PHILEMON

 

This short letter was written from either Ephesus (53-57) or Rome (61-63 AD) while Paul was under house arrest and addressed to Philemon in Colossae. It is classed as one of the Pastoral Epistles. It provides a prime example of one of the problems in interpreting NT epistles; it is like listening to only one end of a telephone conversation. We have to read between the lines.

1-14

Background – runaway slaves were rarely hunted down, but if they were discovered, the authorities would arrange to return them to their owners. The owners usually beat them and often sold them into harder labor.

vv. 9-10 “Begot” in the figurative sense. “Old man” – Paul was in his early 50's at the time. Paul converted Onesimus while a prisoner. This indicates that Paul was not in an isolated prison cell, but had some access to visitors.

vv. 10-11 There is a pun present in “useful = Onesimus” and also in “benefit” (v. 20).

v. 12 Actually, Paul was disobeying Deuteronomy 23:15-16 in returning a slave to his master. Why did he do it?

15-25

v. 19 Paul's own handwriting functions as a legal IOU. Either Onesimus had stolen something from his master or Paul is volunteering to pay for the slave's time. Philemon had Paul to owe to his existence as a Christian. Proverbs 6 warns against becoming a surety for someone else, but love of the brethren trumps that advice. One commentator noted that Paul guaranteed to pay for any past debts of Onesimus, but not against his future ones.

The first question to ask is why an obviously private letter between two individuals found its way into the Bible. It is the only NT book that does not allude to the OT. Even those who hold that this is a genuinely personal letter of Paul’s would not have trouble agreeing with Dunn that “the wider community is also in view.” In the first place, as Childs puts it, “Paul’s human appeal to Philemon as a prisoner in Christ is ultimately grounded in the gospel and is not simply a private concern of the apostle based on friendship.”

Also, it shows the practical working out of real social issues in the context of principles of Christian brotherhood and fellowship.

Martin’s assessment: “...this brief epistle is to be seen not so much as a private letter of Paul to an individual...but as an apostolic letter about a personal matter...”

The first evidence that the letter was important to Paul is seen in the literary skill exercised by Paul in drafting this note. In the first place, it follows the usual convention of ancient letters of the time (greeting, thanksgiving, blessing, body of letter, closing greetings and benediction). But even casual letters followed that format. Brown remarks on the extreme subtlety of the writing with “almost every verse hinting at something more than is stated.” Other commentators have pronounced:

“ It is no mere casual note, but a carefully crafted and sensitively worded piece, employing tact and irony.”

            “The personal and informal nature of Philemon...may distract attention from its extremely careful composition and observance of literary forms.”

Armed with these opinions, let's look first at how the letter is organized:

The Structure of Philemon

 

A. Opening Greetings and Blessing (1-3)

Five proper names ending with “grace...Lord Jesus Christ”

Fellow worker (1)

Fellow soldier (2)

B. Expression of Confidence (4-7) ends with “heart, refresh, brother”

C. “I am sending him back to you” (8-14) “love, I Paul”

C'. “Receive him as you would receive me” (15-19) “beloved, I Paul”

B'. Expression of Confidence (20-22) begins with “brother, refresh, heart”

A'. Closing Greetings and Blessing (23-25)

Five proper names ending with “grace...Lord Jesus Christ”

                                            Fellow prisoner (of war) (23)

                                Fellow worker (24)

There is actually a three-part argument in the letter using the same word for heart (the whole self): “[I]f Philemon refreshes the heart of Christians (v. 7); and if Onesimus refreshes Paul’s heart (v. 12); then to refresh Paul’s heart, Philemon must refresh the heart of Onesimus (v. 20).”

Sections A (Philemon 1-3) and A' (Philemon 23-25)

These two short units of Philemon should not be dismissed as mere bookkeeping since the above structure shows they are very prominent in the overall scheme of the letter. In each case Paul identifies himself directly or indirectly as a prisoner (different Greek word used in each case) “of / in Christ Jesus.”

Another implication to be derived from this chiasm is a possible literary reason behind the strange shifts in designations for Paul’s coworkers Epaphras and Aristarchus found in the conclusions of his letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. Without such a simple explanation, you end up with theories such as Dunn's that the two traded places as voluntary prisoners with Paul in between the time of the writing of the two epistles.

What is the reason for Paul utilizing the various designations for his “fellow” Christians? Regarding verses 23 and 24, Martin states that “Paul emphasizes yet once more the social nature of the Christian ministry with its mutual obligations,” obligations of which Paul hopes to remind Philemon in this letter. This is thus yet another literary device for stressing “the primary message of this epistle...Christian fellowship” and all its implications. This “brotherhood of faith” theme is reinforced by the use of “brother / sister” seven times in the epistle.

Both greetings are addressed to a plural audience, lending credence to the opinion that the larger setting of the Church was in view here. References to Philemon’s own house(church) in verses 2 and 22 may strengthen this supposition.

Sections B (Philemon 4-7) and B' (Philemon 20-22)

The relatively lengthy Thanksgiving Section B indicates cordial relations between Paul and Philemon and follows the pattern of other Pauline thanksgiving sections in that it is used to stress the main themes of the letter. The strongest parallel existing between these two units is that of theme. Verse 21 reiterates “Paul’s confidence in Philemon’s character as a Christian man,” first expressed in verses 4-7.

The two most debated verses in this brief appeal of Paul’s are (a) the thought behind his prayer in verse 6 and (b) the true nature of the “benefit” he expects from Philemon in verse 21. Both obscure passages seem to expect an action out of the recipient Philemon, and both occur in these parallel literary units B and B'. Therefore, it could reasonably inferred that both refer to the same request by Paul. This request has, at least in the latter verse, been reduced down to two likely candidates: the freeing of Onesimus or releasing him for a time to serve Paul. Most scholarly opinion of late has sided with the first view for a variety of reasons.

Sections C (Philemon 8-14) and C' (Philemon 15-19)

Section C constitutes one long Greek sentence which outlines Paul’s actions in relation to the runaway slave Onesimus and is characterized by its use of “imprisonment / prisoner” (vv. 9, 10, 13). This section begins (8-9) and ends (14) with a reference to Paul’s right to command Philemon, but his unwillingness to do so. Section C' turns to Paul’s expectations of Philemon in regard to Onesimus and contains the repeated word “owe” (vv. 18, 19).

Paul is probably hinting at the idea of freeing Onesimus (presumably the idea in verse 16) earlier in verse 13 when he uses diakonein for “serve” in place of douleuein, the root verb from which “slave” is derived. In these two sections Paul subliminally sets up the argument that it is his place as spiritual father to both Onesimus (v. 10) and Philemon (v. 19) to effect a reconciliation between his two sons.

There is an unusual set of bookends for this body of the letter since Paul in verses 8 and 19 utilizes the rhetorical device of stating that he will not say something, at the same time that he in fact is saying it.

Overall Structure

This letter, as diagrammed in Figure 1, falls into two halves. This is significant in highlighting Paul’s description of Philemon as “beloved” in verse 1 “paving the way for a later description of Onesimus as he should be treated in that community (v. 16: ‘a beloved brother’).” These two designations usher in their respective halves of the letter.

The chiastic form of this composition, as usual, underscores its main points. The two-part body of the letter (sections C and C') demonstrates that one basis of Paul’s appeal to Philemon is Paul’s close relationship to Onesimus. Sections B and B' base the same appeal on Paul’s confidence in Philemon’s character as a Christian. And finally, sections A and A', with their emphasis on Christian titles, stress the equality and interdependence of all Christian brothers and sisters. One may have wished that Paul were more forthright in stating his exact wishes regarding Onesimus’ fate, but as F. F. Bruce says, “What this epistle does is to bring us into an atmosphere in which the institution [slavery] could only wilt and die.”

Why didn't Paul merely command Philemon to free Onesimus if that was what he desired?

1. Appeal to free Onesimus had to be very subtle since Roman authorities had had several slave revolts and could have accused the new Christian religion of teaching that slavery was wrong.

2. Paul didn't want to reward Onesimus for his bad actions.

3. He wanted Philemon to do it out of love and conviction.

4. He really didn't want Philemon to be freed. See I Corinthians 7:21.

Consider the pros and cons of these various opinions.

What happened to Onesimus? Onesimus is mentioned in Colossians 4:9 also. It indicates that the slave originally came from that city but was not a Christian at that time and therefore the church there was unacquainted with him. He and Tychicus are entrusted with carrying the Letter to the Colossians and the Letter to Philemon. He is specifically called a “brother” to let people know that he is now a Christian. He is called faithful (or trustworthy) in contrast to his past behavior. And he is not called a slave, as is Tychicus.

St. Ignatius, in a letter written around 110 AD, on his way to Rome for execution mentions meeting the aged bishop of Ephesus, who was named Onesimus. Is it perhaps the same Onesimus? It has even been proposed that Onesimus was responsible for gathering together all of Paul's letters for circulation.