Philippians 2:6-7 -- in the "form" of God

[Christian2]

Philippians 2:6-7

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

6 who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God(A)
as something to be used for His own advantage.[a]
7 Instead He emptied Himself(B)
by assuming the form of a slave,(C)
taking on the likeness of men.(D)
And when He had come as a man
in His external form,

What is the Greek word behind "form"? I would think it does not support a physical form since God is Spirit.

I have seen the word translated as "nature" but does the Greek support that translation?

Thank you.

[John Reece]

What is the Greek word behind "form"?

From BDAG = A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature ― Third Edition ― revised and edited by Frederick William Danker, based on Walter Bauer's Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und der frühchristlichen Literatur, sixth edition, ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichmann and on previous English editions by W. F. Arndt, F. W. Gingrich, and F. W. Danker (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000) (brackets added):

μορφή [morphē], ῆς, ἡ (Hom.+) form, outward appearance, shape generally of bodily form 1 Cl 39:3; ApcPt 4:13 (Job 4:16; ApcEsdr 4:14 p. 28, 16 Tdf.; SJCh 78, 13). Of the shape or form of statues (Jos., Vi. 65; Iren. 1, 8, 1 [Harv. I 67, 11]) Dg 2:3. Of appearances in visions, etc., similar to persons (Callisthenes [IV BC]: 124 fgm. 13 p. 644, 32 Jac. [in Athen. 10, 75, 452b] Λιμὸς ἔχων γυναικὸς μορφήν; Diod. S. 3, 31, 4 ἐν μορφαῖς ἀνθρώπων; TestAbr A 16 p. 97, 11 [Stone p. 42] ἀρχαγγέλου μορφὴν περικείμενος; Jos., Ant. 5, 213 a messenger from heaven νεανίσκου μορφῇ): of God’s assembly, the church Hv 3, 10, 2; 9; 3, 11, 1; 3, 13, 1; s 9, 1, 1; of the angel of repentance ἡ μ. αὐτοῦ ἠλλοιώθη his appearance had changed m 12, 4, 1. Of Christ (ἐν μ. ἀνθρώπου TestBenj 10:7; Just., D. 61, 1; Tat. 2, 1; Hippol., Ref. 5, 16, 10. Cp. Did., Gen. 56, 18; of deities ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῃ μορφῇ: Iambl., Vi. Pyth. 6, 30; cp. Philo, Abr. 118) μορφὴν δούλου λαβών he took on the form of a slave=expression of servility Phil 2:7 (w. σχῆμα as Aristot., Cat. 10a, 11f, PA 640b, 30–36). This is in contrast to expression of divinity in the preëxistent Christ: ἐν μορφή θεοῦ ὑπάρχων although he was in the form of God (cp. OGI 383, 40f: Antiochus’ body is the framework for his μορφή or essential identity as a descendant of divinities; sim. human fragility [Phil 2:7] becomes the supporting framework for Christ’s servility and therefore of his κένωσις [on the appearance one projects cp. the epitaph EpigrAnat 17, ’91, 156, no. 3, 5–8]; on μορφὴ θεοῦ cp. Orig., C. Cels. 7, 66, 21; Pla., Rep. 2, 380d; 381bc; X., Mem. 4, 3, 13; Diog. L. 1, 10 the Egyptians say μὴ εἰδέναι τοῦ θεοῦ μορφήν; Philo, Leg. ad Gai. 80; 110; Jos., C. Ap. 2, 190; Just., A I, 9, 1; PGM 7, 563; 13, 272; 584.—Rtzst., Mysterienrel.3 357f) Phil 2:6. The risen Christ ἐφανερώθη ἐν ἑτέρᾳ μορφῇ appeared in a different form Mk 16:12 (of the transfiguration of Jesus: ἔδειξεν ἡμῖν τὴν ἔνδοξον μορφὴν ἑαυτοῦ Orig., C. Cels. 6, 68, 23). For lit. s. on ἁρπαγμός and κενόω 1b; RMartin, ET 70, ’59, 183f.—DSteenberg, The Case against the Synonymity of μορφή and εἰκών: JSNT 34, ’88, 77–86; GStroumsa, HTR 76, ’83, 269–88 (Semitic background).—DELG. Schmidt, Syn. IV 345–60. M-M. EDNT. TW. Spicq. Sv.

Let me know if you are interested in seeing comments by exegetical scholars.

I'd rather not post back-to-back excerpts from more than once source at a time, so the above must do for now.

[Christian2]

Thank you John.

Yes, I would be interested in seeing the comments by exegetical scholars.

[John Reece]

Yes, I would be interested in seeing the comments by exegetical scholars.

In The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Epistle to the Philippians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), Peter T. O'Brien summarizes five pages of exegesis with this comment (brackets added):

To conclude: μορφή [morphē] refers to that 'form which truly and fully expresses the being which underlies it'. The phrase ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ [en morphē theou "in the form of God"] is best interpreted against the background of the glory of God, that shining light in which, according to the OT and intertestimental literature, God was pictured (...). The expression does not refer simply to external appearances but pictures the preexistent Christ as clothed in the garments of divine majesty and splendour. He was in the form of God, sharing God's glory. ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ [en morphē theou "in the form of God"] thus corresponds with John 17:5 ('the glory I had with you before the world began') and reminds one of Hebrews 1:3 ('the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being').

[Christian2]

Thank you for your help, John. :)