Philemon

LETTER TO PHILEMON

Author, Date, and Recipient of the Letter. This short letter is considered one of Paul’s gems because of its topic, tone, and style. It is believed to have been written between 61 and 63 A.D., after his imprisonment in Rome.
Philemon was a wealthy Christian, possibly converted by Paul. His slave, Onesimus, fled after some wrongdoing and ended up in Rome, where Paul took him in and converted him. Onesimus’s escape was a crime with serious penalties, and Paul could potentially be seen as an accomplice.

Paul does not attempt to resolve the issue through legal means, although he hints that he is willing to compensate Philemon. He also does not aim to change the legal system of his time and culture. Instead, he redirects the focus of the problem and its resolution to the core Christian principles of love and brotherhood, which go beyond the legal relationship between slave and master. If Philemon lost a slave, he could gain a brother, and Paul acts as a caring mediator in this transformation.