Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, 'Rejoice!'
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Interpretation

Paul urges a rejoice always that is worked out in concrete decisions in Philippians 4:4—look for "rejoice" and "lord". Align rejoice always with time and attention—bind joy to obedience.

Context

Philippians speaks here as epistle/letter writing, developing rejoice always. Read in Philippians 4, its force becomes clearer. Listen for “rejoice” alongside “lord”.

Authorship & Historical Background

Early sources associate Philippians with Paul. A common scholarly view of Philippians: widely regarded as Pauline (possibly composite).. Scholars commonly date Philippians AD 60–62. Apostolic Community is especially relevant in this line.

More details
Traditional:Paul
Modern scholarship:Authentic Pauline (possibly composite).
Date:AD 60–62
Manuscripts & Textual Witnesses
The Greek text is preserved in 5,800+ manuscripts, surpassing other ancient works in manuscript count. Early papyri from the 2nd-3rd centuries like P46, P66, P75 provide text within about 100-150 years of its writing. Major uncial codices (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, 4th century) contain complete or near-complete texts. The Byzantine text family represents the majority of later manuscripts. Textual variants exist but are mostly minor: word order, articles, spelling. No central Christian doctrine depends on any disputed text. Modern critical editions compare all manuscript families to determine the most probable original wording reading.
Sources & witness notes
SinaiticusVaticanusP46