“If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me. But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account;” (Philemon 1:17-18 NASB). When reading the letter of Philemon, these questions pop up. What does Paul mean by “accept him as you would me”? What is the significance of Paul making this appeal to Philemon? To answer these questions, a reader would have to study the historical-context of what slavery was like in Paul’s time. Some things reader can study about slavery is cultural view of slavery and the legal actions of disobedient slaves. To understand the letter of Philemon, a reader would need to understand the theme of Philemon.
Slavery was viewed differently in the culture of the Greco-Roman society. In the Greco-Roman empire, the economy was kept up for many years because of slavery. In the Greco-Roman empire, slavery was public and domestic in the Roman empire. This means slavery was wide …show more content…
As a master in the Greco-Roman empire, they have rights to punish their disobedient slaves. Depending on the level of disobedience of the slaves, masters either would brand, crucifixion, whip, send to a correctional facility, or break the legs of the slaves (Alchin). Roman punishment was never meant to be taken lightly! Now relating Roman punishment for slaves to the letter of Philemon, Paul’s urgency of forgiveness for Onesimus from Philemon makes sense. Onesimus, according to the Roman society, deserves to be crucified or if Philemon is generous, break his legs for his actions. However, Paul shares with Philemon the conversion of Onesimus so Philemon can be merciful to Onesimus on the behalf of the Gospel. Paul is not forcing Philemon to forgive Onesimus, he wants Philemon to discern the best possible consequence (vv. 17-18). Looking at the punishments of a slave gives context to Paul’s tone to the letter to
Slavery was viewed differently in the culture of the Greco-Roman society. In the Greco-Roman empire, the economy was kept up for many years because of slavery. In the Greco-Roman empire, slavery was public and domestic in the Roman empire. This means slavery was wide …show more content…
As a master in the Greco-Roman empire, they have rights to punish their disobedient slaves. Depending on the level of disobedience of the slaves, masters either would brand, crucifixion, whip, send to a correctional facility, or break the legs of the slaves (Alchin). Roman punishment was never meant to be taken lightly! Now relating Roman punishment for slaves to the letter of Philemon, Paul’s urgency of forgiveness for Onesimus from Philemon makes sense. Onesimus, according to the Roman society, deserves to be crucified or if Philemon is generous, break his legs for his actions. However, Paul shares with Philemon the conversion of Onesimus so Philemon can be merciful to Onesimus on the behalf of the Gospel. Paul is not forcing Philemon to forgive Onesimus, he wants Philemon to discern the best possible consequence (vv. 17-18). Looking at the punishments of a slave gives context to Paul’s tone to the letter to