Philemon 1:11

τόν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον, “who once was useless to thee.” ἄχρηστος here only in N.T. occurs a few times in LXX., but in no instance illustrating our passage. In Matthew 25:30; Luke 17:10 ἀχρεῖος is used of worthless slaves. According to Tittmann quoted by Trench Synon. § c. 17 ἀχρεῖος is the more negative word of the two, ἅχρηστος suggesting positive hurtfulness. All the modern commentators quote Plato Resp. III. p. 411A χρήσιμον ἐξ� … ἐποίησεν.

νυνὶ δὲ σοὶ καὶ ἑμοὶ εὔχρηστον. Onesimus “erit nomini suo respondens servus utilis” (Wetstein), and will presumably act in accordance with Colossians 3:22 sqq. It is curious that the Greek commentators do not notice the play on the name. P. Ewald indeed doubts it here, saying that St Paul might have employed more closely related terms such as ἀνόνητος and ὀνητός. For εὔχρηστος see 2 Timothy 2:21; 2 Timothy 4:11† and in LXX. Proverbs 31:13 (31); Wis 13:13†.

καὶ ἐμοί is, as Lightfoot points out, strictly an afterthought (cf. Philippians 2:27) and therefore (contrary to Greek usage) the second person precedes. Observe that as his usefulness to Philemon must lie in the same range as the uselessness, i.e. in material service, so also presumably his usefulness to St Paul. The latter, that is to say, is not thinking of Onesimus’ conversion representing the gain and recompense of his labour (cf. Philippians 1:22; Philippians 2:16), but of the practical assistance that Onesimus was to him in the things of daily life. The words thus serve to introduce the thought of Philemon 1:13.