1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,
2to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:
3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4I always thank my God, remembering you in my prayers,
5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
6I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ.
7I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
8So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper,
9I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.
10I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains.
11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
12I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.
13I would have liked to keep him with me, so that on your behalf he could minister to me in my chains for the gospel.
14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.
15For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good—
16no 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.
17So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.
18But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.
19I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.
20Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
21Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
22In the meantime, prepare a guest room for me, because I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings,
24as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
25The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Philemon 1 Verse Notes
Phlm 1:1
Philemon: Paul's shortest letter and its ambiguous plea
Mendez describes Philemon as Paul's briefest letter, about 350 words, addressed to one person in the singular from verses 4 to 24, which makes it hard to interpret. Paul writes as a prisoner (verse 1), reminds Philemon that he owes Paul his own self (verse 19), and pleads for the enslaved Onesimus. Some scholars read this as a request to free Onesimus, others as a plea to forgive a debt or a conflict; Mendez adds that this does not mean Paul opposed slavery as such.
Summarized by AI · The New Testament: Exploring the Christian Bible · Lecture 19: Paul’s Churches | Inventing Christian Communities · watch the clip
Phlm 1:19
Philemon: Paul's shortest letter and its ambiguous plea
Mendez describes Philemon as Paul's briefest letter, about 350 words, addressed to one person in the singular from verses 4 to 24, which makes it hard to interpret. Paul writes as a prisoner (verse 1), reminds Philemon that he owes Paul his own self (verse 19), and pleads for the enslaved Onesimus. Some scholars read this as a request to free Onesimus, others as a plea to forgive a debt or a conflict; Mendez adds that this does not mean Paul opposed slavery as such.
Summarized by AI · The New Testament: Exploring the Christian Bible · Lecture 19: Paul’s Churches | Inventing Christian Communities · watch the clip
Phlm 1:24
Luke, the beloved physician, as Paul's companion
The tradition identifying the author as Luke, the Gentile physician, stems from references in Paul's letters. Colossians 4:14 mentions 'Luke, the beloved physician,' who is not among the circumcised, suggesting he was a Gentile and a companion of Paul. This figure is also mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:11 and Philemon 24.
Summarized by AI · The Genius of the Acts of the Apostles · Lecture 8: The Author of Acts | Who and When? · watch the clip
Luke's connection to Paul and medical language
The 'we' passages in Acts suggest the author was a companion of Paul. Paul's epistles mention Luke as a coworker (Philemon 24), 'the beloved physician' (Colossians 4:14), and being with Paul at the end of his life (2 Timothy 4:11). Furthermore, Luke's Gospel contains physician-friendly details, such as the proverb 'physician heal yourself' (Luke 4:23), specific anatomical details (Luke 6:6, 22:50), and a softened account of the woman with a hemorrhage (Luke 8:43-44 vs. Mark 5:26), which could have led to the inference of Luke the physician as the author.
Summarized by AI · The Mysteries of the Synoptic Gospels: Discovering Matthew, Mark, and Luke · Lecture 11: Who Wrote the Synoptic Gospels? · watch the clip
