Onesimus
Useful, a slave who, after robbing his master Philemon (q.v.) at Colosse, fled to Rome, where he was converted by the apostle Paul, who sent him back to his master with the epistle which bears his name. In it he beseeches Philemon to receive his slave as a “faithful and beloved brother.” Paul offers to pay to Philemon anything his slave had taken, and to bear the wrong he had done him. He was accompanied on his return by Tychicus, the bearer of the Epistle to the Colossians (Phlm 1:1:16, 18).
The story of this fugitive Colossian slave is a remarkable evidence of the freedom of access to the prisoner which was granted to all, and “a beautiful illustration both of the character of St. Paul and the transfiguring power and righteous principles of the gospel.”
Named in the Bible
4 verses
- Colossians 4:9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.
- Colossians 4:18 The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
- Philemon 1:10 I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:
- Philemon 1:25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
