PROVENANCE
PROVENANCE
When he wrote this letter, Paul was in prison (Col. 4:3, 10, 18). For the general possibilities of Rome, Caesarea and Ephesus, see the discussion above on Philippians (chap. 12, the section on Provenance). It is probable that Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon were written from the same place. The personal links mentioned in the previous paragraph are clear evidence that Colossians and Philemon were written at much the same time, while the case for Ephesians rests on the general similarities to Colossians. But there are no such personal links or general resemblances in Philippians, and that letter may well have been written from a different place. 8 Paul’s request for a guest room to be prepared (Phlm. 22) favors Ephesus as the place of origin of Colossians and Philemon, for Colossae was not far from that city, while preparations for a guest room might be premature if Paul was in Rome. Against this is the fact that Luke and Mark are mentioned as being with Paul when he wrote, but Acts does not include the Ephesian ministry among the "we” sections, and Mark was not with Paul on the second missionary journey (Acts 15:36-41). The runaway slave Onesimus had come to know Paul in his prison, and he would find it easier to get to Ephesus from Colossae than to Rome. He may have preferred, however, to go further away and lose himself in the anonymity of populous Rome. If Ephesians was written in the same general period as Colossians, it is unlikely that Paul would write to the Ephesian church while he was in jail in that very city. But this can be countered by arguing that Ephesians was originally a circular and could have been written anywhere. The arguments for and against Ephesus seem to cancel each other out. 9
Caesarea is a possibility, but it is hard to envisage a reason Onesimus would choose that city to flee to. Furthermore, we do not know that Paul had there the same kind of liberty to engage in evangelism that he enjoyed in Rome (Acts 28:30-31; but cf. Acts 24:23). Again, Paul’s request for accommodation is not likely from Caesarea, for when he wrote Colossians, he was hoping for speedy release; while he was in Caesarea, however, his only hope of release lay in an appeal to Caesar. Moreover, if Paul were writing from Caesarea, we might have expected him to include Philip among those Jews who "have proved a comfort to me” (Col. 4:11 cf. Acts 21:8).
Objections to these other centers leave us with Rome, though we must bear in mind Paul’s plan to go to Spain, not Colossae, after Rome. He may have abandoned that plan, but there is no evidence that he did (unless the Pastorals be held to indicate this). Luke was with Paul in Rome (Acts 28:14; 2 Tim. 4:11) and apparently Aristarchus also (Acts 27:2; cf. Col. 4:10). We cannot say that any center is strongly favored by the evidence, but perhaps a little more can be said for Rome than for anywhere else.