PHILEMON 18-20

 Q:  What does Paul mean by the following words: “...not to mention that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord...”?

This letter “is a masterpiece of pastoral diplomacy.” (A. Patzia, Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, p. 703) Paul is juggling several goals at the same time. On the one hand, he wishes to reconcile Onesimus to his master, Philemon, and must return him according to Roman law. But he also hopes that Onesimus can come back to him and help him in his ministry while in prison. Paul has to word his request firmly enough to get his point across, but at the same time he wants Philemon to freely choose to release Onesimus into Paul's service without exerting any undue pressure.

In the quotation above, it is Paul's pressure on Philemon that is in the forefront. Paul uses the rhetorical technique of paralepsis: saying that you are not going to say something and then going ahead and mentioning it anyway. (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Letter to Philemon) It sounds like Paul is really putting the screws to Philemon to get him to agree, but Fitzmyer points out that the original Greek here is much more subtle than reflected in English translations.

What was it that Philemon owed to Paul? While most commentators assume that this is a reference to Paul converting Philemon, that is not exactly spelled out in the text. Barth and Blanke (The Letter to Philemon) mention other possibilities:

“Whether Paul had saved Philemon's life or his honor; whether he has hidden him from pursuers; whether he has helped him in some extreme need, perhaps by standing his bail bond; or whether Paul has proclaimed the gospel to him so that he came to faith in Christ – all these open questions can have only speculative answers.”

Barth and Blanke go on to cast doubt on the conversion theory, and feel that Philemon must be under some more unique obligation to Paul, perhaps the fact that Paul personally baptized him.

The “benefit...in the Lord” that Paul is talking about is mainly the ability to retain Onesimus as a useful helper. (The name Onesimus actually means “useful” in Greek.) But, in addition, there are hints in the letter that Paul would like Philemon to free Onesimus from slavery as well. These are found in statements such as “you might have him back forever, not longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother” (v. 15-16) and “knowing that you will do even more than I say” (v. 21).