Euodia And Syntyche
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Euodia (
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, meaning unclear, but possibly "sweet fragrance" or "prosperous journey") and Syntyche (, "fortunate," literally "with fate") are people mentioned in the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
. They were female members of the church in
Philippi Philippi (; , ''Phílippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides (, ''Krēnĩdes'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colonists in 360/359 BC. The city was renamed by Phili ...
, and according to the text of Philippians 4: 2–3, they were involved in a disagreement together. The author of the letter,
Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...
, whose writings generally reveal his concern that internal disunity will seriously undermine the church, beseeched the two women to "agree in the Lord".


Gender Confusion in the King James Version

Despite the clear context and gender agreement of the original Greek text, the
King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...
incorrectly assigns Euodia the name "Euodias" (a theoretically projected male gender version of the name) and thus makes the quarrel appear to be between a man and a woman. According to some sources, there was a historical theory that Euodias (male) was the jailer of Philippi (see Acts 16: 25–34) and Syntyche was his wife. This theory is rejected by modern scholarship, not least because of the clarity in the original text that both characters are female. As a
Roman colony A Roman (: ) was originally a settlement of Roman citizens, establishing a Roman outpost in federated or conquered territory, for the purpose of securing it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It ...
, Philippi gave a level of independence to women that was not common in most Greek cities of the period; this may account for the prominence of the women and their disagreement. Studies of contemporary naming conventions have shown that whilst the female versions Euodia and Syntyche were both common to the era, the projected male variants (such as Euodias, as in the King James Version, or Syntyches) are totally unknown in writings or inscriptions of the period. There are references to a "Euodia" (again mistaking the name as a male form) in the document
Apostolic Constitutions The ''Apostolic Constitutions'' or ''Constitutions of the Holy Apostles'' (Latin: ''Constitutiones Apostolorum'') is a Christian collection divided into eight books which is classified among the Church Orders, a genre of early Christian litera ...
, which purports to be a set of writings of the
twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
of Jesus, but is in fact a spurious source, dated to the fourth century AD, and believed to originate in
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.


Models of female leadership

Not surprisingly, Euodia and Syntyche are chiefly remembered as two people who had an argument, and their names are most commonly associated with disagreement. However, for some commentators, as also for some church institutions, there is further significance in the implied leadership role of the two women within the Philippian church. This leadership role is not clearly defined. Some have speculated that it constituted ordained ministry, but this is not explicitly supported by any biblical source. The leadership role is implied both by Paul's interest in their argument, and by the language used by Paul in addressing their disagreement. Peter Toon points out that they had at least "worked with him aulin spreading the gospel". William Barclay contends that whatever their actual function, the fact that they were "women playing so leading a part in the affairs of one of the early congregations" is in sufficient contrast to the contemporary social order to be noteworthy.


Unnamed arbitrator

In an unsolved mystery, arising in verse 3 of the passage, Paul calls upon an unnamed individual, charging him to intervene directly to assist in ending the quarrel between Euodia and Syntyche. According to different translations, Paul addresses this person as "my true yokefellow" or "my true comrade". This has led to speculation about the identity of this helper. Timothy,
Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and ...
, and others have been suggested. Timothy may perhaps be considered less likely, as he is named in the introduction as a fellow author of the letter, with Paul ( Philippians 1:1). Peter Toon, in his commentary, wrote "His identity is not known, but he was probably a respected and influential member of the church whose word would be heeded". William Barclay, after discussing various possible identities, states "Maybe the best suggestion is that the reference is to Epaphroditus, the bearer of the letter."


Conclusion of the argument

The exact nature of the disagreement is unknown.
Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a British Nonconformist and Presbyterian minister and author who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary ''Exposition o ...
's ''Complete Commentary'', to which sections on the epistles were added posthumously by the editors under George Burder, introduces a theory that the women's argument may have been jointly prosecuted by them against the wider church, although it also posits the more traditional view that they disagreed with one another. Either way, the commentary is clear that disagreement and disunity were undermining church life. There are no extant sources (biblical or otherwise) to suggest the outcome of the argument. Nonetheless, it is often cited in contemporary church life as part of a call to build unity within congregations and churches.


References


Sources

* *
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

New Testament Greek Lexicon
*
Easton's Bible Dictionary The ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', better known as ''Easton's Bible Dictionary'', is a reference work on topics related to the Christian Bible, compiled by Matthew George Easton. The first edition was published in 1893, and a revised editio ...
, 1897 {{DEFAULTSORT:Euodia And Syntyche Epistle to the Philippians People in the Pauline epistles Christianity and women Women in the New Testament Duos