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ONESIMUS
Slave on whose behalf Paul wrote the Letter to Philemon. A slave of Philemon, he had robbed his master and run away from him. He is also mentioned with Tychicus as a bearer of the Letter to the Colossians (Col 4:9), indicating that he came from that region. Paul became acquainted with him, converted him, and developed a close friendship with him (Phlm 1:10). Paul wanted to keep Onesimus with him during his imprisonment because he had been helpful to him (in Greek, Onesimus means “useful”). However, Paul returned the slave to his master, confident that the runaway slave would be received by his former owner as a Christian brother and that Philemon would charge any wrong that Onesimus had done to Paul’s account.
See also Philemon, Letter to.