Philemon in Perspective: Interpreting a Pauline Letter

All the essays in this book are devoted to the interpretation of Paul's Letter to Philemon . The most important characteristic of the book is the wide range of perspectives from which this brief letter of Paul is interpreted. The following issues receive attention: tendencies in the interpretation of the letter since 1980, epistolography, rhetoric, style, ancient legal and documentary sources, slavery in early Christianity, contextual interpretation, post-colonialism, the letter's legacy of hierarchy and obedience and the reception of the letter by Church Fathers.