John Paul Heil, «The Chiastic Structure and Meaning of Paul’s Letter to Philemon», Vol. 82 (2001) 178-206

This article proposes a new chiastic structure for Paul’s letter to Philemon based on rigorous criteria and methodology. The center and pivot of the chiasm, ‘but without your consent I resolved to do nothing, so that your good might not be as under compulsion but rather under benevolence’ (v. 14), is a key to explicating the letter’s supposedly unclear purpose. Paul wants Philemon to give his former slave Onesimus back to Paul as a beloved brother and fellow worker for the gospel of Jesus Christ, because of Philemon’s response to the grace of God evident in his faithful love for the holy ones as a beloved brother and fellow worker of Paul.

the noun ‘love’ occurs again in the next unit (v. 9; cf. ‘beloved’ in 1,16), ‘faith’ occurs only in this unit of the letter, further indicating its individuality.

        Finally, the repetition of ‘the holy ones’, a designation which occurs only in this unit of the letter, confirms the unity and uniqueness of this second unit. Paul has heard of Philemon’s love for the holy ones (tou_j a(gi/ouj; v. 5) and the hearts of the holy ones (tw=n a(gi/wn; v. 7) have been refreshed by Philemon.

3. Appeal (vv. 8-10)

        An inclusion formed by a repetition of ‘you’ referring to Philemon defines the unity of the third unit (vv. 8-10). ‘To command what is proper to you (soi)’ occurs at the beginning of this unit (v. 8) and ‘I appeal to you (se)’ at the end (v. 10).

        The repetition of the words ‘Christ’ and ‘appeal’ further defines the unity and distinctiveness of this unit. Paul has much boldness in ‘Christ’ to command what is proper to Philemon (v. 8), as Paul is a prisoner of ‘Christ’ Jesus (v. 9). From love Paul would rather appeal (parakalw=) to Philemon (v. 9), and so, ‘I appeal (parakalw=) to you’ for Onesimus (v. 10). Although the related noun ‘encouragement’ (para/klhsin) occurred in the previous unit (v. 7), the verb ‘appeal’ occurs only in this unit of the letter, thus demonstrating its distinctiveness. The repetition of the very similar words ‘prisoner’ (de/smioj, literally ‘chained’ or ‘bonded’ in v. 9) and ‘prison’ (desmoi=j, literally ‘in chains’ or ‘in bonds’ in v. 10) adds to this unit’s cohesiveness.

4. Onesimus (vv. 11-13)

        The set of three relative clauses referring to Onesimus, after he has been climactically named for the first and only time in the letter in v. 10, secures the unity and uniqueness of the fourth unit (vv. 11-13): ‘who (to/n) was once useless...’ (v. 11); ‘whom (o$n) I am sending back...’ (v. 12); ‘whom (o$n) I wanted to keep...’ (v. 13)⁹. The