Download or read book Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp written by Policarpo (santo, vescovo di Smirne) and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2013-07-25 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This commentary on Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp includes extensive introductions, the Greek or Latin texts, facing English translations, and substantial comments on each passage. The preliminary material investigates Polycarpian traditions and reconstructs an outline of his life. The introductory studies for both Philippians and the Martyrdom discuss text and manuscript traditions, date and place of composition, historical setting, literary genre and style, unity and integrity, purpose and themes, theology, and post-composition influence. The volume also explores communal self-definition, moral formation, and the transmission of traditions, including the use of documents now found in the New Testament. The commentary proceeds passage by passage, but also includes lengthy discussions of critical issues and key interpretive questions. The investigations survey the current status of relevant scholarship and contain balanced discussions of controversial topics and scholarly debates.