• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

  • About
  • Publications
    • Endorsements
  • Audio/Video
  • Categories
    • Exegesis
    • Biblical Theology
    • Historical Theology
    • Systematic Theology
    • Practical Theology
    • Other
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Exegesis / “Although” or “Because”?

“Although” or “Because”?

March 11, 2007 by Andy Naselli

What is the use of the adverbial participle ὑπάρχων in Philippians 2:6?
1. concessive: “although”?
2. causal: “because”?
3. something else?

  • GNT ὃς ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ,
  • NASB who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, [cf. ESV, NET, NRS, NLT, NAB]
  • NIV Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, [cf. Tyndale, Geneva Bible, KJV, NKJV, HCSB]

It appears that all of the major English translations render ὑπάρχων either (1) concessively or (2) nebulously or generically (e.g., “being” or “existing”). I haven’t found a single translation that renders it causally. Cf. D. A. Carson, Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996], 44-45):

  • [T]he opening expression, both in Greek and in English, is slightly ambiguous. The phrase “being in very nature God” could be understood in one of two ways. It could be understood concessively: although he was in very nature God, he took the form of a servant. Or it could be understood causally: because he was in very nature God, he took the form of a servant. On the whole, the latter better suits the context. The eternal Son did not think of his status as God as something that gave him the opportunity to get and get and get. Instead, his very status as God meant he had nothing to prove, nothing to achieve. And precisely because he is one with God, one with this kind of God, he “made himself nothing” and gave and gave and gave.

Share:

  • Tweet

Filed Under: Exegesis Tagged With: D. A. Carson, Greek

The New Logos

Follow Me

  • X

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe via Email

What God Says in 1 Timothy

Tracing the Argument of 1 Timothy: A Phrase Diagram

How to Write a Paper: Five Steps to Writing a Theological or Literary Research Paper

Exegetical Fallacies

Tools to Study the Bible and Theology

Help! I Want to Be a Manly Man

God’s Will and Making Decisions

Predestination: An Introduction

How to Read a Book: Advice for Christian Readers

Tracing the Argument of 1 Corinthians: A Phrase Diagram

Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

Romans: A Concise Guide to the Greatest Letter Ever Written

Tracing the Argument of Romans: A Phrase Diagram of the Greatest Letter Ever Written

The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles

How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics?

The Serpent and the Serpent Slayer

40 Questions about Biblical Theology

Romans–Galatians

Three Views on Israel and the Church: Perspectives on Romans 9-11

That Little Voice in Your Head: Learning about Your Conscience

How to Understand and Apply the New Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology

No Quick Fix: Where Higher Life Theology Came From, What It Is, and Why It Is Harmful

Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ

Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement: 3 Views

NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

From Typology to Doxology: Paul’s Use of Isaiah and Job in Romans 11:34–35

Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism

Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology

Collected Writings on Scripture

Introducing the New Testament: A Short Guide to Its History and Message

See more of my publications.

The New Logos

Copyright © 2026 · Infinity Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in