τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν ἱ καὶ παρακαλέσῃ τὰς
οὖν μῶν by Nc, who re-corrected into yvw. . .
and Mark ix. 50;
Luke xiv. 34in Ν.Τ.
d Only here and 1 Cor. iv. 2 in Paul.
e Only here and Rom. xvi. 7; Philm.
23 in f Only here in N.T
a ἊΨ
ὃν ἔπεμψα πρὸς
ῳ
ος
class. or Bib. Gk.
εν Όμων: εὐμων.
This is not only the better attested read- ing but yields the better sense, because both before (ver. 7) and after (ver. g) Paul says that Tychicus will acquaint them with matters at Rome. He wishes to relieve the anxiety of the Colossians as to his welfare.—mapakxahéoy: see on ii. 2. This function is not ascribed to Onesi- mus, who was not a σύνδουλος.
Ver. 9. ᾿Ονησίμφ. Philemon’s run- away slave, who was rescued by Paul and converted to Christianity. Paul sent him back to his master, with the exquisite Epistle to Philemon despatched at the same time as this letter. He speaks of him in the most affectionate terms, to secure a welcome for him at Colosse. He seems from this passage to have be- longed to Colosse, and we may infer that this was the home of Philemon. If the author of Colossians learnt his name from the Epistle to Philemon, it is strange that he should have contented himself with this bald reference, and made no allusion to his desertion, conversion and return tohis master. Such omission here is characteristic of Paul’s delicacy.—ra ὧδε is wider than τὰ κατ᾽ ἐμὲ (ver. 7). It means all thatis happening to the Church in Rome.
Ver. το. ᾿Αρίσταρχος: a native of Thessalonica, mentioned in Acts xix. 29, XX. 4, xxvii. 2, Philm. 24. In Philm. Epaphras is mentioned as Paul’s fellow- prisoner. Fritzsche suggested that his friends took turns in voluntarily sharing his captivity, and explained the difference between the two Epistles in this way. The divergence between the two Epistles testifies to authenticity, for an imitator would not have created a difficulty of
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