The Suffering Body as a Site of Virtue Formation in Philippians

By (author) Melissa J. Barciela

Book cover: The Suffering Body as a Site of Virtue Formation in Philippians

Extent: 252 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies, Religious Studies

Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.Reihe

Language: English

Paperback (Unspecified)

(April 2026)

ISBN: 9783161643163

6.1 x 9.13 inches

Price: $134.00

In stock

(PDF) (No longer our product)

(April 2026)

ISBN: 9783161643170

Price: $134.00

~ENG~Melissa J. Barciela examines the place of the suffering body in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. She brings together three key angles of inquiry – Paul among ancient philosophers, embodiment in antiquity, and the theme of suffering – to offer a new reading of the embodied language in the letter.


English summary: Paul’s letter to the Philippians was written during the apostle’s incarceration and repeatedly draws attention to the theme of suffering. Yet, interpretations of the letter have tended to overlook or downplay the role of suffering and its embodied nature. Melissa J. Barciela examines the place of the suffering body in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, particularly as it relates to ancient philosophical virtue formation. She argues that the suffering body figures as a means of virtue formation, both Paul’s and the Philippians’, and that through this language the apostle forwards a constructive ethic of the body in pain. She also brings together three key angles of inquiry relevant to Philippians-Paul among ancient philosophers, embodiment in antiquity, and the theme of suffering-to offer a new reading of the embodied language in the letter. German description: Melissa J. Barciela untersucht die Rolle des leidenden Korpers im Philipperbrief des Paulus. Sie verbindet drei zentrale Untersuchungsperspektiven – Paulus im Kontext antiker Philosophie, Korperlichkeit in der Antike und das Thema Leiden -, um eine neue Lesart verkorperter Sprache im Philipperbrief zu entwickeln.

1. Introduction
2. The Virtue Tradition and Paul's Letter to Philippi
3. The Suffering Body in Graeco-Roman Philosophical Virtue Traditions
4. The Imprisoned Body: Paul's Body as a Site of Righteous Suffering
5. The Exemplary Body: Christ's Suffering as an Ethical Model
6. The Athletic Body: The Apostolic Body as a Site of Virtue Formation
7. Conclusion: Paul as an Apostle of the Suffering Body

  • By (author) Melissa J. Barciela