Paul does not open this letter with the usual identification of his apostolic office and summary of some aspects of the gospel. Instead, we have a brief identification of Paul as “a prisoner of Christ Jesus” (v. 1; cf. v. 9; i.e., a prisoner for the sake of Christ) and of “Timothy our brother,” who was with Paul at this time. Next comes the identification of the recipients of the letter (v. 2) and a benediction in the name of God the Father and of Jesus Christ (v. 3).
The letter is addressed to Philemon, “our dear friend and fellow worker” (v. 1; cf. v. 24 for other “fellow workers”). Paul and Philemon had developed a close association earlier, possibly while Paul was ministering in Ephesus (Acts 19). According to Colossians 4:9, Onesimus was from Colosse, so presumably his master Philemon was as well. Colosse lay about a hundred miles inland from Ephesus, connected by a route that went up the Maeander River valley and then passed through Laodicea to Colosse.
To Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier (2). Early tradition and some today hold that Apphia was the wife of Philemon (known only from v. 2), which is possible but not certain. Some also believe that Archippus (Gk. “Commander of the horse”) was the son of Philemon and Apphia, which is also possible. At the close of his instructions to the Colossian church, Paul writes: “Tell Archippus: ‘See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord’” (Col. 4:17). It is possible that Archippus was ministering in Colosse and was for this reason Paul’s “fellow soldier.” If he were Philemon’s son, it serves as further confirmation that this family and the church in their house were in Colosse.
And to the church that meets in your home (2). Paul also addresses the church meeting in Philemon’s home (cf. Rom. 16:5; Col. 4:15). It is only natural that the church would need a place of meeting, and the home of a benefactor with its typical open inner courtyard would have supplied a suitable location.3 Sometimes gatherings in these courtyards were made more pleasant through the erection of large and richly worked awnings covering the whole area—the sort of awnings that Paul himself may have dealt with in his capacity as a “tentmaker.”4
Your love has given me great joy and encouragement (7). Philemon has been active in sharing his faith by demonstrations of love for and service to his fellow Christians (vv. 5–7). Paul’s praise for Philemon’s service here is not forced flattery, but a sincere expression of his appreciation for the man’s worthy service to Christ. This section of the letter shows that Paul is not domineering or demanding in his relations to Philemon, but truly considers him a friend worthy of his respect and admiration as a Christian brother who is also serving the Lord.
In Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do (8). To modern readers, this line may seem overbold, perhaps even threatening. However, to the ancient reader, this shows the complex interactions at work here. Paul may be “in chains” (v. 13) and Philemon may be his “dear friend” (v. 1)—perhaps even a wealthy and important friend—but Paul the apostle is his superior in the Lord. Paul does not bludgeon Philemon with this fact—one does not do that—but he does make it clear that what he is offering Philemon is the opportunity to obey him in this matter without losing face. Philemon’s “obedience” (v. 21) to Paul can take the form of a spontaneous favor (v. 14), where he can “do even more than I ask” (v. 21).
Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus (9). As in verse 1, Paul says that he is “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.” It was for the sake of Christ that he was “in chains for the gospel” (v. 13; cf. v. 23). Similarly, the early second-century Christian bishop Ignatius of Antioch went to Rome for his martyrdom “in bondage in Christ Jesus,” chained between a rough troop of soldiers.5 Paul’s Roman imprisonment was a rough, frustrating period for him, though not entirely unfruitful for the gospel since Onesimus “became my son while I was in chains” (v. 10; cf. Acts 28). Paul made converts to Christ even in custody awaiting his trial.6
My son Onesimus (10). “Onesimus” means “profitable or “beneficial” in Greek and is a common slave name. Paul comes close to punning on this name in verse 11, saying that though Onesimus was formerly “useless” to Philemon, now he was “useful” (Gk. euchrēston).7 Paul does carry on the pun, however, when he says that he wishes Philemon to accede to his wishes, in order that “I may have some benefit from you” (v. 20; emphasis added). The Greek verb form for “to have benefit” used in verse 20 is etymologically related to the name “Onesimus.”
Paul mentioned Onesimus in Colossians 4:9 as “our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you”; thus we assume that Onesimus—and therefore Philemon—lived in Colosse. Where Onesimus came from originally is impossible to tell. He could have been a “house-born” slave, born to one of Philemon’s slaves and therefore an indentured member of the household. Or he could have been purchased from outside the household, a foundling infant raised into slavery perhaps.8
As I noted in the introduction, it seems most likely that Onesimus intentionally ran away from Philemon and ran to Paul in order to seek his intercession on his behalf with Philemon over some quarrel between the master and slave. This letter is Paul’s intercession. We know of other such cases (see accompanying box for one). A master vexed with a slave might put him to death in extreme cases (though this meant a significant loss of property, for a slave was regarded as property).9 More commonly, the slave would be beaten, demoted to menial jobs, or sent away to hard labor on the family farm, in a mill, or in some other brutally arduous occupation. Faced with such a prospect, Onesimus, who undoubtedly knew of Philemon’s high regard for Paul, fled to him and found him in Rome. But in the course of events, Onesimus became a Christian (v. 10), and therefore Paul was sending Onesimus back to Philemon (v. 12) as his brother in Christ (v. 16) as well as a beloved helper to Paul, who served in Philemon’s absence at his side (vv. 12–13, 16).
I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand (19). Paul adds a concluding note in his own hand in other letters.10 Paul probably dictated his letters, but perhaps he subscribed his own greetings as an authentication of the letter. Philemon, on the other hand, was probably wholly written by Paul.11
Prepare a guest room for me (22). The way Paul asks Philemon to “prepare” a room for him (v. 22) means something more like, “hold a room in readiness for me.” Paul did not know when he would be released, and he asks Philemon to be prepared for some distant eventuality.
Paul closes his letter with the greetings of his companions: Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. These men were his “fellow workers,” as was Philemon himself (v. 1). The letter concludes with an apostolic blessing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Bruce, F. F. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. NICNT. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.
Bruce had a wide knowledge of the ancient world and applies it in all his commentaries with great benefit and soundness.
Lightfoot, J. B. Saint Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon. London and New York: Macmillan, 1890.
Even though it is dated, Lightfoot’s commentary is still profitable, full of rich insights into the ancient world and into biblical and early patristic texts.
O’Brien, Peter T. Colossians, Philemon. WBC. Waco: Word, 1982.
O’Brien’s works are always scholarly and reliable. His comments on Philemon are no exception.
Wright, N. T. The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians and to Philemon. TNTC. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986.
This commentary series always provides useful material. Wright’s comments are brief but helpful.
1. For general introduction see D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 387–90.
2. The original suggestion is that of Peter Lampe, “Keine ‘Sklavenflucht’ des Onesimus,” ZNW 76 (1985): 135–37; summarized and expanded in B. M. Rapske, “The Prisoner Paul in the Eyes of Onesimus,” NTS 37 (1991): 187–203 and S. Scott Bartchy, “Philemon, Epistle To,” ABD, 5:305–9; cf. New Docs 8 (1998): 1–46.
3. Cf. Robert J. Banks, Paul’s Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Cultural Setting (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrikson, 1994); Bradley Blue, “Acts and the House Church,” in The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting (D. W. J. Gill and C. Gempf, eds.; Grand Rapids and Carlisle: Eerdmans and Paternoster, 1994), 119–222.
4. See Peter Lampe, “Paulus—Zeltmacher,” BZ 31 (1987): 256–61; Steven M. Baugh, “Paul and Ephesus: The Apostle Among His Contemporaries” (Ph.D. diss.; Irvine, Calif.: Univ. of California, 1990), 101–19.
5. Ignatius, Romans 1.1. 5.1; cf. Philadelphians 5.1–2.
6. See the full treatment of Brian Rapske, The Book of Acts and Paul in Roman Custody (Grand Rapids and Carlisle: Eerdmans and Paternoster, 1994); cf. Harry W. Tajra, The Trial of St. Paul (WUNT 35; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1989).
7. Cf. Plato, Republic 411A; Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 3.6.7; Mandata 5.6.6 for other contrasts between useful and useless.
8. “Foundlings” were infants rejected by their parents at birth and left somewhere to die, who were then picked up and raised by someone else. Often foundlings became the slaves of their finders, who might make a business of finding and raising children into slavery (as we know from extant papyrus nursing contracts from Egypt). For a handy collection of documents see Thomas Wiedemann, Greek and Roman Slavery (Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1981).
9. Cf. Martin Hengel, Crucifixion (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977), 51–63 for crucifixion as servile supplicium, “the slaves’ punishment.”
11. Cf. E. R. Richards, The Secretary in the Letters of Paul (WUNT 2/42; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1991).
A-1. Pliny, Ep. 1.13.
A-2. Ibid., 2.4; 6.32.
A-3. Ibid., 1.19.
A-4. Ibid., 1.24.
A-5. Ibid., 2.9, 13; 3.2, 8; 4.4, 17; 6.25; 10.12; cf. 10.13; 10.6–7, 10–11.
A-6. Ibid., 7.31.
A-7. Cf. A. N. Sherwin-White, The Letters of Pliny: A Historical and Social Commentary (Oxford: Clarendon, 1966), ad loc; Pliny, Ep. 6.23 (emphasis added).
A-8. E.g., Pliny, Ep. 3.4; 4.1.
A-9. Cf. Richard P. Saller, Personal Patronage under the Early Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1982).
A-10. F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Exeter and Grand Rapids: Paternoster and Eerdmans, 1977), 401.
A-11. Cassius Dio, Roman History 54.23, Penguin trans.