Philippians 2:22-Like Father and Son

Please note that the focus of this post is not the kenosis of Christ or the Trinity doctrine, but how to understand the Greek of Philippians 2:22.

Greek: τὴν δὲ δοκιμὴν αὐτοῦ γινώσκετε, ὅτι ὡς πατρὶ τέκνον σὺν ἐμοὶ ἐδούλευσεν εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον.
 
ESV: "But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel."

The words in Philippians 2:22 hearken back to Phil. 1:1; 2:6-7. There in the later verses, Paul delineates how Jesus (who existed in God's form) assumed the form of a slave. Now in Phil. 2:22, as is customary, Paul begins with the postpositive δὲ that here functions adversatively. 

γινώσκετε is the present active indicative 2nd person plural of γινώσκω and it's the "main verb of the independent clause" (Thomas Moore, Philippians, page 158). The object of γινώσκετε is τὴν δοκιμὴν (accusative singular feminine) and the verb could either be a progressive present that denotes continuous action at the present time or it could be a customary present, which describes an action that occurs on a regular basis.

Moore points out that ὅτι functions syntactically to identify the dependent conjunctive clause that modifies δοκιμὴν: on the other hand, he points out that the ὅτι clause functions semantically in such a way that it amplifies the import of δοκιμὴν (i.e., it functions substantivally and epexegetically). The ESV renders δοκιμὴν αὐτοῦ, "Timothy's proven worth"; compare BDAG.

While studying this passage, I found ὡς πατρὶ τέκνον to be quite interesting due to what comes next. In this part of the verse, Paul alludes to the spiritual relationship that he and Timothy shared: the former was like a father to the latter (1 Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 2:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:7, 11; 1 Timothy 1:2, 18; 5:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:2; 2:1 and compare Titus 1:4; Philemon 10). The language here is supposed to connote more tenderness than if Paul had used υἱός.

Joseph Hellerman explains that πατρὶ τέκνον portrays Timothy as a subordinate to Paul, but σὺν ἐμοὶ ἐδούλευσεν depicts Timothy as a fellow-worker with the apostle for the sake of the good news (Hellerman, Philippians, page 150). The language employed here is supposed to be reflective of how Elijah and Elisha related to one another: Hellerman likewise suggests that the ancient rabbis enjoyed this kind of camaraderie with their disciples.

One thing that struck me while reading this account is that Paul seems to juxtapose two different images or metaphors: a slave and a dear child. The apostle writes that Timothy was both a slave and child as he imitated the example of Jesus Christ. Hellerman mentions the "social stigma" that was attached to slavery, but conversely, calling Timothy a "child" would connote tenderness. In his NIGT Commentary on Philippians, Peter O'Brien writes:

"In speaking of Timothy being like (ὡς) a τέxνoν and himself as a πατὴρ, Paul is using the imagery of spiritual parenthood1630 that he employed elsewhere and that had its counterpart in Judaism, ultimately deriving from the OT. So he calls himself the father of an entire Christian community, the Corinthians whom he had begotten ‘in Christ Jesus through the gospel’ (1 Cor. 4:15; cf. Gal. 4:19), while he describes Timothy (1 Cor. 4:17; 2 Tim. 1:2) and Titus (Tit. 1:4) as his children."

Lastly, Hellerman makes the observation that εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον discloses the action in which Timothy was engaged, not the content of the message (page 151). In this connection, ἐδούλευσεν could be a gnomic aorist.