Philemon 1: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

Paul, in prison, writes a short personal letter to Philemon, a Christian whose house hosts a church, along with Apphia, Archippus, and that church. Paul thanks God for Philemon's love and faith, then makes his request: he asks Philemon to welcome back Onesimus, a slave who had left him, now returning as a beloved brother rather than only a slave. Paul offers to pay whatever Onesimus owes, expresses confidence that Philemon will do even more than asked, requests a guest room, and closes with greetings from his coworkers.

Claim by Claim

1. 1:1
   • Paul is the author of this letter.
   • Paul is a prisoner of Christ Jesus.
   • Timothy is joined with Paul in the greeting.
   • Timothy is called a brother.
   • The letter is addressed to Philemon.
   • Philemon is dearly beloved by Paul and Timothy.
   • Philemon is a fellow worker with Paul and Timothy.
2. 1:2
   • The letter is also addressed to Apphia.
   • Apphia is beloved.
   • The letter is also addressed to Archippus.
   • Archippus is a fellow soldier of Paul and Timothy.
   • The letter is also addressed to the church that meets in Philemon's house.
3. 1:3
   • Paul wishes grace to the recipients.
   • Paul wishes peace to the recipients.
   • The grace and peace come from God the Father.
   • God is called our Father.
   • The grace and peace come from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. 1:4
   • Paul thanks his God.
   • Paul makes mention of Philemon always in his prayers.
5. 1:5
   • Paul hears of Philemon's love.
   • Paul hears of Philemon's faith.
   • Philemon's love and faith are directed toward the Lord Jesus.
   • Philemon's love and faith are directed toward all the saints.
6. 1:6
   • Paul's purpose is that the sharing of Philemon's faith become effective.
   • The sharing of Philemon's faith becomes effective through the full recognition of every good thing that is in you in Christ Jesus.
7. 1:7
   • Paul has great joy in Philemon's love.
   • Paul has great comfort in Philemon's love.
   • The inward hearts of the saints have been refreshed by Philemon.
   • Paul calls Philemon brother.
8. 1:8
   • Paul could be very bold in Christ.
   • Paul could command Philemon to do what is fitting.
9. 1:9
   • Paul instead appeals to Philemon for love's sake.
   • Paul describes himself as an aged man.
   • Paul is now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus.
10. 1:10
    • Paul appeals to Philemon on behalf of his child Onesimus.
    • Paul became Onesimus's father while in chains.
11. 1:11
    • Onesimus was formerly useless to Philemon.
    • Onesimus is now useful to Philemon.
    • Onesimus is now useful to Paul.
12. 1:12
    • Paul has sent Onesimus back to Philemon.
    • Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus.
    • Paul calls Onesimus his own heart.
13. 1:13
    • Paul wanted to keep Onesimus with himself.
    • Paul's purpose in keeping him would have been that Onesimus minister to Paul in Philemon's place.
    • Paul is in bonds because of the gospel.
14. 1:14
    • Paul was unwilling to do anything without Philemon's consent.
    • Paul's reason was that Philemon's good deed should not be done from compulsion.
    • Paul's reason was that Philemon's good deed should be done willingly.
15. 1:15
    • Perhaps Onesimus was separated from Philemon for a short time.
    • The purpose of the separation may have been that Philemon receive Onesimus back forever.
16. 1:16
    • Philemon is to receive Onesimus no longer as a slave.
    • Onesimus is more than a slave.
    • Onesimus is a beloved brother.
    • Onesimus is especially beloved to Paul.
    • Onesimus is beloved to Philemon much more than to Paul.
    • Onesimus is a brother to Philemon in the flesh.
    • Onesimus is a brother to Philemon in the Lord.
17. 1:17
    • If Philemon counts Paul a partner, then Philemon should receive Onesimus as he would receive Paul.
18. 1:18
    • If Onesimus has wronged Philemon, Philemon should charge it to Paul's account.
    • If Onesimus owes Philemon anything, Philemon should charge it to Paul's account.
19. 1:19
    • Paul writes this with his own hand.
    • Paul states his own name in the writing.
    • Paul will repay the debt.
    • Paul says he will not mention that Philemon owes Paul his own self besides.
20. 1:20
    • Paul calls Philemon brother.
    • Paul asks to have benefit from Philemon in the Lord.
    • Paul asks Philemon to refresh his heart in the Lord.
21. 1:21
    • Paul is confident of Philemon's obedience.
    • Paul wrote to Philemon.
    • Paul knows Philemon will do more than Paul says.
22. 1:22
    • Paul asks Philemon to prepare a lodging for him.
    • Paul trusts that he will be given to them through their prayers.
23. 1:23
    • Epaphras greets Philemon.
    • Epaphras is Paul's fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.
24. 1:24
    • Marcus greets Philemon.
    • Aristarchus greets Philemon.
    • Demas greets Philemon.
    • Lucas greets Philemon.
    • These four are Paul's fellow workers.
25. 1:25
    • Paul wishes the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to be with their spirit.
    • The letter closes with Amen.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

1:1

"A prisoner of Jesus Christ" means a prisoner on account of Jesus Christ, not one held by him. Paul writes from custody, most often placed at Rome, though Ephesus and Caesarea have also been argued. The letter is a private one about a single matter: Philemon is a householder wealthy enough to own slaves, and Onesimus, one of them, has left him and ended up with Paul.

1:2

The first Christians had no church buildings. A congregation was a group meeting in the house of a member with a room large enough to hold it, which is why the host of such a house was a person of standing among them. Apphia and Archippus are usually taken to belong to Philemon's household. "Fellowsoldier" was an ordinary metaphor for a comrade in a shared campaign and says nothing about military service.

1:3

"Grace to you, and peace" is Paul's standing greeting in place of the usual opening of a Greek letter. The customary word was chairein, "greetings"; Paul substitutes the similar sounding charis, "grace", and adds the Jewish greeting shalom, "peace".

1:4

The King James English keeps a distinction modern English has lost: "thee", "thou" and "thy" are singular, "ye" and "you" plural. From here through verse 21 Paul is speaking to Philemon alone. Verses 3, 22 and 25 switch to the plural and address the whole group that meets in the house, so the household hears the request made to its head.

1:5

"Saints" in the King James does not mean unusually holy individuals or people formally canonized by a church. It translates a word meaning those set apart for God, and Paul uses it for ordinary members of the congregations, here the believers Philemon has helped.

1:6

In 1611 "communication" could mean a sharing or a partnership, not conversation. The underlying Greek word covers fellowship, a joint enterprise, and practical generosity together. This sentence is among the hardest in Paul's letters, and translators genuinely differ over whether it refers to Philemon telling others of his faith, to his partnership with fellow believers, or to the open handedness that partnership produces.

1:7

Greek writers located deep feeling in the inward organs where modern English puts it in the heart. "The bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee" means Philemon has put fresh heart into fellow believers, and the verb suggests the relief given to someone tired or hard pressed, by hospitality and material help as much as by words.

1:8

"Convenient" in 1611 meant fitting or proper, what the case calls for, with no sense of handy or easy. "Enjoin" means to command. Paul is naming the authority he is choosing not to use, which sets up the request that follows.

1:9

"Paul the aged" renders a Greek word, presbytes, that normally means an old man, and most take it that way. A nearly identical word means an ambassador or envoy, and some translators and ancient readers preferred that sense, which would give "Paul an ambassador, and now also a prisoner". The letter itself does not settle it. "Beseech" is a mild verb, to request or appeal, deliberately set against "enjoin" in the previous verse.

1:10

"Bonds" are chains, that is, Paul's imprisonment. Speaking of begetting or fathering someone was a standard way of describing bringing a person to faith, so Paul is saying he converted Onesimus while in custody and therefore stands to him as a father. That claim matters legally as well as warmly: Paul is placing himself between the slave and his owner.

1:11

The name Onesimus means "useful" or "profitable". It was a common slave name, given for what a slave was expected to be. The verse is a deliberate play on it: the slave named Useful had been useless to his owner, and now, Paul says, lives up to his name for them both.

1:12

"Mine own bowels" again uses the inward parts as the seat of affection. To call a person your own bowels is to say he is a piece of yourself, so that how Philemon treats Onesimus is how he treats Paul.

1:13

Onesimus was Philemon's legal property, so any service he gave Paul would count, by custom and law, as service rendered by his owner. Paul is saying that keeping the slave would have been a way of drawing on Philemon's resources without asking permission, which is precisely what he refuses to do.

1:14

"Without thy mind" means without your consent. Paul is making a point of not forcing the outcome, since a favor extracted under pressure from an apostle would not really be a favor.

1:15

"Departed" translates a passive form, literally "he was separated from you". The wording carefully avoids saying that Onesimus ran away, presenting the episode as something that happened to him rather than something he did. "For a season" means for a short while, and is set against "for ever".

1:16

"Servant" here translates doulos, a slave. The King James uses "servant" for slave throughout, which hides from a modern reader that Onesimus is owned property and that Philemon has legal rights over him. A master who recovered a runaway could punish him harshly, and returning one was expected. "Both in the flesh, and in the Lord" distinguishes the ordinary human relationship inside the household from the one they now share as believers. Paul asks for Onesimus to be received as a brother without stating what that leaves of the first relationship.

1:17

"Partner" translates koinonos, from the same root as "communication" in verse 6. It was used of a partner in a shared business or venture, and that commercial sense carries straight into the bookkeeping language of the next two verses.

1:18

"Ought" is the old spelling of "aught", meaning anything at all. "Put that on mine account" is accounting language: transfer the debt to my column of the ledger. Runaway slaves commonly took money or goods with them, and Philemon may also have lost the value of the man's labor. Paul's repeated "if" leaves open whether any theft actually occurred.

1:19

Letters were normally dictated to a scribe, with the sender adding a closing line in his own handwriting as a mark of authenticity. Here that handwritten line takes the standard form of a promissory note, so Paul is in effect signing a legally recognizable IOU. "Albeit" means although: he mentions the far larger debt precisely by saying he will not mention it.

1:20

"Let me have joy of thee" translates a Greek verb, onaimen, meaning "may I have benefit or use from you". It sounds like the name Onesimus, "useful". Paul is punning on the slave's name one last time: let me get some good out of you as I have out of him.

1:22

"Prepare me also a lodging" means have a guest room ready. Paul expects to be released and to come in person, which quietly tells Philemon that the outcome of this request will be seen. "Given unto you" means granted or restored to you as a favor, here in answer to prayer. "Your" and "you" are plural: the whole congregation is being addressed again.

1:23

Epaphras is named in Colossians as the man who brought the message to Colossae, which is one reason this letter is usually placed in that town. "Fellowprisoner" may mean he shared Paul's custody, or that he stayed with him in it as a companion.

1:24

"Marcus" and "Lucas" are the Latin forms of the names given in modern English as Mark and Luke. Aristarchus and Demas appear alongside the same names in Colossians 4, which is why the two letters are generally thought to have been sent at the same time.

1:25

"Your spirit" is plural, so the closing blessing falls on the whole household congregation and not on Philemon alone. "Amen" is a Hebrew word meaning roughly "so be it", used to endorse a prayer or blessing; some of the earliest manuscripts end the letter without it.