Texts in Conversation
Philo reshapes one of the ten commandments around Greco-Roman household codes, describing the ideal relationships between parents and children, rulers and subjects, and masters and slaves. Colossians follows this same household code almost exactly.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Philo The Decalogue 1:165
Classical
164 There are also other laws about the fiftieth year, in which what has been enumerated above is performed in the most complete manner; and, what is the most important thing of all, the restitution is made of the different portions of land to those families which originally received them, a transaction full of humanity and equity. 165 And the fifth commandment, that about the honour due to parents, conceals under its brief expression, many very important and necessary laws, some enacted as applicable to old and young men, some as bearing on the relations existing between rulers and subjects, others concerning benefactors and those who have received benefits, others affecting slaves and masters; 166 for parents belong to the superior class of all these divisions just mentioned, the class, I mean, of elders, of rulers, of benefactors, and of masters; and children are in the inferior class, in which are ranked the younger people, the subjects, those who have received benefits, and slaves.
Date: 20-50 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Colossians 3:18
New Testament
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become disheartened. 22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in every respect, not only when they are watching—like those who are strictly people-pleasers—but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people, 24 because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ. 25 For the one who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there are no exceptions.
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Notes and References
... there are similar household codes in other early Christian writings (Ephesians 5:22-6:9; 1 Peter 2:18-3:7; with less close parallels in 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 6:1-2; Titus 2:1-10; Didache 4:9-11; Barnabas 19:5-7; 1 Clement 21:6-9; Ignatius, Polycarp 4:1-5:2; Polycarp, Philippians 4:2-3). This suggests that the Colossian code may have been derived from earlier traditional material, whether in form or content or both, and raises afresh the question whether this was simply a dollop of standard teaching inserted here (like an old sermon being “rerun”) or whether it had any particular relation to the situation in Colossae. The debate as to where this material was derived from has rumbled on throughout most of the twentieth century, but should probably now be regarded as settled. The model, insofar as there is one, was that of oikonomia, “household management” ... That similar concerns were active in diaspora Judaism is evident, for example, from pseudo-Phocylides 175-227, Philo, On the Decalogue 165-67; On the Special Laws 2.224-41, and the disputed extract Hypothetica 7.14 (preserved in Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica 8.7.14); and Josephus, Against Apion 2.199-208 ...
Dunn, James D. G.
The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon: A Commentary on the Greek Text
(pp. 242-243) Paternoster, 1996
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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