Editing Epistle to Philemon (section)

===Occasion===
According to the most common interpretation, Paul wrote this letter on behalf of Onesimus, a runaway slave who had wronged his owner Philemon.{{clarify|date=April 2024}} A slave running away was in and of itself illegal. It is often assumed that Onesimus had fled after stealing money, as Paul states in verse 18 that if Onesimus owes anything, Philemon should charge this to Paul's account.{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=267}} Sometime after leaving, Onesimus came into contact with Paul, although again the details are unclear. He may have been arrested and imprisoned alongside Paul. Alternatively, he may have previously heard Paul's name (as his owner was a Christian) and so travelled to him for help.{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=267}} After meeting Paul, Onesimus became a Christian believer. An affection grew between them, and Paul would have been glad to keep Onesimus with him. However, he considered it better to send him back to Philemon with an accompanying letter, which aimed to effect reconciliation between them as Christian brothers. The preservation of the letter suggests that Paul's request was granted.{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=268}}

Onesimus' status as a fugitive slave was challenged by Allen Dwight Callahan in an article published in the ''Harvard Theological Review'' and in a later commentary. Callahan argues that, beyond verse 16, "nothing in the text conclusively indicates that Onesimus was ever the chattel of the letter's chief addressee. Moreover, the expectations fostered by the traditional fugitive slave hypothesis go unrealized in the letter. Modern commentators, even those committed to the prevailing interpretation, have tacitly admitted as much."{{sfn|Callahan|1993|p=362}} Callahan argues that the earliest commentators on this work – the homily of [[Origen]] and the Anti-Marcion Preface – are silent about Onesimus' possible servile status, and traces the origins of this interpretation to [[John Chrysostom]], who proposed it in his ''Homiliae in epistolam ad Philemonem'', during his ministry in [[Antioch]], circa 386–398.{{sfn|Callahan|1993|p=366}} In place of the traditional interpretation, Callahan suggests that Onesimus and Philemon are brothers both by blood and religion, but who have become estranged, and the intent of this letter was to reconcile the two men.{{sfn|Callahan|1993|pp=369ff}} [[Ben Witherington III]] has challenged Callahan's interpretation as a misreading of Paul's rhetoric.{{sfn|Witherington|2007|pp=62–63}} Further, Margaret M. Mitchell has demonstrated that a number of writers before Chrysostom either argue or assume that Onesimus was a runaway slave, including [[Athanasius]], [[Basil of Caesarea]] and [[Ambrosiaster]].{{sfn|Mitchell|1995|pp=145–46}}

However, from the standpoint of context, vs.12–16 do make it rather clear that he was a runaway slave.  In v.14 Paul states he didn't want to do anything without Philemon's consent.  Since Paul could have ordered or commanded Philemon to do it, but the fact that he desired his consent stands out.  Also, Paul could have just kept Onesimus there, and Onesimus himself could have stayed there. Philemon would have had the right to hold his runaway slave accountable not just from a financial or social standpoint, but a legal standpoint.  Onesimus, upon his return, could have legally been made a prisoner of Rome.  Vs15-16 make it clear that Paul was asking Philemon to receive him back "forever" and "no longer as a slave" but as a "beloved brother."  Paul actually writes that it was perhaps God's purpose that Onesimus initially ran away for the purpose of becoming a Christian and then return as a fellow Christian.  Paul calls him "his son" (v.10) whom he "begot while still in chains."  The message to Philemon is to accept Onesimus back as the "son" of a "prisoner of Jesus Christ."  It appears that both Paul and Onesimus desired to do the right thing out of respect for Philemon, but also expecting Philemon to do the right thing as someone who had been graciously forgiven and received by the Lord....as a fellow "prisoner of Christ Jesus."{{Original research inline|date=December 2024}}

The only extant information about Onesimus apart from this letter is found in Paul's epistle to the Colossians 4:7–9, where Onesimus is called "a faithful and beloved brother":

{{Blockquote|All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, ''who is'' a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord: <sup>8</sup>&nbsp;Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; <sup>9</sup> With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is ''one'' of you. They shall make known unto you all things which ''are done'' here.}}