Paul from the city of Tarsus was the author. He had been known as Saul in his early life. Before becoming a Christian, Paul was a Pharisee. He persecuted Christians. After he began to trust in Jesus Christ, he traveled several times throughout the Roman Empire telling people about Jesus.
Paul wrote this letter to a man named Philemon. Philemon was a Christian who lived in the city of Colossae. He owned a slave named Onesimus. Onesimus had run away from Philemon and possibly stole something from him as well. Onesimus went to Rome and visited Paul in prison.
Paul told Philemon that he was sending Onesimus back to him. By Roman law, Philemon had the right to execute Onesimus. But Paul said that Philemon should accept Onesimus back as a Christian brother. He even suggested that Philemon should allow Onesimus to come back to Paul and help him in prison.
Translators may choose to call this book by its traditional title, "Philemon." Or they may choose a clearer title, such as "Paul's Letter to Philemon" or "The Letter Paul wrote to Philemon." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])
## Part 2: Important Religious and Cultural Concepts ##
#### Does this letter approve of the practice of slavery? ####
Paul instructed Onesimus to return to his former master. But that did not mean Paul regarded slavery as an acceptable practice. Instead, Paul was more concerned with people serving God no matter the circumstances they were in.
Paul meant to express the idea of a very close union with Christ and the believers. Please see the introduction to the Book of Romans for more details about this kind of expression.
In this book, the word "I" refers to Paul. Also, the word "you" is almost always singular and refers to Philemon. The two exceptions to this are 1:22 and 1:25. There "you" refers to Philemon and the believers that met at his house. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-exclusive]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-you]])
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