The opening words of Philemon prompt us to ask in what sense Paul is a prisoner in relation to Christ. In part this is a grammatical question, but a couple of contemporaneous papyri texts might supply hints as to the cultural understanding. Dr. Seth Ehorn is Assistant Professor of Classics and Biblical Languages at Houston Christian University. Among other things, he has published 2 Maccabees 1-7: A Handbook on the Greek Text and 2 Maccabees 8-15: A Handbook on the Greek Text, both in the Baylor Handbook on the Septuagint Series. He is currently working on a commentary on Paul’s Letter to Philemon. He has contributed a few episodes to Exegetically Speaking, including one on Philemon 2.

Check out related programs at Wheaton College:

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/3DKJ0KE 

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/4afuir9