Deliberating Life and Death: Paul's TragicDubitatioin Philippians 1:22–26

Abstract

AbstractDubitatiois a complex figure of speech in which a speaker explicitly weighs her or his options in the course of making a difficult decision.Dubitatiowas typically used to display a protagonist's character as revealed in her or his decision-making. In Philippians 1:22–26, Paul usesdubitatioto draw the readers into his deliberations whether to commit suicide in prison. In so doing, he not only reveals to them his own character but their character as well, in as much as it is their inordinate grief over his imprisonment that will ultimately determine Paul's decision.Dubitatiooccurs already in Homer, but it was made famous in Greek tragedy, where it largely defined the genre. The tragicdubitatiowas parodied in subsequent comedy and, by the Roman period, was beginning to appear in other genres, including political oratory, various poetic genres, history, and epistle. Paul's apt use ofdubitatioin Phil 1:22–26 shows an obvious familiarity with the figure. By attending to Paul's use ofdubitatioin Phil 1:22–26, we can arrive at a fresh and convincing interpretation of this challengingcrux interpretum.