Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Philemon 1:5

ἀκούων : probably from Epaphras, see Colossians 1:7-8; Colossians 4:12 (Lightfoot). τὴν ἀγάπην …: i.e., the faith which thou hast towards the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love which thou showest to all the saints. “The logical order,” says Lightfoot, “is violated, and the clauses are inverted in the second part of the sentence, thus producing an example of the figure called chiasm; see Galatians 4:4-5. This results here from the apostle's setting down the thoughts in the sequence in which they occur to him, without paying regard to symmetrical arrangement. The first and prominent thought is Philemon's love. This suggests the mention of his faith, as the source from which it springs. This again requires a reference to the object of faith. And then, at length, comes the deferred sequel to the first thought the range and comprehensiveness of his love.” πίστιν : not “faithfulness,” but “faith” (belief), cf. 1 Corinthians 13:13; Galatians 5:6; 1 Thessalonians 1:3. πρὸς … εἰς : the difference in these propositions is noteworthy, πρὸς refers to the “faith” to Christ-ward (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:8), εἰς to the love to the saints: both are developed in Philemon 1:6-7. τοὺς ἁγίους : St. Paul intends Onesimus to be thought of here. The original significance of the title ἅγιος, as applied to men, may be seen in such a phrase as, “Ye shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). To the Jew, like St. Paul, the corresponding root in Hebrew connoted the idea of something set apart, i.e., consecrated to the service of God (cf. e.g., Exodus 22:31 [29]). The ἁγίοι constituted originally the ἐκκλησία; and just as, according to the meaning underlying the Hebrew equivalent of the word ἅγιος, separation for God's service was the main conception, so, according to the root-meaning of ἐκκλησία, it connoted the idea of the body of those “called out,” and thus separated from the world.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Philemon 1:5

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