Philemon Bible Study Resources

Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study both Paul’s epistle to Philemon.

Bible Study: Philemon: How to be a hero

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Jump to: Background; ** Maps; ** Key Words; ** Encyclopedias; ** Commentaries; ** Articles; ** GotQuestions ** Next **

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Basics

• Author: Paul the Apostle
• Who was Paul?
• Date & Place: Written from prison in Rome 60-62 AD, along with Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians.
• Genre: a personal letter
• Purpose: Onesimus, a slave, ran away from his master, Philemon. Both have are now believers. Paul urges Philemon to accept Onesimus back as a brother.

Structure

• 1:1-3 – Greeting
• 1:4-7 – Thanksgiving
• 1:8-20 – Plea for Onesimus
• 1:22-25 – Greetings & Farewell

Genre: Understanding Epistles

Section 1: Background

Background & Outlines

• Philemon NSAB Study Text
• Philemon ESV Study Text
• Chronology of Paul
• Paul’s use of the Old Testament
• Blue Letter Bible: Chronology of Acts/Epistles
• Bible Atlas: Colossae
• Philemon Analytical Outline
• Blue Letter Bible: Philemon Outline 1
• Blue Letter Bible: Philemon Outline 2
• Ray C. Stedman: Overview of the Book
• John MacArthur: Author, Date, Background: Philemon
• NIV: Philemon: Introduction
• ESV: Intro to Philemon
• ESV: Global Message of Philemon
• Synthetic Bible Studies – Philemon – James Gray (1906)
• Keys to Philemon – William Orr
• Through the Bible – Philemon – Myer Pearlman (1935)
• Philemon: Introduction – James Van Dine
• Philemon: Introduction – Charles Swindoll
• Philemon: Introduction, Argument, and Outline – Daniel Wallace
• Philemon – Notes and Outlines – J Vernon McGee
• David Malick (Bible.org): An Introduction To The Book Of Philemon
• David Malick: Argument Of The Book Of Philemon

Section 2: Maps

Maps from Bible-History.com

• Paul’s 1st Journey
• Paul’s 2nd Journey
• Paul’s 3rd Journey
• Israel in NT Times
• Kingdom of Herod the Great
• Herod’s Kingdom Divided
• New Testament Jerusalem
• New Testament Cities
• Apostles’ Journeys

Section 3: Key Words

Key Words in Philemon

Occurrences are based on New American Standard Text. “4x/3v” means the word appears 4 times in 3 verses. “3x” means the word appears 3 times in 3 verses.

• Christ (8x) – Strong’s G5547 in 1:1, 1:3, 1:6, 1:8, 1:9, 1:20, 1:23, 1:25
• brother (5x/4v) – Strong’s G80 in 1:1, 1:7, 1:16, 1:20; sister (1x) – Strong’s G79 in 1:2; Father (1x) – Strong’s G3962 in 1:3
• fellow (4x) – Strong’s G4904 in 1:1 -worker, 1:2 -soldier, 1:23 -prisoner, 1:24 -workers;  partner (1x) – Strong’s G2844 in 1:17
• appeal (2x) – Strong’s G3870 in 1:9, 1:10
• love (3x) – Strong’s G26 in 1:5, 1:5, 1:9
• faith (2x) – Strong’s G4102 in 1:5, 1:6
• slave (2x/1v)- Strong’s G1401 in 1:16
• confidence (2x) – Strong’s G3954 in 1:8; Strong’s G3982 in 1:21
• refresh, refreshed (2x) – Strong’s G373 in 1:7, 1:20
• accept (1x) – Strong’s G4355 in 1:17

Section 5: Commentaries

Commentaries & Study Bibles

• Top 5 Commentaries on Philemon – Ligonier.org
• Best Commentaries on Philemon – Tim Challies
• Commentary Reviews: Philemon
• Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible: Philemon
• Albert Barnes Notes on the Whole Bible: Philemon
• Alfords Exegetical Commentary: Philemon
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary on the Bible: Philemon
• Adam Clarke Commentary: Philemon
• Geneva Study Bible: Philemon
• Reformation Study Bible Notes: Philemon
• Precept Austin Commentaries & Sermons: Philemon

RC Sproul Devotionals

• Philemon 1-3 To Philemon and Company
• Philemon 4-5 A Personal Yet Public Faith
• Philemon 6 The Effective Sharing of Faith
• Philemon 7 Joy and Comfort in Christ
• Philemon 8 Sin’s Reality and the Ideal
• Philemon 9-10 Apostolic Authority
• Philemon 11-13 Onesimus’ Return
• Philemon 14 Free Consent
• Philemon 15-16 Sovereign Separation
• Philemon 17-18 Receiving Onesimus
• Philemon 17-18 The Costs and Demands of Love
• Philemon 19-20 Paying the Cost
• Philemon 21-22 Going Above and Beyond
• Philemon 23-25 Final Greetings for Philemon

Section 4: Encyclopedias

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

City of Colossae

• American Tract Society Colosse
• Fausset Bible Dictionary Colosse
• Hitchcock Bible Names Colossae
• People’s Dictionary of the Bible Colosse
• Watson’s Theological Dictionary Colosse
• Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia Colosse
• Bridgeway Bible Dictionary Colossae
• Easton’s Bible Dictionary Colossae
• Fausset Bible Dictionary Colossae
• Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible Colossae
• Hastings’ Dictionary of the NT Colossae
• 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica Colossae
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Colossae
• McClintock and Strong’s Bible Encyclopedia Colossae (2) Colossae

Paul

• Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary: Paul the Apostle
• Bridgeway Bible Dictionary: Paul
• Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Paul
• Fausset Bible Dictionary: Paul
• Holman Bible Dictionary: Paul
• Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Paul the Apostle
• Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature: Paul
• Morrish Bible Dictionary: Paul
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Paul, the Apostle
• McClintock and Strong: Paul
• The Nuttall Encyclopedia: Paul
• The Jewish Encyclopedia:

Philemon

• Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary: Philemon, Theology of –
• McClintock and Strong: Philemon, Epistle to
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Philemon, Epistle to
• Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature: Philemon, Epistle to
• American Tract Society: Philemon
• Bridgeway Bible Dictionary: Philemon
• Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Philemon
• Fausset Bible Dictionary :Philemon
• Holman Bible Dictionary: Philemon
• Hitchcock Bible Names: Philemon
• Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Philemon
• Hastings’ Dictionary of the NT: Philemon Epistle to; Philemon
• 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica: Epistle to Philemon
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Philemon
• McClintock and Strong: Philemon
• Philemon – Hitchcock Bible Names: “who kisses”

Onesimus

• Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Onesimus
• Holman Bible Dictionary: Onesimus
• McClintock and Strong: Onesimus
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Onesimus
• Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature: Onesimus
• Onesimus – Hitchcock Bible Names: “profitable, useful”

Apphia

• Holman Bible Dictionary: Apphia
• Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Apphia
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Apphia
• Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature: Apphia
• Apphia  is only mentioned in Philemon 1:2

Archippus

• Holman Bible Dictionary: Archippus
• Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Archippus
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Archippus
• Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature: Archippus
• Archippus is mentioned in Philemon 1:2 and Colossians 4:17.

Section 6: Articles

Articles

• James: Dennison: Paul, Philemon, Onesimus and the New Creation in Christ Jesus
• Danny Oligner: A Redemptive-Historical Consideration of Philemon
• John Mcray: Philemon, Theology of
• David Malick: An Argument Of The Book Of Philemon
• David Malick: An Introduction To The Book Of Philemon
• Jerry Dodson: An Exegetical Overview of Philemon 18-20
• John Piper: How Paul Worked to Overcome Slavery
• Fred H Wright: Slavery in the Bible
• Norman Geisler: Doesn’t Paul approve of the institution of slavery?

Section 7: Got Questions

GotQuestions.org

• Book of Philemon – survey
• “What are the prison epistles?”
• What should it mean to be a Christian employer?
• Does the Bible condone slavery?
• Why does the Bible allow slave owners to beat their slaves?
• What does the Bible have to say to victims of human trafficking?
• What is a bondservant?

Bible Study Help

• Bible Study 101
• Interpreting Epistles
• Study Software & websites
• More Maps & Charts
• Greek Word Studies by Precepts Austin
• Books on how to study the Bible

Section 8: Next

Next: Hebrews

Previous: Titus

Series: Resources by Book

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