Verse 11
who once was unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me:
Since the word Onesimus means "profitable," many have supposed that Paul's play upon words here was intended as a pun, as if he had said, "Well, at last this profitable slave is living up to his name." However, Lenski pointed out that the two words for "profitable" derive from different roots. "This mars the supposed pun ... In a real pun the words must have at least a similar sound; not even that is the case here."[25] We also agree with Lenski in his further observation on this that "A pun at this place in Paul's letter would be a mistake."[26]
[25] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 963.
[26] Ibid.
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