BY CASSANDRA MCFARLAND BOOK OF PHILEMON

THE NEW TESTAMENT The Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, John Early History Acts Wisdom Literature Romans to Jude Prophecy Revelation

LETTERS Vocab: Epistle, epistole (Greek) Vocab: Apostle, apostolos (Greek) 21 of the 27 books in the New Testement Mainstream accepted authors include Peter, Paul, John, James, and Jude Paul ‘wrote’ 13 books BookApprox, Composition (AD) 1 st Thessalonians51-52 Galatians53 1 st Corinthians55 2 nd Corinthians56 Romans57 Philippians61-62 Philemon62 Undisputed Epistles

APOSTLE PAUL St Paul in Prison, 1627, Rembrandt Hamerszoon van Rijn Paul (Saul) of Tarsus Originally a Jewish Pharisee Roman citizen Converted during a trip to Damascus (Act 1-9) Spent the remainder of his life as a missionary and spreading works Imprisoned, then beheaded under Nero c.64

PHINALEMON 2 nd shortest book in the Bible at 25 verses Onesimus runs away Meets Paul, who is in prison, and becomes a brother in Christ Returns to Philemon with the letter Paul implore Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother in Christ "Paul the Apostle, Saint: Paul the Apostle in prison, writing his epistle to the Ephesians". Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.Encyclopædia Britannica Online

THEMES Christian Ethics Courage Providence of God Persuasion v. Power Eschatology Seeking the lost Image Source: Jim LePage

INTERPRETATIONS Personal Interpretation Christianity as the great equalizer Paul’s appeals to Philemon a metaphor of God’s appeal to humanity Other Interpretations Onesimus as a gift Upholding the institution of slavery God’s love as patient versus commanding Onesimus as a forgiven fugitive

SOURCES Chilton, B. (2004). Rabbi Paul. New York, NY: Doubleday. Crossan, J.D. (2011). “The Search for the Historical Paul: Which letters did he Really Write?” Huffington Post. Retrieved from Eberhart, C. H. (2013). “Commentary on Philemon 1:1-21”. Working Preacher. Retrieved from Jackson, W. “Nuggets from the Book of Philemon”. Christian Courier. Retrieved from Oh, J. “Onesimus as a Slave in the Philemon Letter: Social and Theological Implications for Ethos and Identity”. Stellenbosh University Library: SUNScholar Research Repository. Retrieved from Russell, Bertrand Unpopular Essays. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Zavada, J. (2015). Apostle Paul. Retrieved from