Through the book of Philemon, the character of Onesimus is a slave who has left his master and met with Paul. Although Bible scholars have differing opinions about what occurred between Onesimus and his master, a likely version is that he stole from his master and fled punishment (Harris, 2014). Even though the book of Philemon does not definitively state, it is improbable that Onesimus encountered Paul by coincidence, but rather that he sought Paul out (Wilcox, 2014). In fact, the practice of someone arbitrating disputes between slaves and their owners was a common practice during that period; therefore, likely knowing of Paul and Philemon’s friendship Onesimus figured that Paul could assist in mending the relationship (Harris, 2014). Consequently,