Philemon 1:15

Therefore ; for this purpose (final cause). Departed for a season. He was therefore parted from thee for a time (Revised Version). Forever ; everlastingly (accusative, not an adverb). The relation of master and slave would have been in any case, and would still be, terminated by death. But it was now replaced by a new relation of Christian brotherhood, which would be permanent—a great advantage. So Calvin, Grotius, and many others. Meyer's objection does not seem of much weight (compare the Perpetua mancipia of Exodus 21:6 ; Deuteronomy 15:17 ). Baur thinks that in this verse he has reached the core of the Epistle—the ethical truth which it seeks to embody (but see Introduction: "Authenticity and Characteristics").