the virtual apology with which he was sent away by the prsetors, may have had some effect on the subsequent treatment of the Christians. As one of the Churches of Macedonia referred to in 2 Co S^*-, it was doubtless in deep poverty, but is held forth along with them as a model of liberality. St. Paul seems to have treated the Philippians in an exceptional way, by accepting from them support which he ordinarily refused (2 Co 11™-, Ph 4'6). He must have visited Philippi at least three times (Ac 16"