20. ναί] introducing an affectionate appeal as in Phil. iv. 3 ναὶ ἐρωτῶ καὶ σέ.
ἀδελφέ] It is the entreaty of a brother to a brother on behalf of a brother (ver. 16). For the pathetic appeal involved in the word see the notes on Gal. iii. 15, vi. 1, 18; and comp. ver. 7.
ἐγώ] ‘I seem to be entreating for Onesimus; but I am pleading for myself: the favour will be done to me’; comp. ver. 17 προσλαβοῦ αὐτὸν ὡς ἐμέ. The emphatic ἐγώ identifies the cause of Onesimus with his own.
σου ὀναίμην] ‘may I have satisfaction, find comfort in thee’, i.e. ‘may I receive such a return from thee, as a father has a right to expect from his child.’ The common use of the word ὀναίμην would suggest the thought of filial offices; e.g. Arist. Thesm. 469 οὕτως ὀναίμην τῶν τέκνων , Lucian Philops. 27 πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν τῶν υἱέων , οὕτως ὀναίμην, ἔφη, τούτων, Ps-Ignat. Hero 6 ὀναίμην σου, παιδίον ποθεινόν, Synes. Ep. 44 οὕτω τῆς ἱερᾶς φιλοσοφίας ὀναίμην καὶ προσέτι τῶν παιδίων τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ, with other passages quoted in Wetstein. So too for ὄνασθαι, ὄνησις, compare Eur. Med. 1025 sq. πρὶν σφῷν ὄνασθαι ... ἄλλως ἄρ’ ὑμᾶς, ὦ τέκν’ , ἐξεθρεψάμην, Alc. 333 ἅλις δὲ παίδων · τῶν δ’ ὄνησιν )εύχομαι θεοῖς γενέσθαι, Philem. Inc. 64 (IV. p. 55 Meineke) ἔτεκές με, μῆτερ, καὶ γένοιτό σοι τέκνων ὄνησις , ὥσπερ καὶ δίκαίον ἐστί σοι, Ecclus. xxx. 2 ὁ παιδεύων τὸν ὑὶον αὐτοῦ ὀνήσεται ἐπ’ αὐτῷ (the only passage in the LXX where the word occurs). The prayer ὀναίμην σου, ὀναίμην ὑμῶν, etc., occurs several times in Ignatius; Polyc. 1, 6, Magn. 2, 12, Ephes. 2. It is not unlikely that ὀναίμην here involves a reference to the name Onesimus; see the note on ver. 11. The Hebrew fondness for playing on names makes such an allusion at least possible.
21, 22]
[← ] 21Πεποιθὼς τῇ ὑπακοῇ σου ἔγραψά σοι, εἰδὼς ὅτι καὶ ὑπὲρ ἃ λέγω ποιήσεις. 22ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἑτοίμαζέ μοι ξενίαν· ἐλπίζω γὰρ ὅτι διὰ τῶν προσευχῶν ὑμῶν χαρισθήσομαι ὑμῖν. [ →]
ἐν Κυρίῳ] As he had begotten Philemon ἐν Κυρίῳ (comp. 1 Cor. iv. 15, 17), so it was ἐν Κυρίῳ that he looked for the recompense of filial offices.
ἀνάπαυσον κ.τ.λ.] See the note ver. [7].
21. ἔγραψα] ‘I write’: see the note on ver. [19].