Editing Epistle to Philemon (section)

===Recipient===
[[File:Onesimus and Philemon.jpg|thumb|Decorated [[initial]] with Paul, Onesimus (delivering letter) and Philemon.]]
The letter is addressed to [[Philemon (New Testament person)|Philemon]], Apphia and Archippus, and the church in Philemon's house. Philemon is described as a "fellow worker" of Paul. It is generally assumed that he lived in Colossae; in the letter to the Colossians, Onesimus (the slave who fled from Philemon) and Archippus (whom Paul greets in the letter to Philemon) are described as members of the church there.{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=266}} Philemon may have converted to Christianity through Paul's ministry, possibly in [[Ephesus]].{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|pp=266-67}} Apphia in the salutation is probably Philemon's wife.{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=267}} Her name ({{Langx|el|Ἀπφία}}) is possibly of [[Phrygian language|Phrygian]] or Greek origin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biblehub.com/greek/682.htm|title=Strong's Greek: 682. Ἀπφία (Apphia) -- Apphia|website=biblehub.com}}</ref> Some have speculated that Archippus ({{Langx|el|Ἀρχιππος|Archippos}}), described by Paul as a "fellow soldier", is the son of Philemon and Apphia.{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=267}}

The Scottish Pastor [[John Knox]] proposed that Onesimus' owner was in fact Archippus, and the letter was addressed to him rather than Philemon. In this reconstruction, Philemon would receive the letter first and then encourage Archippus to release Onesimus so that he could work alongside Paul. This view, however, has not found widespread support.{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=267}} In particular, Knox's view has been challenged on the basis of the opening verses. According to O'Brien, the fact that Philemon's name is mentioned first, together with the use of the phrase "in your house" in verse 2, makes it unlikely that Archippus was the primary addressee.{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=267}} Knox further argued that the letter was intended to be read aloud in the Colossian church in order to put pressure on Archippus. A number of commentators, however, see this view as contradicting the tone of the letter.{{sfn|Bruce|1984|pp=404–05}}{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=268}} [[J. B. Lightfoot]], for example, wrote: "The tact and delicacy of the Apostle's pleading for Onesimus would be nullified at one stroke by the demand for publication."{{sfn|Lightfoot|1879|p=281}}