The letter of Philemon was written by Paul the apostle along with Timothy. Paul was
definitely the author and nothing needs to confirm that. The "external testimony is
unimpeachable." (Smith, p.510) The letter was written to Philemon on behalf of
Onesimus. Philemon lived in Colosse and we know this because Onesimus was also
Colossian which is confirmed in Colossians 4:9. Philemon was a man of property and
influence. It is not known exactly how he knew Paul though.(Smith, p.509) Paul did
address others in the letter. One of which was Apphia, a Christian woman. She was a
member of Philemon's household and may have been his wife.(Smith, p.47) It also
includes Archippus who was a Christian teacher in Colosse. He is also mentioned in the
book of Colossians. Archippus might have also been a member of Philemon's
Some believe that Paul did not intend this to be a personal letter. They base this
assumption on the fact that he addressed other people.(Tenney, p.753) Philemon lived in
Colosse at the time, and as I mentioned before, we know that because of Paul's final
greetings toward some of the Colossian people mentioned in both Philemon and
Paul wrote this letter during his first imprisonment in Rome. The dates range from
A.D. 63 to A.D. 64. We know that he was in prison in Rome because of some of the
things mentioned in this book (Philemon vs. 13,23) and once again because of the
similarities with the book of Colossians. Others believe that Paul may have been in
Ephesus at this time. When Paul mentioned that he wanted to stay with Philemon, that
request was congruent with the plans he made during his Ephesian ministry to visit the
During the time that this letter was written, slavery was very common. Most of these
slaves had been captured in wars. Masters were totally in control. If a slave were to steal
something, he might be b...