11 A: The one who was useless … very useful.
ἄχρηστον … εὔχρηστον;
see a similar common wordplay dealing with the slave trade in Exod. Rab. 43
(99C): R. Judah b. Shalom (ca. 370) said in the name of R. Judah b. Simon (ca.
320) in the name of R. Levi b. Perata (ca. 300), “Like someone who wanted to
buy a slave. He said to its master, ‘Is this slave, whom you want to sell, of a
bad sort קאקוגריסין
(= κακὴ αἵρεσις) or of a good sort קלוגריסין (= καλὴ αἵρεσις)?’ He answered
him, ‘He is of a bad sort, and that is why I am selling him’ ” (Hermann
L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, A Commentary on the New Testament from the
Talmud and Midrash, ed. Jacob N. Cerone, 4 vols. [trans. Andrew Bowden and
Joseph Longarino; Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2021], 3:777)
He was once useless to you. Paul now plays formally on the name of
the slave, using the adjectives achrēstos,
“useless,” and euchrēstos, “quite
useful,” in the second part of the verse. The first means just the opposite of Onēsimos, denoting someone who is an-onētos, “useless.” The Apostle gives
no details about how Onesimus became “useless” to Philemon, but he is clearly
playing on the meaning of the slave’s name. Onesimus became “useless” either by
running away or, more likely, as v 18 implies, by having stolen something from
Philemon or caused him some financial damage or loss. It was something that
aggravated his relationship to his master. In any case, Onesimus has become
like the proverbially useless Phrygian slave (Cicero quotes the proverb Phrygem plagis fieri solere meliorem [A
Phrygian usually becomes better because of a whipping] in Pro Flacco 65). For other instances of puns on names, see
Aeschylus, Agamemnon 671; Prometheus Bound 85–86; Sophocles, Ajax 430–31. (Joseph
A. Fitzmyer, The Letter to Philemon: A
New Translation with Introduction and Commentary [AYB 34C; New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2008), 108)
An example of paronomasia—word play—demonstrates the acoustic
dexterity and intentionality of Paul with a play on the proper name Onesimus
(meaning ‘useful’). Paul recognizes Onesimus’ usefulness rather than his
uselessness. A further acoustic variation might be achrēstoñ euchrēston (‘useless/useful’) could have been pronounced achrīston/euchrīston, giving the sense
of ‘christless’ and ‘christfull.’ One final insight whose perception is
enhanced when the epistle of Philemon is heard rather than silently read is the
repetition of the word splanchna
(bowels/mercies/heart). Paul uses this word in a logical series of three: 1)
Paul praises Philemon for refreshing the hearts of the saints; 2) Paul names
Onesimus as Paul’s heart; 3) Paul invites Philemon to refresh his heart, thus
asking Philemon to refresh Onesimus by receiving him well. (James
A. Maxey, From Orality to Orality: A New Paradigm for Contextual Translation
of the Bible [Biblical Performance Criticism 2; Eugene, Oreg.: Cascade
Books, 2009], 124-25)
Further Reading:
Matthew L. Bowen, “You
More Than Owe Me This Benefit: Onomastic Rhetoric in Philemon,” Interpreter:
A Journal of Mormon Scripture 17 (2016): 1-12
