The reception of the ethics of the Letter to Philemon in three early Latin commentaries

Résumé 0

According to Jan van der Watt, the study of the ethics of New Testament writings should not be limited to the study of categories directly related to prescribing specific deeds. One should rather follow a broader approach by also investigating, among others, the 'implicit ethics' of a writing. In this article on the reception of the ethics of the Letter to Philemon in the commentaries of Ambrosiaster, Jerome and Pelagius, the benefit of such a broader approach to the ethics of the letter is demonstrated. The way in which each of these commentators interprets the implicit ethics of the letter, quite often by creating an 'implicit ethics' on their own part, is investigated systematically. The approach followed by each of these interpreters and the results reached by them are described in depth.