Philemon Chapter 1 verse 1 Holy Bible
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved and fellow-worker,
read chapter 1 in ASV
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our dear helper in the faith,
read chapter 1 in BBE
Paul, prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timotheus the brother, to Philemon the beloved and our fellow-workman,
read chapter 1 in DARBY
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,
read chapter 1 in KJV
read chapter 1 in WBT
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker,
read chapter 1 in WEB
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timotheus the brother, to Philemon our beloved and fellow-worker,
read chapter 1 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 1. - A prisoner of Christ Jesus. He writes a private letter, as friend to friend, and therefore does not describe himself by his official title of apostle. Having to plead the cause of a slave, he begins by putting himself into a similar position as the "bondman of Jesus Christ" -"to obtain thereby the more ready compliance" (Chrysostom). By such a reverend bondage he beseeches Philemon, "and the bondage of Paul was liberty to Onesimus" (Scipio Gentilis). Timothy, etc. He was, then, with St. Paul at the time of writing; therefore at Rome; and this fixes the date of composition at all events before that of the Second Epistle to Timothy, when the apostle was again at Rome (2 Timothy 1:17; 2 Timothy 4:6, 16). Fellow-worker with St. Paul in promoting the spread of the gospel, either by his wealth and influence, less probably by preaching. The time when would be that of St. Paul's long stay at Ephesus and its neighborhood (Acts 19:8-22).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(1) A prisoner of Jesus Christ.--It is interesting to note the substitution of the name "prisoner," appealing to sympathy, for the usual title of "Apostle," embodying a claim to authority. In the other Epistles of this period (see Ephesians 3:1-13; Ephesians 4:1; Ephesians 6:20; Philippians 1:12-20; Colossians 4:18) the Apostle's captivity is dwelt upon mainly as a ground of glory and thankfulness, only secondarily as a cause for sympathy. Here, on the contrary, in this personal Epistle, and in accordance with St. Paul's courteous determination "not to command, but for love's sake to entreat," the latter aspect assumes an almost exclusive prominence.Timothy.--Comp. Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1. Here, as in the other Epistles, the salutation includes Timothy, as desiring to imply in him, St. Paul's "own son in the faith," a closeness of connection and sympathy with the Apostle not found in others. But in all cases, and especially in this, the Letter is emphatically the Letter of St. Paul alone. . . .
