AUTHOR: PAUL, the apostle of Jesus Christ (Phm 1,9,19)
PLACE OF WRITING: ROME, about the same time the epistle to the Colossians was written. This deduction is based upon the following:
TIME OF WRITING: If the epistle to Philemon was written about the time Colossians and the other "prison epistles" (Ephesians and Philippians) were written, then it was written during Paul's imprisonment at Rome, sometime during the period of 61-63 A.D.
BACKGROUND OF THE EPISTLE: Philemon was a member of the church at Colosse (cf. Phm 1,2, with Co 4:17), and a very hospitable one at that (Phm 1,2,5,7). It is possible that he was one of Paul's own converts (Phm 19). It is also plausible that Apphia was his wife, and Archippus his son (Phm 1,2).
Onesimus had been one of Philemon's slaves (Phm 16), who had run away (Phm 15). It appears that he somehow traveled to Rome where he found Paul and was converted to Christ (Phm 10). He had become very dear to Paul, and was proving to be very useful (Phm 11-13).
But Paul did not think it right to keep Onesimus in Rome, and was sending him back to Philemon (Phm 12-14). This letter to Philemon is an appeal for him to receive Onesimus now as a brother in Christ, and for him to forgive Onesimus if he had done any wrong (Phm 15-21).
PURPOSE OF WRITING: From the content of the epistle, it appears that Paul had both a primary and secondary purpose:
THE VALUE OF THIS EPISTLE: This short, but valuable epistle has been described as:
Perhaps this is why the Holy Spirit deemed it proper to preserve it for our benefit.
KEY PASSAGE: "I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me." (Phm 10-11)
A detailed outline of the epistle can be found in the material on Chapter One.
The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
Loading
Loading
Interlinear |
Bibles |
Cross-Refs |
Commentaries |
Dictionaries |
Miscellaneous |