Living and Dying Well in Philippians

A Comparative Analysis of Ancient Sources

by Gregory E. Lamb

Book cover: Living and Dying Well in Philippians

Extent: 361 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies, Language & Linguistics, Religious Studies

Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.Reihe

Series volume number: 624

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(March 2025)

ISBN: 9783161623776

6.06 x 9.09 inches

Price: $137.00

In stock

The author argues that Philippians is central to Paul’s presentation of flourishing as a Christocentric, cruciform life, and that despite the competing conceptions of living and dying well in the cultures around him, Paul, nonetheless, stands in stark contrast to them.


The contemporary bifurcation of living and dying and the aversion of death are largely absent in ancient conceptions of human flourishing. Gregory Lamb bridges this gap by combining living and dying well as the twin facets of flourishing and by comparing the often-competing conceptions of flourishing within salient ancient sources (up to 100 CE). Beginning with Paul’s concept of flourishing in Philippians, and then comparing/contrasting popular Greco-Roman, Egyptian, and Second Temple Jewish views, the volume advocates a “kaleidoscopic” reading of Paul that attunes to the complex diversity and Sitze im Leben of the Philippians. The author argues that Philippians is central to Paul’s presentation of flourishing as a Christocentric, cruciform life, and that despite the competing conceptions of living and dying well in the cultures around him, Paul, nonetheless, stands in stark contrast to them.

  • By (author) Gregory E Lamb