Peshitta Forum

Full Version: Wordplays ABOUND in Philemon!!
You're currently viewing a stripped down version of our content. View the full version with proper formatting.
Shlama akhay,


i just finished reading through this very brief book, and i found lots of goodies i thought i'd share. this was much fun for me, so i hope it is for y'all, as well!


1:1 Pawlaws, a bondman of Yeshuwa the Anointed One, and Teeymate???aws, a brother: to Pheeyleemawn the beloved, and a laborer with us,

the first underlined word is just Philemon's name transliterated from the Aramaic. his name has to do with a Greek word for love - Philous. the second underlined term is khabeeba, an obvious link to the meaning of the man's name. granted, this works in both Aramaic and Greek texts, but i just thought i'd throw that out because this letter is showing Paul at the top of his Rabbinic-school-taught word-play game. there is also some more things going on here that i will reference back to further on after bringing out some other necessary information.

so continuing....

1:2 and to our beloved Apya, and to Arkeeypaws, a laborer with us, and to the congregation that is in his house.

here's where he really starts showing his stuff, and where the Greek shows itself as a translation.
Apya means "Fruit-bearing," and Arkeeypaws has the meaning of "Horse-Master." in Roman times, a horse-master wasn't just a person who had skill with a horse, but was known as a magister equitem, and was the main lieutenant (read: second-in-command) of the Roman dictator! that is high military, in case you are wondering. needless to say, Arkeeypaws had much to live up to with a name like that! <!-- s:biggrin: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/biggrin.gif" alt=":biggrin:" title="Big Grin" /><!-- s:biggrin: -->
these two disparate meanings are both given a very clever 'nod' with the presence of the term translated above as "laborer," which is PALKHA. this term has a few different definitions, and Paul took advantage of that masterfully. one would be the simple and inconspicuous "laborer," of course, and another carries the idea of "cultivator/husbandman," so it links back to the meaning of Apya's name as "Fruit-Bearing." the third meaning of PALKHA is that of "soldier/one in military service," which links directly back to the meaning of Arkeeypaws' name as a high military official.
there wasn't a "perfect" word in the Greek to match such beautiful and clever style, so the translator was relegated to going with the choice of systratiotee, meaning a "fellow-soldier." or perhaps the translator for the Greek didn't catch Paul's word-play because he didn't know the meaning of the two names -- who knows? as it is, this is a pretty cool little pointer to Aramaic originality for this letter.

continuing....

1:6 that there be familiarity of your trust, giving fruits in deeds and in knowledge of all good things which are yours in Yeshuwa the Anointed One.

here, with the underlined term "fruits," which is PEERE', Paul is obviously thinking in terms of Apya's name. he already addressed her and Arkeeypaws together, but now this is like a solo hat's off, i would suggest, and it isn't over yet, as we shall see:

1:9 But because of love I inquire, inquiring, even I, Pawlaws -- who am old, as you recognize, yet am also a bondman of Yeshuwa the Anointed One.

here is the solo hat's off to Arkeeypaws, i would say, since the term ASEEYRA can mean not only someone "bound," but also a "commander" in the military. in fact, it is entirely possible that this military theme was intended back in verse 1, where Paul calls himself there this same term, as well as labeling Philemon as a PALKHA.

think about it -- he's being suave and endearing, so to speak, and one can understand why -- he is asking for these masters to release their servant. the way this letter is written, you have to admit is just pretty dang sweet.

but continuing on, we also find this little fact present in the text -- both Aramaic and Greek:

1:10 And I inquire of you about my son, whom I bore in my chains - Aneeseeymaws,
1:11 who, at a time, was not for you of any use, but now, even to you - as also for me - is greatly useful.


here is play off the meaning of the name of Aneeseeymaws, which is "Helpful, useful," by telling them basically, "The Helpful One was once not living up to his name, but now he is."

finally, this last little bit of fun is found as he "signs off" for the letter:

1:23 Epapra salutes you in peace, a captive that is with me in Yeshuwa the Anointed One,
1:24 and Marqaws, and Areestarkaws, and Deema, and Luwqa, my helpers.


If one takes the names listed here, and renders them by meaning, the result becomes: Lovely (Epapra), Salvation (Yeshuwa), Anointed (Mesheekha), Defense (Marqaws), Best-Ruler (Areestarkaws), Governor-of-the-People (Deema), Light-Giver (Luwqa).

one could make the argument that with this strung-together list he is hinting at the One to whom they ALL remain servants of -- Yeshuwa, who is the obvous best Master we could have, and as such, we're all, as believers, on equal footing. so why not let Aneeseeymaw go free?

that's it for this one. any thoughts, corrections, or further insights please feel free to share!


Chayim b'Moshiach,
Jeremy
I just completed a rough draft of Philemon today. If you are interested, let me know, and I will forward a copy of it to you. Since I don't know the root meaning of the names you mention, your analysis of word plays is far beyond my comprehension. But I will take your word for it that the words plays do exist.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the letter to Philemon. Paul wrote it when he was admittedly old, and much of his word usage is difficult to construct, and a bit out of the norm of the other text I had been working on. I'm not sure what Paul's status was at the time he wrote the letter. I'll have to do some research on it. From what I could figure out, Paul was trying to send off Onisiymous, whom Paul considered a close and valuable brother, to Philemon and his cohorts, of whom had previously known Onisiymous to be of no particular value.

Anyhow, if you or anyone have any additional insights on the letter to Philemon, I would be interested in hearing them. For example, one question I have is if Paul was in actually prison at the time he wrote to Philemon, or are all his references to being in "bondage" or "detention" to Yeshua just figurative language?
Shlama akhi,


i would love to see your take on it. i'm sending you a pm with my email. i did one as well after reading through it initially.

as for the wordplays with the names, i would suggest grabbing hold of a concordance or such -- i personally find Young's Analytical easy to navigate. or you can find some info online, as well, if you have no luck with the concordance. you can do searches with "X name meaning," and something should come up, or places like <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.blueletterbible.org">www.blueletterbible.org</a><!-- w --> usually have some info on Biblical name meanings. if you aren't too familiar with the language with which you may be working, tho, i would suggest comparing different sources, since sometimes there are different takes on name meanings.


Chayim b'Moshiach,
Jeremy