1:1 From Paul, 1 a prisoner of Christ Jesus, 2 and Timothy our 3 brother, to Philemon, our dear friend 4 and colaborer,
1 tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
2 sn The phrase a prisoner of Christ Jesus implies that Paul was being held prisoner because of his testimony for Christ Jesus. Paul’s imprisonment was due to his service to Christ, in the same manner as John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos because of his testimony (Rev 1:9).
3 tn “our” is not present in the Greek text, but was supplied to bring out the sense in English.
4 tn Grk “dear.” The adjective is functioning as a substantive; i.e., “dear one” or “dear friend.”
5 sn Aristarchus accompanied Paul on his collection-journey when Paul left for Rome in Acts 27:2. He is also mentioned as a fellow prisoner in Col 4:10.
6 sn Demas is most likely the same individual mentioned by the Apostle Paul in 2 Tim 4:10. Apparently, he later on abandoned the faith because of his love of the world.