Philemon
Name and Authorship
This enigmatic letter is a piece of the apostle Paul's business correspondence, containing an intentionally designed blend of personal and public appeal, addressed to three individuals, Philemon (for whom the letter is named), Apphia, and Archippus, and to the church that meets in one of their houses (v. 2). Though its meaning is much debated, its genuineness is not disputed.
Structure and Interpretation
The structure of Philemon is straightforward. After the epistolary prescript (vv. 1–3) and thanksgiving (vv. 4–7), which praise Philemon for his past benefactions, in the epistolary body (vv. 8–22) Paul makes a fresh request for the present situation involving the slave Onesimus, through various forms of subtle and not-so-subtle appeal, ending with the suggestion that Paul will soon visit Philemon (v. 22). He closes the letter with epistolary greetings from missionary co-workers that accent the public visibility of Philemon's decision (vv. 23–24), and a final benediction (v. 25).
The letter employs a carefully calibrated rhetoric to make a request of Philemon. In order to interpret this letter one must reconstruct the situation it presupposes, but in doing so the reader must largely depend upon the letter itself, which is cryptic, partly because Paul and his recipients already know the circumstances, and partly because Paul chooses to be indirect. We know that Paul writes this letter from prison (vv. 1,9–10) in a location not specified, where he has been joined by someone named Onesimus, whom Paul has converted to the gospel there (v. 10). This Onesimus, who is the slave of Philemon (v. 16), is the object of Paul's appeal (v. 10). While the circumstances that led to Onesimus's encounter with Paul are not described in the letter (v. 15 merely says “he was separated from you”), two quite different possibilities suggest themselves: either Onesimus ran away from his master, perhaps after causing him some financial loss (vv. 15,18), or Onesimus was sent by his owner to serve Paul in prison (v. 13), much as Epaphroditus was sent to Paul in prison by the Philippians (Phil 2.25–30). The advantage of the latter possibility is that it explains how Onesimus came to be in prison with Paul, whereas the former option must explain why a slave would run away to a prison. Perhaps Onesimus, according to legal precedent, sought out a friend of his master to act as an intermediary in a dispute between himself and his owner. The precise occasion of the letter is the moment of Paul's sending Onesimus back to his master (v. 12). The letter is meant to accompany Onesimus and register an appeal “for my child, Onesimus” (v. 10).
What is Paul asking Philemon to do? The history of interpretation has focused on several different possibilities: (1) Paul is asking Philemon to receive Onesimus back as his slave (though a “brother in Christ”) and forgive whatever transgressions he had committed (vv. 17–18); (2) Paul is asking Philemon to send Onesimus back to him to continue serving the apostle's physical needs while in prison (vv. 13–14); (3) Paul is strongly hinting that Philemon should not only receive Onesimus back but grant this new Christian brother his freedom through formal manumission (vv. 16,21). Each of these options has some grounding in the text, and which one the reader adopts depends upon which verses are thought to be the focal point of the argument and upon how one assesses Paul's tone at various points. The decision may also depend on how one reads 1 Cor 7.17–21, and the famously ambiguous 7.21 (see n. there), as representing Paul's general view on whether Christ-believing slaves should be manumitted. One thing, however, is certain about this letter: Paul engages in full-strength arm-twisting of Philemon to do his “good deed” (v. 14). But the final decision of what to do is left up to Philemon himself—in the context of a host of onlookers among his fellow Christians. One of the most remarkable things about this letter is that it was preserved and ultimately incorporated into the canonical collection of Paul's letters, perhaps an indication that Philemon's ultimate decision met Paul's request.
This letter has played a role in the history of Christian social ethics disproportionate to its size. The extent to which Paul challenged the institution of chattel slavery or not, and the legacy of this text (and others in the Pauline tradition, such as 1 Cor 7.17–24; Col 3.22–4.1; Eph 6.5–9) for Christian social and political thought, has long been debated. This is especially so in the American context, where the Bible was appealed to by both abolitionists and defenders of slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Margaret M. Mitchell
1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,a
To Philemon our dear friend and coworker, 2to Apphia our sister,b to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4When I remember youc in my prayers, I always thank my God 5because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. 6I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that wed may do for Christ. 7I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.
8For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.e 10I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed usefulf both to you and to me. 12I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; 14but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. 15Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, 16no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 20Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
22One thing more—prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you.
23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you,a 24and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
25The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.b