All the essays in this book are devoted to the interpretation of "Paul's Letter to Philemon". The most important characteristic of the book is the wide range of perspectives from which this brief letter of Paul is interpreted. The following issues receive attention: tendencies in the interpretation of the letter since 1980, epistolography, rhetoric, style, ancient legal and documentary sources, slavery in early Christianity, contextual interpretation, post-colonialism, the letter's legacy of hierarchy and obedience and the reception of the letter by Church Fathers.