A Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation of the Letter to Philemon in Light of the New Institutional Economics

Book excerpt: In this study, Alex Hon Ho Ip argues that when Paul wrote to Philemon about Onesimus, his main purpose was not to try and reunite, as is widely held, a runaway slave with his master, but rather to have Onesimus accepted as a beloved brother in Christ. By examining the letter's inner texture, the author shows that Paul's main concern was for Philemon and Onesimus to be reconciled in brotherly love. The inter-textual weave reveals Paul's theological and ethical thoughts on love, which is the basis for the apostle's main argument. By taking a new institutional economics approach to help reconstruct the economic relationship between slave and master, Alex Hon Ho Ip is able to offer a better understanding of the original relationship Paul argued against. With all this in mind, the focus is on re-reading the letter and hearing how Paul's rhetoric exhorts a new relationship between Onesimus and Philemon.