ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Philippians 2.9-10
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Passage

Philippians 2.9-10

Book: Philippians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

7. but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8. and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.

9. Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10. that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth,

  1. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12. So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (Philippians 2:7-12, ASV)
WEB

7. but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.

9. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; 10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,

  1. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12. So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:7-12, WEB)
KJV

7. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. fashion: or habit

9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

  1. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:7-12, KJV)
YLT

7. but did empty himself, the form of a servant having taken, in the likeness of men having been made, 8. and in fashion having been found as a man, he humbled himself, having become obedient unto death, death even of a cross,

9. wherefore, also, God did highly exalt him, and gave to him a name that [is] above every name, 10. that in the name of Jesus every knee may bow, of heavenlies, and earthlies, and what are under the earth

  1. and every tongue may confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12. So that, my beloved, as ye always obey, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, with fear and trembling your own salvation work out, (Philippians 2:7-12, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the Apostle, writing with Timothy named as co-sender (Philippians 1:1).
  • Audience: The Church at Philippi, in a Roman colony of Macedonia (Acts 16:12), founded on the mission narrated in Acts 16 and addressed with its bishops and deacons (Philippians 1:1). The church had sent Paul a gift by Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-30, 4:18). The verses begin the second half of the Christ hymn of Philippians 2:6-11, turning from Christ's self-humbling (2:6-8) to God's exaltation of him (2:9-11).
  • Location: Written from imprisonment (Philippians 1:7, 1:13). The place is debated: Rome is the traditional identification, and Ephesus and Caesarea are proposed as alternatives.
  • Time period: Depends on the imprisonment: c. AD 60-62 if Rome, c. AD 57-59 if Caesarea, the mid-50s if Ephesus.

Theological reading

"Wherefore" makes the exaltation God's answer to the humbling. "Wherefore also God highly exalted him" (Philippians 2:9, ASV). The conjunction is dio (G1352). In 2:6-8 Christ is the actor: he "counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped" (Philippians 2:6, ASV), emptied himself (kenoō) and humbled himself. In 2:9 God becomes the actor. The verb hyperypsoō (G5251) occurs only here in the New Testament. Most readers take it as a superlative, exalted to the highest place, rather than as a promotion to a rank above what he had before, since 2:6 already places him "in the form of God" (morphē).

Which name is "above every name" is debated. "and gave unto him the name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:9, ASV). "Gave" is charizomai (G5483), the grace verb of 1:29, and "name" is onoma. One view holds the name is "Lord", kyrios, the title confessed in 2:11 and the word the Greek Old Testament uses to render the divine name. Another holds it is "Jesus", since verse 10 says "in the name of Jesus". Many combine the two: the human name Jesus now carries the honor of the divine name.

Isaiah 45:23 is applied to Jesus. In Isaiah, God swears, "that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear" (Isaiah 45:23, ASV), in a passage that denies there is any other God (Isaiah 45:21-22). Paul quotes the same verse of God in Romans 14:11. Here the knees bow "in the name of Jesus" (Philippians 2:10, ASV), and the confession that "Jesus Christ is Lord" is "to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:11, ASV). The worship that Isaiah reserves for the one God is given to Jesus without any loss of glory to the Father.

The scope is cosmic, and its meaning is debated. "of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth" (Philippians 2:10, ASV): epouranios (G2032), epigeios (G1919) and katachthonios (G2709). Some read the universal bow and confession as universal salvation. Most read them as universal acknowledgment of Christ's lordship, willing for some and compelled for others, and compare 3:21, where Christ is able "to subject all things unto himself" (Philippians 3:21, ASV). The text states that the acknowledgment will be universal; it does not itself say that all who make it are saved.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.