Exegetical Exercise

Instructions

This exercise offers you an opportunity to implement the principles of hermeneutics for an epistle. For this assignment, please utilize the techniques discussed in the textbook and do the following brief study of the book of Philemon.

1. Read Philemon in the English Standard Version (ESV). Read it a second time in one of the following: New King James Version (NKJV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), or the New English Translation (NET). Read it a third time in the New International Version (NIV). What is the unique literary form (genre) of this book and what seems to be the primary purpose for its writing?
2. List all people and places mentioned in the letter. Annotate each with a sentence or two of background information. Identify the author, the recipient(s), and other background information such as date and place of writing.
3. Research slavery as it existed in the Roman Empire and in Christian churches at the time of this letter’s writing. Summarize your findings in a paragraph or two.
4. The ESV divides the book into paragraphs as follows: verses 1-3, 4-7, 8-16, 17-20, 21-22, 23-24, and 25. Read each paragraph carefully and, using words from the text, identify the main subject(s) for each paragraph.
5. Review your main ideas and look for relationships between them. What is the flow of the thoughts? In other words, where did the letter start, where did it end, and how did it get there?
6. Summarize, in a sentence or two, Paul’s message to Philemon and the methods he used to help Philemon to make the right decision.
7. Application Statement: What is the value of this book to the church today, and to you in particular, since the issue that caused its writing is not common today?