In this brief epistle, Paul pleads for the reconciliation of the estranged Christians Onesimus and Philemon. In an original translation and commentary, Rev. Dr. John G. Nordling expounds Philemon in light of its theological purpose and its setting in the Greco-Roman world. It probes the specific circumstances under which Paul wrote the letter; how Philemon fit in with Paul's missionary travels; and who Philemon and Onesimus were within the Christian community.

Nordling takes on slavery as a core topic of this commentary, taking the position that Onesimus was a slave who had run away slave in addition to a thief of Philemon's property. The introduction of this volume includes over a hundred pages of history and analysis of ancient slavery practices, and additional essays consider the implications of the language of slavery used in the New testament to describe the Christian condition.

Essays

• Slavery in Ancient Society
• Philemon in the context of Paul's Travels
• Theological Implications of Slavery in the New Testament.

About the series

The Concordia Commentary Series: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture is written to enable pastors and teachers of the Word to proclaim the Gospel with greater insight, clarity, and faithfulness to the divine intent of the Biblical text.

The series will cover all the canonical books of the Old and New Testament, with an original translation and meticulous grammatical analysis of the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek of each text. The foremost interpretive lens centers on the unified proclamation of the person and work of Christ across every Scriptural book.

The Commentary fully affirms the divine inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture; Each passage bears witness to the confession that God has reconciled the world to Himself through the incarnation, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ His Son.

Authors expose the rich treasury of language, imagery, and thematic content of the Scripture, while supplementing their work with additional research in archaeology, history, and extrabiblical literature. Throughout, God's Word emanates from authors careful attention and inculcates the ongoing life of the Church in Word, Sacrament, and daily confession.