Read through the entire book of Philemon. Then go through it again and answer the questions

Before you begin, check off which items under Rule 7 that you have done (listed below).

• Spiritual preparation to come within the "understanding distance."
• Pray
• Study with humility
• Depend on God’s wisdom, not our own
• We must open our eyes
• We must not get distracted by intellectual interpretations
• We must fix our understanding on God
• We must have an ardent desire to know the will of God
• We must listen for the still, small voice of God
• Come as a child
• Meditate on God’s word day and night
• Sit in Christ’s presence
• Listen for God’s voice

Then the Bible will be easy to understand

Answer the following questions from Rule 1

After trying to find the answers from the text, you may want to consult a Study Bible, Bible Handbook or Bible Dictionary (look under Philemon) for help with some of these.

Historical Circumstances

From many of the verses, it seems that Paul is writing from prison. From the context of the letter, this was a time when slavery was not only practiced but accepted as an economic reality.

Order

In the order in the Bible, this is in the Epistle section which indicates it was after the spread of the gospel establishing many churches throughout the Roman Empire.

Title

Philemon indicates the person to whom Paul sent the letter. It also tells us that this is the person to whom the letter was handed to by the messenger, who we assume was the slave Onesimus.

Author

From verses 1, 9, and 19 it seems the author is Paul.

The age in which he lived

This was the time of the Roman Empire when Greek was the lingua franca and the gospel message had resulted in many churches being planted in every main city of the Empire.

His style of writing

The style of writing is certainly Pauline. There are many phrases and expressions that are seen in other letters from Paul. For example he includes the letter writer in his greeting, specifically addresses many in the church, offers blessing upon them, thanks God for them, speaks of hearing of their virtues, and closes the letter with greetings from others with him.

His use of expressions

Verse 3 – grace and peace is a common Pauline expression that some believe Paul invented combining the two main greetings from both the Greek and Hebrew to form a new Christian greeting.

Date

If this letter were written from Rome as proposed below, then the letter must have been written about 60 A.D.

Place

In 5 verses Paul refers to an imprisonment: 1–prisoner, 9–prisoner, 10–in my chains, 13–in my chains, and 23–fellow prisoner. This letter has many similarities to Colossians. In addition to Timothy, both letters also mention Aristarchus, Mark, Epaphras, Luke, and Demas as being with Paul. Also Onesimus is the messenger who brings the letter of the Colossians to Colosse (Colossians 4:9). It is generally accepted that the four "prison epistles" – Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon – were all written at the same time from Rome. Although some have suggested the Caesarea imprisonment recorded in Acts 24:27, and even others speculate an imprisonment at Ephesus. Referring to the same people named in Colossians and Philemon, Barnes comments, "Probably at no other time in the life of Paul were all these persons with him, than when he was a prisoner at Rome. These considerations make it clear that the epistle was written while Paul was a prisoner at Rome, and at about the same time with the epistle to the Colossians."

Occasion of Writing

From Colossians 4:9 we know that Onesimus was to bring the letter of the Colossians to Colosse. The implication is that Onesimus was from that city. If so, it is highly probable that he brought 2 letters from Paul – the first to the church, the second to the person Philemon. From Philemon we discover that Onesimus was a runaway slave. He apparently is willing to do the right thing and return to his master. Paul sends along the letter to help Onesimus.

Also, the Subject of the book

It is clear that Paul is attempting to entreat Philemon to treat Onesimus kindly. A runaway slave could have been mercilessly punished. But Paul intervenes and tries to use his influence to assure fair treatment for the slave.

Answer the following questions from Rule 2

• Who is the speaker
• The speaker throughout the letter is Paul
• Patriarch, Jew, or Christian
• Paul is a Christian apostle, one with authority in the early church.
• Is he speaking from the Old Testament or New Testament
• New Testament, under the covenant of grace.
• Who are the persons addressed

Philemon, the master of the slave Onesimus, Apphia, and Archippus who apparently had the church in their house. The intent of the letter is obviously aimed toward Philemon. Perhaps Philemon attended the church in Colosse which met in the house of Archippus and his wife Apphia.

What is their character, prejudices, or religious relations

Philemon is a Christian who apparently found Christ through Paul’s ministry (verse 19). Paul seemed to trust Philemon’s integrity. For example he mentions about Philemon’s character: 5–love and faith, 6–sharing, 7-hospitality, 14–good works, 17–a partner, 21–obedient, 22–a man of prayer. Philemon may have had prejudicial feelings towards the slaves who were powerless in the social structure. Apphia is only know from this letter where she is referred to as "beloved." Archippus is also mentioned in Colossians 4:17, "And say to Archippus, ‘Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.’ "

Rule 5 – Can you find any figurative language? If so can you think of other uses in the Bible of similar wordings?

Verse 10 – son whom I have begotten. 1 Timothy 1:1, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4

Rule 6 – Can you find any examples of the 4 categories of figurative language?

1. symbols

Verse 9, "Paul, the aged, and now a prisoner of Christ." – a symbol of his apostleship and elder status.

Verse 22, "prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to ou." – the guest room being a symbol of faith that Paul would be released from prison.

2. types

Verse 18, "But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account." – a type of what Christ has done for Paul, he also wants to do for others.

3. allegories

Verses 15-16, "For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave – a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord." – a spiritual allegory of the restored servant.

4. parables

Verse 11, "Who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me." – may allude to Christ’s parable of the unprofitable servant in Matthew 25:24-30.

Footnotes:

This study on Philemon © 1998 by David Humpal. All Rights Reserved.

All scriptures unless otherwise noted are from the New International Version © 1971, Zondervan Bible Publishers

Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament pg.