PHILEMON (Person)

Christian known only from the letter addressed to him by the apostle Paul. He is mentioned nowhere else in the NT. From Colossians 4:17 it is clear that Archippus, mentioned along with Philemon in Philemon 1:2 (and perhaps his son), was a man of Colosse. Although Paul had never visited that city (Col 2:1), he obviously knew Philemon well. He addressed him as “our beloved co-worker” (Phlm 1:1); perhaps Philemon had been a colleague during Paul’s three-year mission in Ephesus (Acts 19:8-10; 20:31), and Paul knew that he could appeal to him on behalf of his runaway slave, Onesimus.