Philemon

• DatesAbout AD 60–62, from Rome, Ephesus, or Caesarea (debated)
• GenrePaul’s Letters
• AuthorshipPaul; accepted by nearly all scholars
• TimelineEarly Church
• Key textsPhilemon 8–21
• Read the textPhilemon in the World English Bible
• Covered in classSession 4

What the sources say, and how sure we are

• The text says

  Paul, in prison, appeals to Philemon about Onesimus, whom he calls his child and asks Philemon to receive “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother.”Phlm 10; Phlm 16

• Debated

  Scholars disagree about whether Onesimus was a runaway, was sent by Philemon, or had a dispute with Philemon, and whether Paul is asking Philemon to free him. The letter does not say.Phlm 15–21