Philemon help

[2Timothy2]

Howdy all. I am beginning to do some in depth Bible studies, including outlining, exegeting, and commenting on Paul's letters. Needless to say, this is at a layman's level, I'm no scholar. I chose to begin with Philemon, since it is so short it should be good to practice on. Do any of you have any good, reliable recommendations for online resources concerning background information on Philemon? Things like internal/external evidence for Paul's authorship, date of the writing, who Philemon was, who Onesimus was, and general things like that. I am not looking for verse by verse exposition or commentary, as I plan to do that myself, checking it with various authorities in New Testament studies at a later date. Thanks in advance.

Ps 119:18
2T2


oh, I have multiple resources on e-Sword, but they are all from the 18th and 19th centuries, anything more recent would be great

 

[Truth and Reconciliation]

Here's a paraphrase of what the introduction to Philemon in my Bible says...

1. Short letter written by Paul, possibly between AD 61 and 63, while he was in captivity in Rome.
2. Onesimus is a slave from Colossae (Col 4:9) who ran away from his master.
3. Through this letter, Paul is sending Onesimus back to his master not as a slave but as a brother in Christ.

I hope this helps. =)

- Vincent

 

[2Timothy2]

Here's a paraphrase of what the introduction to Philemon in my Bible says...

1. Short letter written by Paul, possibly between AD 61 and 63, while he was in captivity in Rome.
2. Onesimus is a slave from Colossae (Col 4:9) who ran away from his master.
3. Through this letter, Paul is sending Onesimus back to his master not as a slave but as a brother in Christ.

I hope this helps. =)

- Vincent

Thanks. I have a Scofield Reference Bible, and it has a short intro. What I'm looking for is some in-depth background. Like, why does your author say Paul wrote Philemon? What external evidences are there? Other than Paul's name at the beginning, what internal evidence is there for Paul's authorship? Who was Philemon and where did he live? Things like that.

I have these already, they are just very old, for the most part:

• Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible
• Adam Clark's Commentary on the Bible
• John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
• Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
• Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• Fausset's Bible Dictionary
• Smith's Bible Dictionary
• The Catholic Encyclopedia
• Baker's Evangelical Dictionary
• of Biblical Theology
• Philemon: Introduction, Argument, and Outline, by Daniel B. Wallace

I'd like some more recent reference material, if I can get it. Free is best.

 

[daveleau]

The authorship of Philemon has not been debated anywhere that I have seen. The reason for this is Philemon 1:1, where Paul gives his salutation which includes his name. One Pauline book that is debated in regards to authorship is Hebrews, because authorship is not given in the salutation. Most theologians simply refer to "the author of Hebrews". Colossians is another. Several studies have been done linking the similarities between Colossians and Philemon to Paul's authorship. Reading up on this connection may give insights into why Philemon's authorship is unquestioned.

Here are some links:
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/philemon.html
http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=1812
http://www.tektonics.org/af/colauth.html
http://www.dabar.org/NewTestament/Berkhof/Epiphile.htm
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Philemon+authorship

God bless you in your studies,
Dave

 

[2Timothy2]

The authorship of Philemon has not been debated anywhere that I have seen. The reason for this is Philemon 1:1, where Paul gives his salutation which includes his name. One Pauline book that is debated in regards to authorship is Hebrews, because authorship is not given in the salutation. Most theologians simply refer to "the author of Hebrews". Colossians is another. Several studies have been done linking the similarities between Colossians and Philemon to Paul's authorship. Reading up on this connection may give insights into why Philemon's authorship is unquestioned.

Here are some links:
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/philemon.html
http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=1812
http://www.tektonics.org/af/colauth.html
http://www.dabar.org/NewTestament/Berkhof/Epiphile.htm
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Philemon+authorship

God bless you in your studies,
Dave

Thanks for the links, I'll be checking them out. Funny, I googled Philemon, but never even thought to search "Philemon authorship".

Please don't misunderstand, I am NOT questioning Paul's authorship here, I am simply practicing on Philemon, since it is so short. I am trying to improve my study skills, if you will. And I must say, it is quite enjoyable, praise His name.

 

[daveleau]

I hope your studies go well. I didn't think you were questioning Paul's authorship, but asking a great question: what are the clues other than the name in the salutation that lead us to the author.

 

[filosofer]

Check out this link:

http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1344

 

[2Timothy2]

Check out this link:

http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=1344

Thanks, got that one already though. Unfortunately, that is the only thing I found on Bible.org.