Philemon, << fuh LEE muhn, >> Epistle to, is the 18th book of the New Testament. It is a letter from the apostle Paul to Philemon, a Christian associate of Paul. The apostle wrote the letter from prison, possibly in Rome, about A.D. 60. The letter was carried by Onesimus, a slave who had run away from Philemon, whom Paul was sending back to his owner. Paul asks Philemon not to punish Onesimus and seems to suggest that Philemon send Onesimus back to Paul to work with him. The Epistle is the shortest of Paul’s letters.
