21 See pp. 150-51, 168.
19Philo, On the Virtues 124 (see F. H. Colson’s notes ad loc. in the Loeb edition of Philo, VIII [Cambridge, MA, 1960], 238-39, 447-48). The law of Deut. 23:15-16 forbade the surrender of a fugitive slave to his master: “he shall dwell with you, in your midst, . . . where it pleases him best; you shall not oppress him.” The Israelites had good reason to know from experience that God cared for runaway slaves. To Paul this law, unparalleled in the ancient Near East, carried divine authority; even so, he would not invoke it without Philemon’s consent, preferring Philemon to act spontaneously in its spirit.
20He also cast doubt on the identity of Philemon’s slave with the Onesimus of Col. 4:9 (”Paul and Onesimus,” p. 182, n. 7).
21See pp. 150-51, 168.