Editing Epistle to Philemon (section)

===Authorship===
The Epistle to Philemon is attributed to the apostle Paul, and this attribution has rarely been questioned by scholars.{{sfn|Bruce|1984|p=191}} Along with six others, it is numbered among the "undisputed letters", which are widely considered to be authentically [[Pauline epistles|Pauline]]. The main challenge to the letter's authenticity came from a group of German scholars in the nineteenth century known as the [[Tübingen School]].{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=270}} Their leader, [[Ferdinand Christian Baur]], only accepted four New Testament epistles as genuinely written by Paul: [[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]], [[1 Corinthians|1]] and [[2 Corinthians]] and [[Epistle to the Galatians|Galatians]]. Commenting on Philemon, Baur described the subject matter as "so very singular as to arouse our suspicions",{{sfn|Baur|1875|p=81}} and concluded that it is perhaps a "Christian romance serving to convey a genuine Christian idea".{{sfn|Baur|1875|p=84}} This view is now largely considered to be outdated and finds no support in modern scholarship.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

The opening verse of the salutation also names [[Saint Timothy|Timothy]] alongside Paul. This, however, does not mean that Timothy was the epistle's co-author. Rather, Paul regularly mentions others in the address if they have a particular connection with the recipient. In this case, Timothy may have encountered Philemon while accompanying Paul in his work in Ephesus.{{sfn|O'Brien|1982|p=272}}