Tool Beta
The Ancient World Behind the Text
Pick a passage anywhere in the New Testament. See the customs and ideas a first reader knew without being told.
Philemon 8-25, Onesimus sent home with a letter
Paul appeals to Philemon, on the basis of love, for Onesimus, the slave who became Paul's son in prison: he sends him back to be received as a beloved brother rather than as a slave, asks Philemon to welcome him as he would Paul, offers to repay anything he owes, and asks for a guest room.
Philemon 8-25, in every translation this tool compares.
Paul could simply order Philemon to do the right thing, but he appeals to him in love instead, on behalf of Onesimus, who became like a son to Paul while he was in prison. He says Onesimus, once useless to Philemon, is now useful to them both, and sends him back though he would rather have kept him as a helper. He asks Philemon to receive Onesimus as a beloved brother and as he would Paul himself, offers to pay any debt, and asks for a guest room to be readied. Whether Onesimus had run away, and what exactly Paul asks for him, are both debated.
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Most sources take Onesimus for a runaway, which Wright calls "a capital offence" in Philemon's world. Carson, Moo and Morris also allow an errand he failed to return from, or flight to "claim sanctuary at an altar, which might be a household altar", a Greek practice; the CSB Study Bible doubts the view that he sought Paul as an advocate. He fled to Ephesus (Wright) or Rome (the Zondervan dictionary); Carson, Moo and Morris cannot say. "Roman law required Paul to return Onesimus to his master" (the cultural backgrounds notes; Keener), and a master could legally execute his slaves (the cultural backgrounds article on Philemon). It was unthinkable to keep as a slave the son of one's spiritual benefactor (the cultural backgrounds notes; Keener). What Paul asks is read differently: Keener, his notes, the CSB Study Bible, the cultural backgrounds article and Wright, for whom more than I say "can only refer to giving Onesimus his freedom", read freedom; the ESV Study Bible is unsure; Carson, Moo and Morris say only that Paul urges a kind welcome, though calling him a brother "makes slavery meaningless". The cultural backgrounds notes judge that "Paul's letter is therefore more countercultural than Pliny's".
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, introduction to Philemon (Slavery and the Setting of Philemon; Structure and Form), and on Philemon 9, 10, 11, 18-19 and 21
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Introduction to Philemon (Situation), and notes on Philemon 1:10, 1:11, 1:14, 1:19 and 1:21
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, article Ancient Slavery and the Background for Philemon (Philemon 8-21)
- ESV Study Bible, study note on Philemon 21
- CSB Study Bible, Introduction to Philemon (Background), and notes on Philemon 19 and 21
- N. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters, comment on Philemon 1-7, 8-14 and 15-25
- D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament, ch. 16, Philemon, Occasion and The Contribution of Philemon
- J. D. Douglas and Merrill C. Tenney, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary, entry Onesimus
