Bible Lexicons

φιλοτιμέομαι is found in the NT in Rom. 15:20, 2Co. 2:9, 1Th. 4:11, and in all three passages seems to have lost its original idea of emulating (";am ambitious";), and to mean little more than ";am zealous,"; ";strive eagerly,"; in accordance with its usage in late Greek : cf. P Petr III. 42 H.(8) f.3 (iii/B.C.) ἐφιλοτιμοῦ με παραγε [νέσθαι πρὸς σὲ καὶ ] ἦλθον, PSI IV. 375.4 (B.C. 250–49) δν τρόπον ἐφιλοτιμήθης περὶ ἡμῶν, P Cairo Zen III. 59305.4 (B.C. 250), and P Tebt II. 410.10 (i/A.D.) μν [ή ]σθητι ̣ ὡ ̣[ς ] ἐ ̣ν ̣ τῷ Τρ [ι ]στόμῳ με ἐφιλοτ [ι ]μ ̣οῦ σὺν ἐμοὶ μεῖναι, ";remember how zealous you were at Tristomos to remain with me"; (Edd.).

The verb is also common in honorary decrees, where its general meaning is ";act with public spirit,"; e.g. CIA II. 444.23ff. (ii/B.C.) ὅπως οὖν καὶ ἡ βουλὴ καὶ ὁ δῆμος μνημονεύοντες φαίνωνται τῶν εἰς ἑαυτοὺς φιλοτιμουμένων, OGIS 117.8 (ii/B.C.) ὁ δῆμος ὁ Ἀθηναίων εὐχάριστος ὤν διατελεῖ τοῖς εἰς ἐαυτὸν φιλοτιμουμένοις and ib 118.10 (ii/B.C.), 233.15 (iii/B.C.). See further Hicks CR i. p. 46, Field Notes p.165, and Lightfoot Notes p. 60 f.

For the subst. φιλοτιμία cf. P Par 63.68 (B.C. 164) (=P Petr III. p. 24) μήτε φιλοτιμίας μήτε πλεονεξίας γενηθείσης, ";no undue [official# competition or grasping being permitted"; (Mahaffyv, P Oxy VIII. 1153.16 (i/A.D.) ἂ ἐδ ̣ω ̣ρήσατό σοι Παυσανίας ὁ ἀσελφός σου πρὸ πολλοῦ ἐκ φιλοτιμίας αὐτοῦ κατηρτισμένα, ";which (sc. wristbands) your brother Pausanias went to the expense of having made some time ago and presented to you"; (Ed.), and ib. XVI. 1913.14 (c. A.D. 555?) λόγῳ. φιλοτιμίας, ";by way of largesse"; (Edd.).

For the adj. φιλότιμος cf. P Petr I. 29.12 (iii/B.C.), wherethe writer says that he had borrowed from Dynis 4 artabae of wheat, which he had offered and ";was pressing"; (φιλοτίμου ὄντος) to lend, P Giss I. 3.13 (A.D. 117) (= Chrest. I. p. 571) φιλότιμόν τε τὸ πρὸς [ἡμᾶς, P Ryl II. 77.34 (A.D. 192) μιμοῦ τὸν πα ̣[τ ]ε ̣ ρα τὸν φιλότιμον τὸν [γ ]έρ ̣ον ̣τα φῶτα, ";imitate your father the lover of office, the brave old man"; (Edd.), and for the compve PSI IV. 392.12 (B.C. 242–1) εὐχαριστήσεις δέ μοι φιλοτιμότερον γράψας ἐνταῦθα οἶς ἂν ὑπολαμβάνηις ἐπιτήδεον εἶναι, P Tebt I. 23.10 (c. B.C. 119 or 114) διὸ καὶ ἔτι καὶ νῦν καλῶς ποιήσεις φιλοτιμότερον προθυμηθεὶς ἵνα τὰ πρὸς αὐτὸν [. . .] διορθώσηι, ";I shall therefore be glad if you will even now endeavour more earnestly to correct your behaviour towards him"; (Edd.), and for the adv. φιλοτίμως, PSI IV. 412.10 (iii/B.C.) ἔντειλαι οὖν φιλοτίμως, ib. VI. 568.6 (B.C. 253–2) ποιήσομε ]ν γὰρ φιλοτίμως, and P Cairo Zen III. 59401.3 (iii/B.C.).