Who Was Onesimus?
That
is a good question. It has caused some debate among Bible students. The
traditional and majority opinion is that he was a runaway slave belonging to
Philemon. Philemon lived in Colossae Rome
What
does the epistle itself tell us? In reality, very little. First, that he was a
slave (verse 16). Second, he had a relationship with Philemon of some type, but
it is not defined. Third, he was looked upon in the past as unprofitable (verse
11). Fourth, there was a change in Onesimus that turned him into an asset
(verse 11). He evidently wronged Philemon in some way (verse 19). He was
converted to Christ through Paul (verse 10). Sixth, nowhere is he said to be a
runaway, but there was a separation between the two (verse 15). If one looks
honestly at the text, there is much that is ambiguous about the details behind
what is revealed. Of course, part of that may be that these details were not
ambiguous to Philemon, and he would have known what we not are told.
Because
of the ambiguous element in the epistle, some other views have emerged. These
include:
Messenger
View. This view holds that Onesimus was a sent messenger from the church to
minister to Paul. He was sent to minister to Paul and bring supplies or support
to Paul from the church. He therefore is considered a slave or servant of the
believing community in Colossae
Unknown
Reason View. This view holds that Onesimus was not a fugitive, but no real
reason as to why he left Colossae
Family
View. This view holds that Onesimus was not a slave of Philemon, but was in
fact a brother of Philemon. This comes from verse 16 with the argument that
they were physical brothers. This view confronts us with some problems between
being a slave and a brother. It sets up a contradiction in verse 16, that says
do not accept him any longer as a slave, but as a brother. This view causes a
murky interpretation of verse 16. I agree with Moo, that this “is the most improbable of all the options.”[1]
Of
these views, the traditional and the unknown views are the most acceptable. The
unknown reason has it merits. However, I still hold to the traditional view.
The reasons for this are:
·
It
is tolerable to the data and tone of the text.
·
It
conforms to the historical setting where runaway slaves sought freedom as a
common occurrence in the Roman Empire . It
clearly speaks of him as a slave.
·
In
conformity of Roman law, Onesimus was sent back to his master.
·
The
possible wrong doing was stealing, which was common among runaway slaves. This
scenario fits with the request of charging Paul’s account for that which was
taken.
·
One
of the clear purposes for the epistle is reconciliation between Onesimus and
Philemon (verses 12, 15).
·
There
seems to be an appeal for Philemon to give Onesimus his freedom (verse 14).
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