Philemon

3 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Philemon
       n 1: (Greek mythology) a simple countryman who offered
            hospitality to Zeus and Hermes when they came to earth
            without revealing their identities in order to test
            people's piety
       2: (New Testament) a Christian (probably living in Colossae)


          whose slave escaped and went to see Saint Paul
       3: a New Testament book containing an epistle from Saint Paul
          to Philemon asking Philemon to forgive the slave for
          escaping [syn: {Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Philemon},
          {Epistle to Philemon}]

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Philemon
     an inhabitant of Colosse, and apparently a person of some note
     among the citizens (Col. 4:9; Philemon 1:2). He was brought to a
     knowledge of the gospel through the instrumentality of Paul
     (19), and held a prominent place in the Christian community for
     his piety and beneficence (4-7). He is called in the epistle a
     "fellow-labourer," and therefore probably held some office in
     the church at Colosse; at all events, the title denotes that he
     took part in the work of spreading a knowledge of the gospel.
     

From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]:

  Philemon, who kisses