Apostle Paul, Rembrandt, probably 1633, Kunsthistorisches Museum. Public domain.
New Testament · Book 57 of 66
Philemon
Philemon is Paul's shortest letter, written to a believer named Philemon about his slave Onesimus. Paul asks Philemon to welcome Onesimus back as a brother in Christ.
Philemon is Paul's shortest letter, written to a believer named Philemon about his slave Onesimus. Paul asks Philemon to welcome Onesimus back as a brother in Christ.
What is Philemon about?
Philemon is a letter of one chapter that Paul wrote from prison to Philemon, a believer in whose house a church met. Onesimus, a slave of Philemon, had come to Paul and become a believer, and Paul now sends him home. Paul could order Philemon and chooses to appeal. He asks Philemon to receive Onesimus “no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother” (1:16). He offers to pay whatever Onesimus owes, writing the promise with his own hand, and he leaves the decision with Philemon.
All 1 chapters
Every chapter of the book, in one grid. Each cell opens that chapter.
- The love I hear of1:1 to 7
- My child Onesimus1:8 to 16
- Charge it to me1:17 to 25
The book is one chapter, and its three movements are verse ranges of it. The cell opens the chapter's Study level.
Who wrote it, where, when, for whom, and why?
The letter opens with Paul, a prisoner, and Timothy (1:1). Paul names himself again as aged and a prisoner (1:9), and he writes the promise to repay with his own hand (1:19).
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,
Philemon 1:1, Berean Standard Bible.
Paul writes in chains (1:10 and 13) and hopes to be restored to Philemon through his prayers (1:22). The letter goes to the church that meets at Philemon's house (1:2). Colossians, sent at the same time, calls Onesimus one of that church (Colossians 4:9) and gives Archippus a charge (Colossians 4:17), which places the house in Colossae.
The letter dates itself by Paul's own state: he is aged and in chains (1:9), and Colossians goes out by Tychicus with Onesimus in the same errand (Colossians 4:7 to 9). Where Paul was held stands under the Hard Questions.
The address names Philemon, Apphia, Archippus and the church in the house (1:1 to 2). The request itself speaks to Philemon (1:4 to 22), and the closing grace is for all of them (1:25).
Paul gives his reason in his own words: he appeals for his child Onesimus (1:10), sends him back (1:12), and asks Philemon to receive him as he would receive Paul (1:17).
So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.
Philemon 1:17, Berean Standard Bible.
Colossians carries the household rule for slaves and masters, and ends it by telling masters that they also have a Master in heaven (Colossians 3:22 to 4:1). Philemon is the same rule at work in one house.
Sources. In Philemon, 1:1 to 2, 1:4, 1:9 to 10, 1:12 to 13, 1:17, 1:19, 1:22 and 1:25; Colossians 3:22 to 4:1, 4:7 to 9 and 4:17. Every verse is read in the Berean Standard Bible.
How is Philemon arranged, and what is it for?
The three movements of its one chapter, then what it teaches and what it was given to do.
- The love I hear ofPhilemon 1:1 to 7, 7 verses, the turn at 1:7
Paul, a prisoner, greets Philemon and the church in his house and thanks God for the love that has refreshed the saints.
- My child OnesimusPhilemon 1:8 to 16, 9 verses, the turn at 1:16
Paul appeals where he could order, and sends Onesimus back as his child, his very heart and a beloved brother.
- Charge it to mePhilemon 1:17 to 25, 9 verses, the turn at 1:18
Receive him as you would receive me: Paul sets the debt to his own account, asks for a guest room and sends greetings from five.
The theme
Philemon shows the gospel at work between two men in one household. Paul could command, and he asks, so that the good done will be free. Onesimus, a slave who has come to faith, goes back to his master as a beloved brother, and Paul takes whatever he owes onto his own account. The letter's words are the words of a family: brother, sister, child, father, heart.
The purpose
The letter was written to send Onesimus home and to ask Philemon to receive him as he would receive Paul. It was read to the church in Philemon's house, so the request was made in front of the congregation. It leaves the decision with Philemon and closes in confidence that he will do more than Paul asks.
The account: what is owed, and to whom
The name, 1:10
Onesimus, meaning useful
Formerly, 1:11
achrēstos, “useless to you”
Now, 1:11
euchrēstos, “useful both to you and to me”
The request, 1:17: “receive him as you would receive me”
What Onesimus may owe Philemon
The decision, 1:14: Philemon's, “by your own free will”.
The love I hear of
What the text says in this movement, and the pages it opens on.
Paul writes as a prisoner, with Timothy, to Philemon, to Apphia, to Archippus and to the church that meets in Philemon's house (1:1 to 2). After the greeting of grace and peace (1:3) he tells Philemon that he thanks God for him in every prayer, because he hears of his faith in the Lord Jesus and his love for all the saints (1:4 to 5). He prays that Philemon's partnership in the faith will become effective (1:6). The thanksgiving ends on joy: Philemon, whom Paul calls brother, has refreshed the hearts of the saints (1:7).
I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
- Study
Philemon 1one chapter of 25 verses: the thanksgiving, the appeal for Onesimus, and the debt Paul takes on himselfShow the summary and 5 pagesShow summary, 5 pagesHide the summary
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, to Philemon our dearly beloved, thanking God for his love and faith. Paul could command but for love's sake rather beseeches. Being Paul the aged. For his son Onesimus, whom he has begotten in his bonds. Receive him not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved. If he has wronged you, put it on my account. Paul writes with his own hand. Prepare a lodging. Final greetings. Henry reads the letter as a masterpiece of Christian diplomacy. Brotherhood recast, reconciliation requested by grace rather than command.
On this chapter (5)
- The Bible and Slavery
What Scripture says of slavery, from the law to the letters.
- Imputation
What is counted to another's account, and on what ground.
- How did Onesimus come to be with Paul?
Answered under Where do readers disagree, lower on this page, with each reading and who holds it.
- Does the letter ask Philemon to set Onesimus free, and what is the "even more" of Philemon 1:21?
Answered under Where do readers disagree, lower on this page, with each reading and who holds it.
- The verse of the debt
Philemon 1:18 on its own page, with the commentators on it by era.
- The Bible and Slavery
7 names in both letters
Characters (5)
Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.
- Paul
The writer, a prisoner, who names himself three times.
- Timothy
Named with Paul in the greeting as our brother.
- Philemon
The beloved fellow worker the letter is written to.
- Apphia
Greeted as our sister, second in the address.
Show the next 1
- Archippus
Greeted as our fellow soldier, and charged again in Colossians 4:17.
Places (2)
Where these verses stand.
- The house where the church meets
Philemon's house, where the letter would be read to the church.
- Colossae
The town Colossians names as home to Onesimus.
Themes (2)
What these verses raise, each on its own page where one stands.
- Love that refreshes
Philemon's love for the saints, which has refreshed their hearts.
- Partnership
The partnership in the faith Paul prays will become effective.
Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (0)These verses speak in Paul's own words to one household.
The fold on Charge it to me sets these verses beside Colossians, the letter that travelled with them.
My child Onesimus
What the text says in this movement, and the pages it opens on.
Paul says he is bold enough in Christ to order Philemon to do what is proper, and he chooses to appeal on the basis of love, as an old man and a prisoner (1:8 to 9). The appeal is for his child Onesimus, whose father he became in chains (1:10). The name means useful, and Paul plays on it: once useless to Philemon, he is now useful to both of them (1:11). Paul sends him back as his very heart (1:12). He would have kept him to serve in the gospel, and he would do nothing without Philemon's consent, so that the good would come by free will (1:13 to 14). Perhaps he was parted for a while so that Philemon might have him back for good, no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother (1:15 to 16).
no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.
The family words of the letter
- Station 1, 1:1Brotherof Timothy“Timothy our brother”
- Station 2, 1:2Sisterof Apphia“Apphia our sister”
- Station 3, 1:7Brotherof Philemon“you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints”
- Station 4, 1:10Childof Onesimus“my child Onesimus”
- Station 5, 1:10Fatherof Paul“whose father I became while I was in chains”
- Station 6, 1:12My very heartof Onesimus“him who is my very heart”
- Station 7, 1:16Beloved brotherof Onesimus“as a beloved brother”
Characters (2)
Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.
- Onesimus
Philemon's slave, now Paul's child in the faith, sent back with the letter.
- Paul the aged
The old man and prisoner who appeals where he could order.
Places (2)
Where these verses stand.
- The place of the chains
Where Paul is held and Onesimus came to faith; Rome or Ephesus stands under the Hard Questions.
- Rome
The traditional place of writing, where Acts 28:30 leaves Paul two years in custody.
Themes (2)
What these verses raise, each on its own page where one stands.
- Appeal in place of command
Paul could order and chooses to ask, so the good is done by free will.
- The slave received as a brother
Onesimus goes home a beloved brother, in person and in the Lord.
Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (0)These verses speak in Paul's own words to one household.
The fold on Charge it to me sets these verses beside Colossians, the letter that travelled with them.
Charge it to me
What the text says in this movement, and the pages it opens on.
If Philemon counts Paul a partner, he is to receive Onesimus as he would receive Paul (1:17). Any wrong or any debt is to be charged to Paul's account, and Paul writes the promise with his own hand: he will repay it, not to mention that Philemon owes him his very self (1:18 to 19). He asks for some benefit from Philemon in the Lord and for his own heart to be refreshed (1:20). He writes in confidence that Philemon will do even more than he asks (1:21), and asks him to prepare a guest room (1:22). Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke send greetings, and the letter closes with grace (1:23 to 25).
But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.
The debt and the payment of this movement are drawn as the account, under The book as a whole.
Characters (2)
Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.
- Epaphras
Paul's fellow prisoner, who sends greetings first.
- Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke
The four fellow workers who send greetings, all named again in Colossians 4.
Places (2)
Where these verses stand.
- The guest room
The lodging Paul asks Philemon to prepare, in hope of release.
- Ephesus
The other place of writing proposed, a short road from Colossae.
Themes (3)
What these verses raise, each on its own page where one stands.
- The debt taken by another
Whatever Onesimus owes is charged to Paul's account.
- Reconciliation
A master and a slave received back to one another as brothers.
- Forgiveness
A wrong acknowledged and a debt paid by another.
Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (2)These verses speak in Paul's own words to one household.
The letter that travelled with it carries the same house and the same names, and the store links these verses to it:
- Companion letter, Colossians 3:22 to 4:1
The same letter-carrier brought the household rule for slaves and masters to Colossae, and it ends by telling masters they serve a Master in heaven.
“you also have a Master in heaven” (Colossians 4:1)
- Companion letter, Colossians 4:7 to 17
Colossians sends Onesimus home with Tychicus and names him a brother to the whole church, with the same greeters Philemon names.
“Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you” (Colossians 4:9)
- Author
- Paul, with Timothy (v. 1)
- Date
- c. AD 60–62, from Roman imprisonment: companion letter to Colossians
- Audience
- Philemon, with Apphia, Archippus, and the church in his house
Where do readers disagree?
One list: the readings with their holders, and what the evidence does not settle.
How did Onesimus come to be with Paul?
- He ran away, perhaps with his master's goods. Held by John Chrysostom, Homilies on Philemon (about 400), and by J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon (1875).
- He went to Paul as a friend of his master, to plead his case. Held by Peter Lampe, "Keine 'Sklavenflucht' des Onesimus", Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 76 (1985).
- He was sent to Paul by the church in the house. Held by Sara C. Winter, "Paul's Letter to Philemon", New Testament Studies 33 (1987).
- He was Philemon's brother by birth. Held by Allen Dwight Callahan, Embassy of Onesimus: The Letter of Paul to Philemon (1997).
What the evidence does not settle: The letter says only that Onesimus was separated from Philemon for a while (1:15) and might owe him something (1:18), and that he became Paul's child while Paul was in chains (1:10); how he came to Paul stands open.
The argument in full
He ran away, perhaps with his master's goods. The offer to pay for any wrong or debt at 1:18 reads most naturally as a loss the slave caused when he left.
He went to Paul as a friend of his master, to plead his case. Roman lawyers treated a slave who went to a friend of his owner to ask him to intercede as a man seeking help within his rights, and Paul writes as that friend.
He was sent to Paul by the church in the house. Paul says Onesimus served him on Philemon's behalf (1:13), and the letter asks that he be released for the gospel.
He was Philemon's brother by birth. The words "both in person and in the Lord" at 1:16 are read as brothers by blood as well as in faith, with "as a slave" a comparison.
Does the letter ask Philemon to set Onesimus free, and what is the "even more" of Philemon 1:21?
The Bible and Slavery→- Freedom, asked for in the words of 1:16 and 1:21. Held by J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon.
- Onesimus sent back to Paul for the gospel. Held by John Knox, Philemon among the Letters of Paul (1935), and by Sara C. Winter, "Paul's Letter to Philemon" (1987).
- A welcome as a brother, the household order left standing. Held by John Chrysostom in his Homilies on Philemon.
What the evidence does not settle: Paul asks for a welcome (1:17) and says Philemon will do even more than he asks (1:21); the letter ends on that confidence and on the guest room of 1:22.
The argument in full
Freedom, asked for in the words of 1:16 and 1:21. A beloved brother in person and in the Lord (1:16), received as Paul himself (1:17), points to release, and 1:21 leaves Philemon to take the step.
Onesimus sent back to Paul for the gospel. Paul says he would have liked to keep him (1:13), so the more of 1:21 is Onesimus returned to serve with Paul.
A welcome as a brother, the household order left standing. Paul sends the slave back to his master, which Chrysostom reads as teaching that the gospel leaves slaves with their masters.
From where was the letter written, Rome or Ephesus?
- Rome. Held by J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon.
- Ephesus. Held by George S. Duncan, St Paul's Ephesian Ministry (1929), and by Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Letter to Philemon, Anchor Bible (2000).
What the evidence does not settle: The letter speaks of Paul's chains and of his hope of coming to Philemon (1:22), and both cities fit those words.
The argument in full
Rome. Acts leaves Paul two years in Rome in his own rented house, open to all who came (Acts 28:30), and Luke and Aristarchus were with him on the voyage (Acts 27:2).
Ephesus. Ephesus lies near Colossae, which fits a slave reaching Paul and Paul asking for a guest room (1:22); Paul speaks of many imprisonments (2 Corinthians 11:23).
Is this Onesimus the bishop of Ephesus whom Ignatius names?
- The same man, whose standing kept the letter. Held by John Knox, Philemon among the Letters of Paul, reading Ignatius of Antioch, To the Ephesians 1.3.
What the evidence does not settle: Onesimus was a common name for a slave, and Ignatius names his bishop by that name and by his see, Ephesus.
The argument in full
The same man, whose standing kept the letter. Ignatius, writing about fifty years later, names the bishop of Ephesus Onesimus, and a bishop who had been this slave would explain why the letter was gathered with Paul's.
How was the letter read in the disputes over slavery?
The Bible and Slavery→- Paul returned a runaway to his owner. Held by Thornton Stringfellow, A Brief Examination of Scripture Testimony on the Institution of Slavery (1841).
- The letter's principle undoes slavery. Held by Albert Barnes, An Inquiry into the Scriptural Views of Slavery (1846).
What the evidence does not settle: The letter speaks to one master about one slave; readers on both sides drew their rule from the same request and the same return.
The argument in full
Paul returned a runaway to his owner. Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon, which Stringfellow read as the apostle upholding the owner's claim.
The letter's principle undoes slavery. A slave received as a beloved brother (1:16) and as Paul himself (1:17) stands as an equal, and Barnes read that standing as the end of ownership.
Why was so short and private a letter kept by the churches?
- Because it teaches, small as it is. Held by Jerome in his Commentary on Philemon (about 386), in its preface.
- Because Onesimus rose in the church. Held by John Knox, Philemon among the Letters of Paul.
What the evidence does not settle: The letter was addressed to the church in the house as well as to Philemon (1:2), so it was a church letter from the start, and Marcion's collection and the Muratorian list both carry it by the second century.
The argument in full
Because it teaches, small as it is. Jerome defends the letter against readers who judged it too slight to build up the church.
Because Onesimus rose in the church. If Onesimus became bishop of Ephesus, the letter that freed him to serve had a keeper with a reason to gather it.
The Text and the Spade
- Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis in the Lycus valleythe earthquake of about AD 60 or 61; Laodicea and Hierapolis extensively excavated, Colossae surveyed from its surface
The three towns sat within a few miles of one another on the road east from Ephesus. Laodicea and Hierapolis have been excavated at length, and the Colossae mound has been surveyed and mapped from its surface, so what is known of Philemon's own town comes from that survey and from its two neighbours. An earthquake levelled the district about AD 60 or 61, and Tacitus records that Laodicea rebuilt from its own funds. That is the setting the letter travels into, and the wealth implied by a house large enough to hold a congregation and to keep slaves fits what the valley's remains show of it.
- Slave tags and collars from Roman Italymostly 4th century AD, later than this letter
Bronze tags and collars have been recovered inscribed with instructions to hold the wearer and return him to a named owner for a reward. The best known is the Zoninus collar in Rome. These objects date from two or three centuries after Paul. They establish that the recovery of runaways was a settled and organized business in the Roman world, carried on with hardware.
- The manumission inscriptions at Delphi2nd century BC to the 1st century AD
More than a thousand records are cut into the polygonal wall below the temple at Delphi, each recording a slave sold to Apollo for freedom, with the price, the witnesses and the terms. They are the largest surviving body of evidence for how ancient slaves were freed, and they supply the everyday vocabulary of purchase and release that the New Testament uses for redemption. A reader of Philemon in the first century knew what such a transaction looked like and what it cost.
The pages Philemon opens on
Studies12
Words7
Books beside it5
Sources for this page
The movements, the chapter entry, the figures and the Context are read off the text of Philemon and of Colossians. The works behind the readings under Where do readers disagree are Ignatius of Antioch, To the Ephesians (about 110); Jerome, Commentary on Philemon (about 386); John Chrysostom, Homilies on Philemon (about 400); Thornton Stringfellow, A Brief Examination of Scripture Testimony on the Institution of Slavery (1841); Albert Barnes, An Inquiry into the Scriptural Views of Slavery (1846); J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon (1875); George S. Duncan, St Paul's Ephesian Ministry (1929); John Knox, Philemon among the Letters of Paul (1935); Peter Lampe, “Keine ‘Sklavenflucht’ des Onesimus”, Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft (1985); Sara C. Winter, “Paul's Letter to Philemon”, New Testament Studies (1987); Allen Dwight Callahan, Embassy of Onesimus (1997); and Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Letter to Philemon (2000). The Greek words of the account are the site's lexicon entries. Every verse quoted on this page is the Berean Standard Bible, read from the store.