Letter to PhilemonPhilemon

If you don’t know me, my name is Rachel, and these are my scripture notes on the Epistle to the Philemon. The verses are presented sequentially in English and Greek, followed by my commentary. Think of it as a living midrash: whenever I learn something new, I add a note. My notes draw from an eclectic range of ancient sources, both Jewish and Gentile. See my about page for more.

Philemon 1Πρὸς Φιλήμονα α΄

• Scholars agree Paul of Tarsus (c. 5–65) indeed wrote this letter.

• The heresiologist Tertullian (c. 155–c. 220) notes that the early Christian canonizer Marcion of Sinope (c. 85–c. 160) included Philemon. This is important to dating since Marcion leaves out the Pastoral epistles, which scholars attribute to their forgery and lateness.

Tertullian, Against Marcion 5.21 – To this epistle alone its brevity has been of use, so that it escaped the falsifying hands of Marcion. I wonder, however, since he received a letter written to a single man, why he rejected the two to Timothy and the one to Titus, composed about the state of the church. He aimed, I suppose, at tampering even with the number of the epistles.

Soli huic Epistolae brevitas sua profuit, ut falsarias manus Marcionis evaderet. Miror tamen, cum ad unum hominem literas factas receperit, quid ad Timotheum duas, et unam ad Titum, de ecclesiastico statu compositas recusaverit. Adfectavit, opinor, etiam numerum Epistolarum interpolare.

• Jerome (347–420 CE) shares that some Christians didn’t consider Philemon scripture on the grounds that it’s too mundane. The argument is that even if Paul could produce divine accounts, surely not everything he’s ever said or done comes from Holy Spirit.

Jerome on Philemon, Prologue – Those who refuse to receive among the Epistles of Paul the one written to Philemon say that the Apostle did not always, nor in everything, speak with Christ speaking in him, because human weakness could not have borne one unbroken strain of the Holy Spirit, nor could the needs of this poor body be met while the Lord was always present: such as arranging a meal, taking food, being hungry, being full, digesting what was eaten, replenishing what was spent.

Qui nolunt inter Epistolas Pauli eam recipere quae ad Philemonem scribitur, aiunt, non semper Apostolum, nec omnia, Christo in se loquente, dixisse: quia nec humana imbecillitas unum tenorem sancti Spiritus ferre potuisset: nec hujus corpusculi necessitates sub praesentia Domini semper complerentur: velut disponere prandium, cibum capere, esurire, saturari, ingesta digerere, exhausta complere

• Paul calls himself a prisoner,δέσμιος of Jesus, as he does in other letters.

Ephesians 3:1 – ¹For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

¹Τούτου χάριν ἐγὼ Παῦλος ὁ δέσμιος τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν τῶν ἐθνῶν, —

• Elsewhere he uses slave,δοῦλος, which the KJV renders “servant.”

Romans 1:1 – ¹Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

¹Παῦλος, δοῦλος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, κλητὸς ἀπόστολος, ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον Θεοῦ,

Philippians 1:1 – ¹Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

¹Παῦλος καὶ Τιμόθεος, δοῦλοι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, πᾶσι τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Φιλίπποις, σὺν ἐπισκόποις καὶ διακόνοις·

• Islamic tradition similarly uses this language of submission. Surah Maryam (Mary) includes a story of the infant Jesus miraculously giving his first sermon. He declares himself both a slave,عَبْدُ and prophet of Allah, urging all to serve God.

Quran 19:27-36 – ²⁷Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing. ²⁸O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot. ²⁹Then she pointed to him. They said: How can we talk to one who is in the cradle, a young boy? ³⁰He spake: Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet, ³¹And hath made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and hath enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive, ³²And (hath made me) dutiful toward her who bore me, and hath not made me arrogant, unblest. ³³Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive! ³⁴Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt. ³⁵It befitteth not (the Majesty of) Allah that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is. ³⁶And lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So serve Him. That is the right path.

²⁷فَأَتَتْ بِهِۦ قَوْمَهَا تَحْمِلُهُۥ ۖ قَالُوا۟ يَٰمَرْيَمُ لَقَدْ جِئْتِ شَيْـًۭٔا فَرِيًّۭا ²⁸يَٰٓأُخْتَ هَٰرُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ ٱمْرَأَ سَوْءٍۢ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّۭا ²⁹فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ ۖ قَالُوا۟ كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَن كَانَ فِى ٱلْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّۭا ³⁰قَالَ إِنِّى عَبْدُ ٱللَّهِ ءَاتَىٰنِىَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيًّۭا ³¹وَجَعَلَنِى مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ وَأَوْصَٰنِى بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱلزَّكَوٰةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّۭا ³²وَبَرًّۢا بِوَٰلِدَتِى وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْنِى جَبَّارًۭا شَقِيًّۭا ³³وَٱلسَّلَٰمُ عَلَىَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّۭا ³⁴ذَٰلِكَ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ ۚ قَوْلَ ٱلْحَقِّ ٱلَّذِى فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ ³⁵مَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ أَن يَتَّخِذَ مِن وَلَدٍۢ ۖ سُبْحَٰنَهُۥٓ ۚ إِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًۭا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ ³⁶وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبُّكُمْ فَٱعْبُدُوهُ ۚ هَٰذَا صِرَٰطٌۭ مُّسْتَقِيمٌۭ

Quran 25:63 – ⁶³The (faithful) slaves of the Beneficent are they who walk upon the earth modestly, and when the foolish ones address them answer: Peace;

⁶³وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ هَوْنًۭا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلْجَٰهِلُونَ قَالُوا۟ سَلَٰمًۭا

• Codex Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, and Claromontanus call Apphia our sister,ἀδελφῇ, doubtless the original wording. Feminist Christians appeal to Apphia as proof women were important in the early church despite later minimization in the Pastorals.

• Archippus also appears in Colossians, though this letter is of disputed authorship among scholars.

Colossians 4:17 – ¹⁷And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

¹⁷καὶ εἴπατε Ἀρχίππῳ, Βλέπε τὴν διακονίαν ἣν παρέλαβες ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἵνα αὐτὴν πληροῖς.

• Colossians shares the same faith-and-love formula in its opening greeting.

Colossians 1:4 – ⁴Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

⁴ἀκούσαντες τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην τὴν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους,

• Manuscripts vary. Some say in you,ὑμῖν while others read in us,ἡμῖν.

• All extant manuscripts read Paul the aged,πρεσβύτης, though the RSV emends ambassador,πρεσβευτής. The NRSV reverts to “old man” but keeps a footnote.

• Onesimus also appears in Colossians.

Colossians 4:9 – ⁹With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

⁹σὺν Ὀνησίμῳ τῷ πιστῷ καὶ ἀγαπητῷ ἀδελφῷ, ὅς ἐστιν ἐξ ὑμῶν. πάντα ὑμῖν γνωριοῦσι τὰ ὧδε.

• Jerome describes Onesimus as a runaway slave.

Jerome on Philemon 10 – At the same time one must marvel at the magnanimity of the Apostle, his mind burning for Christ. He is held in prison, bound with chains, hemmed in by the filth of his body, by separation from his dear ones, by penal darkness; and he does not feel the injury, is not racked by pain, knows nothing else but to think about the Gospel of Christ. He knew the man was a slave, he knew he was a runaway, he knew he had once been a thief, now converted to the faith of Christ.

Simul autem admirandum de magnanimitate Apostoli, et in Christum mente ferventis. Tenetur in carcere, vinculis stringitur, squalore corporis, charorum separatione, poenalibus tenebris coarctatur, et non sentit injuriam, non dolore cruciatur, nihil novit aliud, nisi de Christi Evangelio cogitare. Sciebat servum, sciebat fugitivum, sciebat aliquando raptorem ad Christi fidem esse conversum.

• Ignatius of Antioch (c. 40–c. 108) writes to an Onesimus, bishop of Ephesus. There’s a powerful story one could tell if they were indeed the same person.

Ignatius to the Ephesians 1 – Since, then, I have received in the name of God your whole multitude in Onesimus, a man of inexpressible love, and your bishop, I pray you by Jesus Christ to love him, and that you all be like him. For blessed is he who has granted you, being worthy, to possess such a bishop.

ἐπεὶ οὖν τὴν πολυπλήθειαν ὑμῶν ἐν ὀνόματι θεοῦ ἀπείληφα ἐν Ὀνησίμῳ, τῷ ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἀδιηγήτῳ, ὑμῶν δὲ ἐπισκόπῳ, ὄν εὔχομαι κατὰ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ὑμᾶς ἀγαπᾶν καὶ πάντας ὑμᾶς αὐτῷ ἐν ὁμοιότητι εἶναι. εὐλογητὸς γὰρ ὁ χαρισάμενος ὑμῖν ἀξίοις οὖσι τοιοῦτον ἐπίσκοπον κεκτῆσθαι.

• Paul uses this same “I have begotten you” language in 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 4:15 – ¹⁵For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

¹⁵ἐὰν γὰρ μυρίους παιδαγωγοὺς ἔχητε ἐν Χριστῷ, ἀλλ’ οὐ πολλοὺς πατέρας· ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς ἐγέννησα.

• receive himπροσλαβοῦ is absent from our oldest manuscripts. The KJV reads much smoother here than the critical Greek supports.

• Galatians and 2 Thessalonians sign off similarly, appealing to Paul’s handwriting. Although in these latter cases the author is advocating for authenticity rather than here where Paul is promising he’ll repay his debts.

Galatians 6:11 – ¹¹Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.

¹¹Ἴδετε πηλίκοις ὑμῖν γράμμασιν ἔγραψα τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί.

2 Thessalonians 3:17 – ¹⁷The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.

¹⁷Ὁ ἀσπασμὸς τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ Παύλου, ὅ ἐστι σημεῖον ἐν πάσῃ ἐπιστολῇ· οὕτω γράφω.

Jerome on Philemon 19 – What he says is this: What Onesimus seized by theft, I pledge myself to repay; and of this pledge this epistle and my own hand are witness, which I did not dictate in the usual way but wrote out myself with my own hand. Trust me, then, as I promise on behalf of Onesimus.

Quod dicit tale est: Quod Onesimus furto rapuit, ego me spondeo redditurum: cujus sponsionis, Epistola haec et manus testis est propria: quam non solito more dictavi, sed mea manu ipse conscripsi. Crede igitur mihi pro Onesimo pollicenti.

• Ignatius echoes this formula.

Ignatius to the Ephesians 2 – May I have joy of you always, if indeed I am worthy.

ὀναίμην ὑμῶν διὰ παντός, ἐάνπερ ἄξιος ὦ.

• Jerome notes the difficulty in translating this verse.

Jerome on Philemon 20 – “Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord.” The Latin language does not express the Greek idiom. For what he says, ναὶ ἀδελφέ, the ναὶ is a kind of adverb of one who coaxes. But we, translating it “ita, frater,” sound out something more watery and diluted, I know not what, other than what is written. For just as that Hebrew ANNA, which the Seventy translators often rendered ὦ δή, in its own language signifies the feeling of one entreating, whence Symmachus sometimes translated ANNA as δέομαι, that is, “I beseech”: so we too suffer in the Greek language the same loss that the Greeks suffer in the Hebrew.

Proprietatem Graecam Latinus sermo non explicat. Quod enim ait, ναὶ, ἀδελφέ: ναὶ quoddam quasi adverbium blandientis est. Nos autem interpretantes, ita, frater, aquatius et dilutius nescio quid magis aliud quam id quod est scriptum, sonamus. Sicut enim ANNA ( ) illud Hebraicum, pro quo frequenter Septuaginta interpretes ὦ δὴ transtulerunt, in lingua sua significat deprecantis affectum: unde nonnumquam Symmachus pro ANNA, δέομαι, hoc est, obsecro, transtulit: ita et nos eamdem in Graeca lingua vim patimur, quam Graeci sustinent in Hebraea.

• Epaphras also appears in Colossians.

Colossians 4:12 – ¹²Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

¹²ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Ἐπαφρᾶς ὁ ἐξ ὑμῶν, δοῦλος Χριστοῦ, πάντοτε ἀγωνιζόμενος ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς, ἵνα στῆτε τέλειοι καὶ πεπληρωμένοι ἐν παντὶ θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ·

• Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke also appear in Colossians.

Colossians 4:10 – ¹⁰Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)

¹⁰Ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ συναιχμάλωτός μου, καὶ Μάρκος ὁ ἀνεψιὸς Βαρνάβα (περὶ οὗ ἐλάβετε ἐντολάς· ἐὰν ἔλθῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς, δέξασθε αὐτόν),

Colossians 4:14 – ¹⁴Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

¹⁴ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Λουκᾶς ὁ ἰατρὸς ὁ ἀγαπητὸς, καὶ Δημᾶς.

• Demas seems to have had a falling out with Paul. Or perhaps the author of 2 Timothy needed to discredit his ministry.

2 Timothy 4:10-11 – ¹⁰For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. ¹¹Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

¹⁰Δημᾶς γάρ με ἐγκατέλιπεν, ἀγαπήσας τὸν νῦν αἰῶνα, καὶ ἐπορεύθη εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην· Κρήσκης εἰς Γαλατίαν, Τίτος εἰς Δαλματίαν. ¹¹Λουκᾶς ἐστι μόνος μετ’ ἐμοῦ. Μᾶρκον ἀναλαβὼν ἄγε μετὰ σεαυτοῦ· ἔστι γάρ μοι εὔχρηστος εἰς διακονίαν.