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Although sometimes regarded as trivial because of its brevity or its treatment of issues distant from the modern world, the letter to Philemon remains valuable both for its insight into the social setting of the New Testament and for its reiteration of a central component of the gospel—brotherly love.
This superb new commentary in the ECC series is unique for its exhaustive study of the ancient world at the time Philemon was written. The volume examines the institution of slavery in Paul’s day, drawing on secular sources from Greece and Rome and from Christian writers of the time. The references to slavery found in Ephesians, Colossians, and 1 Timothy are also compared and contrasted with Paul’s words in Philemon.
In addition, the verse-by-verse commentary focuses on important themes in Pauline theology, including love, faith and faithfulness, church unity, providence, free will, and human responsibility. Markus Barth makes his exposition even more useful by surveying the history of the interpretation of Philemon, from the patristic age to modern liberation theologians.
The product of Barth’s lifelong research and completed by Helmut Blanke, this volume will become the standard work on Philemon.
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Who would have thought that a commentary on Philemon could run almost 600 pages? It's almost overwhelmingly thorough in some respects. The opening discussion on slavery is extremely helpful and more detailed than what most commentaries give. Includedin the commentary section are 20+ excurses, which probably would have been better included in a separate section because they often interrupt the flow (seriously- 23 pages is not an excursus, it's an article). Most interpretations are surveyed and sifted, though the authors tend only to make cautious affirmations of a position when they are not sure (such as where Paul was when he wrote this letter). Chances are most pastors won't fork over this kind of money for a Philemon commentary. If you are studying slavery in the NT period or teaching in depth in Philemon (or other places where slavery is present in the biblical text), then you ought to consult this commentary. If you are looking for a stand alone volume on Philemon, I would still go with Fitzmyer- for a lot less money.
