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Nebreda suggests that in the city, Romans became the majority.8 Regardless of the number, the resettlement totally transformed the population of Philippi and the Roman populace became extremely dominant. “Colonization meant dispossession of the land at the hands of the new landowners;”9 in other words, the Greek majority was displaced from their land and homes to make way for the Romans. Generally, the displaced people moved into the urban centers during this period. In addition, the Roman citizens controlled the way of life in Philippi, dominating in “issues of honor, status, and social values.”10 During this period, the imperial cult took on a “position of prominence at the very center of the settlement’s religious and social life.”11 In his commentary on Philippians, John Reumann states, “Philippi was almost unique among cities Paul addressed in his letters: it differed from other places he evangelized because of its ‘Romanness’ and lack of a Jewish community.”12 Nebreda affirms the fact that the Jewish community was largely absent from the Roman colony of Philippi stating, “there is no archeological evidence for Jewish settlements.”13 This understanding is also upheld by the Biblical evidence presented in Acts. In Chapter 16, the author describes Paul’s first missionary journey to Philippi. Here, Paul does not preach in the synagogue (presumably because there is no synagogue), and instead the author reports, “On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there” (Acts 16:13, NRSV). According to Gordon Fee’s Commentary on Philippians, Lydia, the “worshiper of God” named in this passage, has a distinctively Greek name, as do Euodia and Syntyche, who are mentioned as co-workers of Paul in Philippians 4:2-3; according to Fee, “Clement” also mentioned in these verses is a distinctively Roman name.14 This historical background and Biblical evidence leads to the realization that when considering the audience of the letter sent to Philippi, the recipients of the letter should be understood primarily to include Greek converts to Christianity who were living in a Roman-occupied colony. This context is extremely important for understanding Philippians as a whole and the pericope of Philippians 2:6-11 in particular. In Gordon Fee’s opening comments on Philippians, he explains that there is a two-fold “driving force” behind Paul’s letter to the Philippians, “(1) suffering because of current opposition in Philippi, and (2) internal unrest of some sort.”15 8 Nebreda, 125. 9 Ibid, 127. 10 Hellerman, 71. 11 Ibid., 80. 12 John Henry Paul Reumann, The Anchor Yale Bible, vol. v. 33B, Philippians: a New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008), 3. 13 Nebreda, 130. 14 Ibid., 26. 15 Ibid., 29.