This letter (63 A.D.) was written as the result of Paul’s deep interest in Onesimus, a slave who had fled from Colosse to Rome to get free from Philemon his master (Colossians 4:9).
“A Phrygian slave was one of the lowest known types to be found in the Roman world, displaying all the worst features of character which the servile conditions developed. Onesimus had proved no exception. He ran away from his master, and, as Paul thought probable (verses 18-19), not without helping himself to a share of his master’s possessions. By the help of what he had stolen, and by the cleverness which afterwards made him so helpful to Paul, he made his way to Rome, naturally drawn to the great centre, and prompted by a desire to hide himself, and by a youthful yearning to see the utmost the world could show of glory and of vice.
To continue reading this Bible article, click here.
Author: Marcus Dods
Keywords: Philemon, letter to Philemon, Epistle to Philemon, onesimus
Bible reference(s): Philemon 1
Source: Dr. “Borrowed Pens (No. 10),” The Testimony, Vol. 9, No. 103, July 1939, p. 300.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.