Philemon 1:2

And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(2) Apphia.—The name is usually taken to be the Roman name Appia. But the occurrence of such a name in a Græco-Asiatic family, though of course possible, is perhaps improbable; and Dr. Lightfoot has shown that it occurs in the form Apphia in many Phrygian inscriptions, and may therefore be naturally supposed to be a native name. There seems little doubt that Apphia was Philemon’s wife, like himself “the beloved,” though not the “fellow-labourer” or “partner” of St. Paul.

Archippus our fellow soldier.—From this mention of Archippus we may certainly conclude that he was a member of Philemon’s family; the ordinary conjecture makes him his son. The name “fellow-soldier,” applied elsewhere only to Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25), as the name “soldier of Jesus Christ” to Timothy (2Timothy 2:3), appears to denote ministerial office in Archippus, which agrees with the charge to him in Colossians 4:18 to “take heed to his ministry and fulfil it.”

Church in thy house.—See Note on Colossians 4:15. The specially domestic and personal character of the Epistle need not induce any limitation of the phrase to Philemon’s own family. As the joining of Timothy’s name in giving the salutation did not prevent the Letter from being St. Paul’s only, so the joining the Church in the house in the receiving of the salutation does not prevent its being addressed only to Philemon and his family, who were, like himself, interested in Onesimus.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:1-7 Faith in Christ, and love to him, should unite saints more closely than any outward relation can unite the people of the world. Paul in his private prayers was particular in remembering his friends. We must remember Christian friends much and often, as their cases may need, bearing them in our thoughts, and upon our hearts, before our God. Different sentiments and ways in what is not essential, must not make difference of affection, as to the truth. He inquired concerning his friends, as to the truth, growth, and fruitfulness of their graces, their faith in Christ, and love to him, and to all the saints. The good which Philemon did, was matter of joy and comfort to him and others, who therefore desired that he would continue and abound in good fruits, more and more, to God's honour.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And to our beloved Apphia - This was a female (Greek ἀγαπητῇ agapētē), and was probably the wife of Philemon.

And Archippus our fellow-soldier - See the notes at Colossians 4:17. It has been supposed that he was a son of Philemon, and this would appear not to be improbable, as he was one of his family. On the term "fellow-soldier," see the notes at Philippians 2:25. It is applied here to one who was a minister of the gospel, and who is spoken of in con nection with Paul as enlisted under the banners of the Captain of salvation, and waging a warfare with the wickedness of the world; compare the notes at 2 Timothy 2:3-4. That Archippus was a minister of the gospel, is clear from Colossians 4:17.

And to the church in thy house - Either the church that commonly met in his house, or more probably that was composed of his own family; compare the notes at Romans 16:5.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2. Apphia—the Latin, "Appia"; either the wife or some close relative of Philemon. She and Archippus, if they had not belonged to his family, would not have been included with Philemon in the address of a letter on a domestic matter.

Archippus—a minister of the Colossian Church (Col 4:17).

fellow soldier—(2Ti 2:3).

church in thy house—In the absence of a regular church building, the houses of particular saints were used for that purpose. Observe Paul's tact in associating with Philemon those associated by kindred or Christian brotherhood with his house, and not going beyond it.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Apphia was the Roman name of a woman; the naming of her before Archippus, a minister, makes it probable she was Philemon’s wife. It appears this

Archippus was a minister, from Colossians 4:17. He calleth him his fellow soldier, because he was engaged in some of those many dangers Paul encountered, but we are not told in Scripture which.

And to the church in thy house; all those Christians that live in thy family: we have the like expression, Romans 16:5 1 Corinthians 16:19 Colossians 4:15. The apostle doth not always by the term church signify a body under ecclesiastical discipline, but sometimes calleth a company of Christians ordinarily conversing together by that name. Those who think the body of the church were wont constantly to meet in Philemon’s house, seem not to consider how the dangers of those times made such a thing hardly practicable.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And to our beloved Apphia,.... The Alexandrian copy reads, "to sister Apphia"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "to the beloved sister Apphia"; for this is a woman's name; and it is thought that she was the wife of Philemon, since she is placed next to him, and before Archippus, a minister of the word; and very prudently is she wrote to, and justly commended, in order to engage her to use her interest with her husband to receive his servant again, who otherwise might have stood against it, and been a very great hinderance to a reconciliation: this clause is wanting in the Ethiopic version:

and Archippus our fellow soldier; that this Archippus was a preacher of the Gospel at Colosse is manifest from Colossians 4:17 wherefore the apostle styles him a fellow soldier; for though this character belongs to private Christians, who are enlisted as volunteers under Christ, the Captain of salvation, and fight under his banners, against sin, Satan, and the world, being accoutred with the whole armour of God, and are more than conquerors through Christ that has loved them; yet it very eminently belongs to the ministers of the Gospel, who are more especially called upon, to endure hardness, as good soldiers of Christ; to war a good warfare, to fight the good fight of faith; and besides the above enemies common to all believers, to engage with false teachers, and earnestly contend for the faith of the Gospel, that so it may continue with the saints. Now this man was in the same company, and in the same service, engaged in the same common cause, against the same enemies, and under the same Captain, and was expecting the same crown of immortality and glory, and therefore he calls him his fellow soldier; and he wisely inscribes his epistle to him, that he might make use of the interest he had in Philemon, and his wife, to bring this matter to bear, the apostle writes about:

and to the church in thy house: not in the house of Archippus, but in the house of Philemon; and designs not the church at Colosse, as though it met at his house; but his own family, which for the great piety and religion which were among them, and for the good order and decorum in which they were kept, were like a church of themselves; and here again the apostle acts the wise part, in order to gain his point, by taking notice of them, who might some of them have been injured or affronted by Onesimus, when with them; and so entertained some resentment against him, and might put a bar in the way of his reception into the family again.

Geneva Study Bible

And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Philemon 1:2. That Appia was the wife of Philemon (Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, and many) does not indeed admit of proof, but is the more probable, in proportion as the intercession for the slave was a matter of household concern, in which case the méstress of the house came into view. On the form of the name with πφ instead of ππ (Acts 28:15), comp. Ἀπφιανός in Mionnet, Description des midailles, III. 179, IV. 65, 67, and the forms ἀπφύς and ἀπφά. See also Lobeck, Paral. p. 33.

τῇ ἀδελφῇ] in the sense of Christian sisterhood, like ἀδελφός, Philemon 1:1.

Archippus, too (see on Colossians 4:17), must have belonged to the family circle of Philemon. But whether he was precisely son of Philemon (Michaelis, Eichhorn, Rosenmüller, Olshausen, Hofmann, and already Theodore of Mopsuestia) we cannot determine. Chrysostom and Theophylact take him to be a friend of the household; Theodoret, to be the teacher to the household.

τῷ συστρατ. ἡμ.] As in Php 2:25. The relation cannot be more precisely ascertained. He may have been deacon (according to Ambrosiaster and Jerome, he was even bishop), but must have endured conflict and trouble for the gospel. Comp. likewise 2 Timothy 2:3.

καὶ τ. κατʼ οἶκ. σ. ἐκκλ.] not to be understood of the family of Philemon (Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact: πάντας τοὺς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ πιστοὺς λέγει, συμπαραλαβὼν καὶ δούλους, comp. Calvin and Storr), but of the section of the Christians at Colossae, which met in his house.[65] See on Colossians 4:15. Wisely (see on Philemon 1:1) does Paul—although otherwise in Philemon 1:4-24 he only speaks to Philemon—enlist the interest not merely of Appia and Archippus, but also of the church in the house, and therewith embrace the whole circle, in which there was to be prepared for the converted fugitive a sanctuary of pardon and affection. But farther than this he does not go; not beyond the limits of the house, since the matter, as a household-affair, was not one suited to be laid before the Christian community collectively. To the latter, however, he at the same time (Colossians 4:9) commended his protégé, though without touching upon the particular circumstances of his case. Correct tact on the part of the apostle.

[65] Perhaps it is to this part of the address, which directed the letter to a congregational circle, that we are indebted for the preservation of the document—the only one of the certainly very numerous private letters, which the apostle wrote in the prosecution of his many-sided labours.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Philemon 1:2. Ἀπφίᾳ τῇ ἀδελφῆ: A Phrygian name, often occurring on Phrygian inscriptions. It is most natural to suppose that she was the wife of Philemon: but she must have occupied also, most likely, a quasi-official position in the Church; τῆ ἀδελφῇ, coming between συνεργῷ and συνστρατιώτῃ, suggests this, especially when one remembers the important part the ministry of women played in the early Church, cf. the labours, e.g., of Mary, Tryphaena and Tryphosa, Persis, in connexion with whom the semi-technical term κοπιᾶν is used (see 1 Thessalonians 5:12, 1 Timothy 5:17, for the use of this word), and Prisca; on the whole subject see Harnack, The Mission and Expansion of Christianity, i., pp. 122 f., 161 f., 363 f. (1908).—Ἀρχίππῳ: there is nothing to show that he was the son of Philemon, rather the contrary, for why should the son be addressed in a letter which dealt with one of his father’s slaves? The inclusion of his name must be due to the fact that he occupied an important position in the local church (cf. the words which follow in the text), which was thus, in a certain sense, included in the responsibility with regard to Onesimus. Archippus occupied, apparently, a more important position than Philemon (see Colossians 4:17, βλέπε τὴν διακονίαν ἤν παρέλαβες ἐν Κυρίῳ, ἵνα αὐτὴν πληροῖς,—if Philemon had occupied any such official position mention would certainly have been made of it), but this would be most unlikely to have been the case if the latter had been the father of the former. It is more natural to regard him as the head of the local Church, who lived in the house where the members met for worship (cf. Theodoret’s words, quoted by Lightfoot: ὁ δὲ Ἄρχιππος τὴν διδασκαλίαν αὐτῶν ἐπεπίστευτο).—συνστρατιώτῃ: only elsewhere in N.T., Php 2:25, but for the metaphor cf. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, 1 Timothy 1:18, 2 Timothy 2:3-4,—καὶ τῇ κατʼ οἶκον …: Cf. Acts 12:12, Romans 16:5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15. Up to the third century we have no certain evidence of the existence of church buildings for the purposes of worship; all references point to private houses for this. In Rome several of the oldest churches appear to have been built on the sites of houses used for Christian worship; see Sanday and Headlam, Romans, p. 421, who quote this interesting passage from the Acta Justini Martyris, § 2 (Ruinart): “Quaesivit Praefectus, quem in locum Christiani convenient. Cui respondit Justinus, eo unumquemque convenire quo vellet ac posset. An, inquit, existimas omnes nos in eundem locum convenire solitos? Minime res ita se habet … Tunc Praefectus: Age, inquit, dicas, quem in locum conveniatis, et discipulos tuos congreges. Respondit Justinus: Ego prope domum Martini cuiusdam, ad balneum cognomento Timiotinum, hactenus mansi.”

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

2. our beloved Apphia] Read, probably, our (lit., the) sister Apphia. The Vulgate combines the two readings, Appiæ sorori caris-simæ.—We may be sure that Apphia was Philemon’s wife. Her name was a frequent Phrygian name (written otherwise Aphphia; other forms found are Apphê, Aphphê), and had no connexion with the Latin Appia. See Lightfoot’s abundant evidence, pp. 372–4.—We know Apphia from this passage only. Legend says that she was martyred with Philemon at Colossæ.—See further above, p. 152.

Archippus] Probably Philemon’s son and (Colossians 4:17) a missionary-pastor of Colossæ and its neighbourhood. Of him too we know nothing outside these allusions; his martyrdom, when he suffered with his parents, is a legend only.—Lightfoot (p. 375) inclines to think that his pastorate lay at Laodicea, reasoning from the passage Colossians 4:15-17. But would he not have lived at Laodicea, if so? And if so, would he have been saluted thus, in this letter referring wholly to the home, in closest connexion with his (assumed) parents, and just before a mention of “the church in their house”? On the other hand, Archippus may have had to do with the mission at Laodicea, perhaps as superintending pastor, while resident at Colossæ. Possibly he had lately undertaken such an extension of charge, and this might be referred to Colossians 4:17. But (see note there) we incline to think that that verse refers to Archippus and to a recent appointment to ministry at Colossæ.—See further above, p. 152.

See note on the Subscription to the Epistle, for a (late) mention of Archippus as “the deacon” of the Colossian Church.

our fellowsoldier] In Christ’s great missionary campaign. Cp. Php 2:25, and our note. For the imagery, cp. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; 1 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 2:3-4.—Wyclif, “archip oure euene knyet.”

the church in thy house] Cp. Colossians 4:15, and note. Philemon’s house was the Christian rendezvous of Colossæ, and his great room the worship-place.

Bengel's Gnomen

Philemon 1:2. Ἀπφίᾳ, to Apphia) the wife of Philemon, who had something to do with the business of Onesimus.—οἶκόν σου, thy house) viz. Philemon’s.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 2. - Our beloved Apphia. Codices A, D*, E*, F, G, and א (Sinaiticus) read adelphe (sister) for agapete (beloved), and also Jerome, Griesbach, Meyer; which also has been adopted in the Revised Version. The name Appia, or Apphia, is either the Roman Appia Hellenized, which was the conjecture of Grotins (see Introduction), or more probably a native Phrygian name, from Appa or Appha, a term of endearment. The name does not occur elsewhere in Scripture. The word ἀδελφῆ is not unlikely to have been added by way of explanation. St. Paul has used it in five other places, and always in the same sense, viz. Romans 16:1, 15; 1 Corinthians 7:15; 1 Corinthians 9:5; 1 Timothy 5:2. Most commentators, and particularly Chrysostom, Theodoret, and Theophylact, among the ancients, infer that Apphia was the wife of Philemon. Otherwise, why mention her name here? Archippus; comp. Colossians 4:17, where he is said to have received a διακονία, i.e. a ministry or service, in the Church. This word, when used without a determining genitive, denotes service to others in a general and undefined sense. But more commonly with some limiting word; as διακονία λόγου, office of teaching (Acts 6:4); διακονία τοῦ θανάτου, office or function of death (2 Corinthians 3:7). The general view is that Archippus was the presbyter who ministered to that congregation which assembled at the house of Philemon, though Ambrose and Jerome, with other commentators ancient and modern, think that he was the bishop. Grotius, however, takes him to have been a deacon. (It is a very precarious inference that he was a son of Philemon and Appia.) Probably he was fulfilling a temporary mission only in Colossae, and that would be the διακονία in the passage cited. Epaphras, a resident in Colossae (Colossians 4:12), is spoken of as having been the founder of the Church there (Colossians 1:7, 8), and as still being responsible for it (Colossians 4:13). Primasius calls Epaphras bishop and Archippus deacon; and so Grotius. It may be that these theories err in ascribing too rigid and technical a meaning to the terms of ecclesiastical service at this early stage of their employment. Epaphras was, however, at this time in Rome with St. Paul (Colossians 4:12, 13), and it is possible that Archippus was filling his place temporarily. It will be safer to call him (with Bishop Wordsworth) a presbyter. It is, as we have said, an unsupported idea of some writers ancient and modern (Theod. Mopsuest., Michaelis, Rosenmuller, Olshausen, Lightfoot) that he was the son of Philemon (but see below). Our fellow-soldier; i.e. of himself and St. Timothy, as engaged in the same warfare for Christ (1 Corinthians 9:7; 2 Corinthians 10:4; 1 Timothy 1:18). The same term is applied in Philippians 2:25 to Epaphroditus, and also the συνεργός of Ver. 1. And to the Church in thy house. Mede (so Chrysostom and Theodoret also) understands this as meaning "and to the whole of thy family" (which is a Christian one) - a suggestion quite worth considering. For a separate letter "to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossae" (Colossians 1:2) was brought by the same messengers, and it would seem natural that, in a matter so personal to Philemon, salutations should be confined to his own family. The phrase is used more than once (see Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19, which seems rather to point the other way; but especially Colossians 4:15, "Nymphas and the Church which is in his house," which, since it was in Colossae itself, seems almost conclusive for that meaning). The Ecclesia domestica was very familiar in the apostolic times. Theodoret states that the house of Philemon was still pointed out as late as the fifth century. Philemon 1:2

Vincent's Word Studies

Our beloved Apphia (Ἁπφίᾳ τῇ ἀγαπητῇ)

Read τῇ ἀδελφῇ the (our) sister. Commonly supposed to have been Philemon's wife. The word is not the common Roman name Appia, but is a Phrygian name, occurring frequently in Phrygian inscriptions. It is also written Aphphia, and sometimes Aphia.

Archippus

Possibly the son of Philemon and Apphia. From Colossians 4:17 he would appear to have held some important office in the church, either at Colossae or at Laodicaea, which lay very near. In Colossians his name occurs immediately after the salutation to the Laodicaeans.

Fellow-soldier

In christian warfare. Perhaps at Ephesus. Applied also to Epaphroditus, Philippians 2:25.

The church in thy house

See on Romans 16:5.