Essay --

Paul’s first contact with a major center of slavery may have been in the city of Tyre. Groups of Gentile slave of both sexes from Syria and beyond came to Jerusalem through Tyre’s slave-market. He passed through Tyre on his way to Jerusalem. Paul went on to Judea and Jerusalem. In Judea and Jerusalem, Paul undoubtedly saw many slaves working in a wide variety of activities, including positions of high responsibility in the court of Herod and the families of high priest. Slaves varied place to place which determined the slavery population and gender. Around Jerusalem itself it seemed to have been no industries requiring of slaves nor many rural estates which used slave-labor in large numbers. Within the city Paul saw great number of domestic and civil slaves, both Jews and Gentile. One of the places Paul visited was Tarsus. In Tarsus where Paul was born was mostly woman since the type of work was mostly linen weaving, dyeing, leather cutting, and carpentry. Paul travelled from Tarsus to Corinth and saw many different types of slaves on this journey. From Tarsus, Paul continued on to Corinth. In Jerusalem as well as in Corinth, Paul saw slaves whose special abilities made it favorable to their owners to rent them by the day or by contract. In short Paul, was already acquainted with slavery before he left Jerusalem. When Paul traveled Asia Minor he saw an increasingly large slave population in the cities where the total of the slave population may have been about one third of the entire body of residents. In Ephesus slaves were involved in the widest thinkable range of activities, including working in the local wholesale and distributing agencies and managing retail stores. Very commonly, people were engaged in manufacturing, dis... ...hrough the imagery of slavery. b. Philemon, Letter to- written between 58AD and 60AD while Paul was in Roman prison. i. The letter was written to Philemon, who was a wealthy Gentile Christian in Colossae who became a believer a believer under Paul’s ministry (philem 19) ii. The heart of the letter centers upon Onesimus, Philemon’s slave who somehow wronged his master (philem 18), made his way to Paul in prison (philem 9), was converted (philem 10), and became a useful partners (philem 11, 13) But under the existing laws governing slaver, Paul knows that Onesimus must be returned to his rightful owner. Paul implores Philemon not only to receive (philem 17, forgive (philem 18: see Forgiveness) and acknowledge Onesimus’ new status as a fellow believer (philem 16), but to relinquish all claims upon Onesimus so that he can continue serving with Paul. (Philem 13, 21).