Over the last several posts, I’ve argued that it is unlikely that Paul’s words in Philemon 15-16 can be interpreted to mean that Philemon and Onesimus partake of a common humanity. I think that it is more likely that Paul indicates that Philemon and Onesimus are brothers.  This is the most natural reading of the […]

In this post, I’ll enumerate a few more reasons why I believe that when Paul states that Philemon and Onesimus are adelphoi en sarki that he does not mean that they are both human beings. Third, Paul notes that Philemon’s and Onesimus’s sharing “brotherhood in the flesh” is a relationship that goes beyond what Onesimus […]

Last week I claimed that no one in the ancient world would have assumed that slaves and masters share the same humanity and that this made it unlikely that the phrase adelphoi en sarki (lit., “brothers in the flesh”) can mean “fellow humans.” One might object, however, that this is precisely the burden of Paul’s […]

As I mentioned in a previous post, I think that it is unlikely that when Paul states that Philemon and Onesimus are adelphoi en sarki (“brothers in the flesh”), that he means that they are both human beings.  I say this for at least five reasons, the first of which I’ll elaborate here. First, this […]

Most commentators on Philemon work with the dominant understanding of the relationship of Philemon to Onesimus.  They are master and slave.  In some way Onesimus has brought harm to Philemon and has fled.  He has somehow found Paul, whom he has known to be a close friend of his master Philemon.  The extant letter is […]

When major season on the golf calendar rolls around, golf commentators invariably weigh in on whether or not Tiger Woods will break Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 professional majors.  Woods has set himself to this epic quest and it’s been fascinating to see him pursue it.  When he’s playing well, the talking heads say that […]

Last week I read a paper at the International SBL in which I argued that it is more likely than not that Philemon and Onesimus are actual brothers.  This isn’t, of course, the consensus view, according to which Onesimus is the slave of Philemon. Before I read my paper I gave a brief account of […]

One of my favorite weeks of the year is here–the week of The Open Championship.  Most Americans know it as “the British Open,” but when it began it had nothing else from which to distinguish it.  So it’s just “The Open Championship.” This year it’s being played at Muirfield, home to the Honourable Company of […]

I’m back from International SBL, which was held in St. Andrews. It was good to be in such a lovely place, to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. It’s always a highlight to play a few rounds of golf on the St. Andrews Links. The summer’s been very dry and warm […]