Nov 10: Philemon
Soldier
Philemon is a Christian leader in Colossae, who hosted mass in his own house. The letter is co-authored by Psaul and Timothy, who we have already seen is described in no uncertain military terms; a good-fighter of the faith who suffers as a Christian soldier should. A slave, Onesimus, has fled and Psaul is publicly pressuring Philemon to deal more leniently with him.
The greetings are noteworthy, suggesting a strong connection to military themes beyond mere metaphor. Co-recipients are addressed along with Philemon, “Apphia our sister, to Archippus our systratiōtēs.” (v.2, fellow-soldier) According to recent scholarship almost every known instance of this word in Greek literature refers to actual soldiers. Psaul uses this specific phrase in the hopes that it will tug on Philemon’s heartstrings, a closer translation might be “Archippus, our little trooper.” Where do most references to systratiōtēs occur? In letters between battle buddies sent to and from the frontlines. For veterans, it’s a gut check right in the feels - it evokes the scribbled epistles held by fellow soldiers to deliver to our widows and orphans in the event of our untimely deaths…
What is unspoken, but highly plausible, is that Philemon gained his wealth, status, and an indentured servant, Onesimus, through his own military service. This aligns with the social context in which CPT Marvel’s doulos, as well as Cornelius’ oiketēs, reside. Psaul and Timothy are appealing to Philemon’s better angels; the church is your true family; ‘your son and your servant are no different in God’s eyes.’ Psaul goes on to refer to himself as Onesimus’ father (v.10) and also Philemon’s brother (v.20), but these references do not stand out so strongly as those which would connect with a veteran.
POW
Another thing that stands out is that Psaul repeatedly calls himself a prisoner, desmos. But in concluding his letter he uses a different word. To really prick the conscience of his veteran friend, he joins himself with Epaphras as a (syn-)aichmalōtos. (v.23) The word combines aichme (spear), and halōsis (caught or taken), literally a prisoner taken at spearpoint, in war. Here Psaul is placing himself in solidarity with captives taken as the spoils of war, the very manner in which Onesimus probably found himself enslaved by Philemon. If that’s true then it probably happened before Philemon converted to Christianity. What is he to do about the sins committed before he came to faith? Psaul is subtle but clear, the Christian thing to do is to to “proclaim liberty to the aichmalōtos.” (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18)
Finally, when Philemon is told to treat Onesimus as he would Psaul (v.17), it would be a little more compulsory than implied by the familial language if Psaul possessed Roman citizenship. It’s part of the leverage Psaul employs, citizens outrank soldiers, the latter serves the former. Anyone reading the letter can recognize that Psaul commands respect ecclesiastically, but that is not all that’s going on here. It is his legal status as a citizen that makes Psaul “confident in [Philemon’s] obedience.” (v.21) Psaul’s interaction with Claudius Lysias (see Acts 21-23) teaches him, if he didn’t already know it, that citizenship allows him to epitassō (command, v.8) a representative of the military.
Philemon may be an Unknown in terms of military service, but his epistle makes clear the value of a martial hermeneutic for appreciating the full scope of the Christian faith.
