Epistle to Philemon

Philemon 13–15 on Papyrus 87 (recto; c. AD 250)[1]

The Epistle to Philemon[a] is one of the books of the Christian New Testament. It is a prison letter, authored by Paul the Apostle (the opening verse also mentions Timothy), to Philemon, a leader in the Colossian church. It deals with the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. Paul does not identify himself as an apostle with authority, but as "a prisoner of Jesus Christ", calling Timothy "our brother", and addressing Philemon as "fellow labourer" and "brother" (Philemon 1:1; 1:7; 1:20). Onesimus, a slave who had escaped from his master Philemon, was returning with this epistle wherein Paul asked Philemon to receive him as a "brother beloved" (Philemon 1:9–17).

Philemon was a wealthy Christian, possibly a bishop[4] of the church that met in his home (Philemon 1:1–2) in Colossae. This letter is now generally regarded as one of the undisputed works of Paul. It is the shortest of Paul's extant letters, consisting of only 335 words in the Greek text.[5]

  1. ^ Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023.
  2. ^ ESV Pew Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 2018. p. 1000. ISBN 978-1-4335-6343-0. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "Bible Book Abbreviations". Logos Bible Software. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  4. ^ Const. Apost. VII, 46
  5. ^ Patzia, A. G.; et al. (1994). "Philemon, Letter To". In Hawthorne, Gerald F. (ed.). Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. InterVarsity Press. p. 703. ISBN 978-0851106519.


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