ት Tergwame Greek · Coptic · Ethiopic · Syriac · Armenian · Georgian · Latin

Ethiopic · Other ·

መልእክተ፡ ጳውሎስ፡ ኀበ፡ ፊልሞና፡

Anonymous · betmas

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 3 passages · 549 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Geʿez work መልእክተ፡ ጳውሎስ፡ ኀበ፡ ፊልሞና፡ (Epistle of Paul to Philemon) is a translation of the canonical New Testament letter into Ethiopic. It is part of the broader Ethiopic biblical corpus, transmitted in New Testament manuscripts. The source edition (betmas) provides a diplomatic transcription of a single manuscript without critical apparatus. The translation likely dates to the Aksumite or post-Aksumite period (5th–7th centuries), though no explicit colophon confirms this. The Geʿez text includes a chapter heading and a title phrase, and it reflects interpretive traditions, such as treating Archippus as Philemon's son, a detail not explicit in the Greek original. The edition offers no translation or commentary, and variant readings from other Ethiopic manuscripts are not identified.

This Geʿez version of Philemon is significant as a witness to the early transmission of the Pauline epistles in Ethiopia, reflecting local interpretive traditions (e.g., Archippus as Philemon's son). It contributes to understanding the textual history of the Ethiopic Bible and its relationship to Greek and Syriac sources. The work also illustrates the role of Geʿez as a liturgical language in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition.

Historical context

The Geʿez translation of Philemon belongs to the Ethiopic biblical tradition, which began with the translation of the Bible into Geʿez during the Aksumite period (4th–7th centuries), likely influenced by Greek and Syriac sources. The work was transmitted in manuscripts of the Ethiopic New Testament, often as part of the broader canon that includes the Pauline epistles. The date of this specific translation is uncertain; it may originate from the 5th–7th centuries, but no colophon or external evidence in the betmas edition provides a precise date. The community that produced and used this text was the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which preserved the Geʿez Bible as a liturgical language. The genre is a biblical translation, and the transmission relied on monastic scriptoria. The text's relation to other Christian literature includes its place within the Pauline corpus and its use in liturgy and commentary.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

18 commentary units 3 structure3 term3 background3 reception3 caution1 scripture1 sense1 parallel 0 derived notes 6 open questions 3 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: other in Geʿez; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 3 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: betmas — CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
LIT3528Epistle:1 · narrativemedium
Source
All excerpts are taken from . Introduction Epistle ምዕራፍ 1 መልእክተ፡ ብፅዓን፡ ወአስተብቍዖ እምጳውሎስ፡ ሙቁሑ፡ ለኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ወጢሞቴዎስ፡ እኁነ። ለፊልሞና፡ ዘናፈቅር፡ ዘየኀብር፡ ግብረ፡ ምስሌነ፡ ወለአብፍምያ፡ እኅትነ። ወለአክርጳ፡ ወልዱ፡ ዘይገብር፡ ምስሌነ። ወለእለ፡ ምስሌሆሙ፡ እለ፡ ውስተ፡ ቤተ፡ ክርስቲያን። ሰላም፡ ለክሙ፡ ወጸጋ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ አቡነ፡ ወእግዚእነ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ። አአኵቶ፡ ለአምላክየ፡ ዘልፈ፡ ወእዜከረከ፡ በጸሎትየ። እምአመ፡ ሰማዕኩ፡ ሃይማኖተከ፡ ወፍቅረከ፡ ዘበእግዚእነ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ወዘኵሎሙ፡ ቅዱሳን። ከመ፡ ጽኑዐ፡ ይኩን፡ ሱታፌ፡ ሃይማኖትከ፡ በምግባረ፡ ሠናይ። ወበአእምሮ፡ ኵሉ፡ ሠናይ፡ ዘበኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ። ተፈሣሕኩ፡ ወተሐሠይኩ፡ በእንተ፡ ተፋቅሮትከ። እስመ፡ አዕረፈት፡ ነፍሶሙ፡ ለቅዱሳን፡ በኀቤከ፡ እኁየ። ወብየ፡ በእንተ፡ ዝንቱ፡ ሞገስ፡ ዐቢይ፡ በክርስቶስ። ከመ፡ አአዝዝከ፡ ትእዛዘ፡ ጽድቅ።
English
Epistle of Paul to Philemon Chapter 1 Epistle of Blessing and Greeting From Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy, our brother, to Philemon, whom we love, who works with us, and to Apphia, our sister, and to Archippus, his son, who works with us, and to those who are with them in the house of the church. Peace to you and grace of God, our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always, and I remember you in my prayer. From the time I heard of your faith and your love for our Lord Jesus Christ and for all the saints, that the foundation of your faith may be firm in good works and in the understanding of all that is good in Jesus Christ. I rejoiced and was glad because of your love, for the souls of the saints have rested in you, my brother. And I, because of this great grace in Christ, as you have commanded the commandment of righteousness.
LIT3528Epistle:2 · narrativehigh
Source
ወበተፋቅሮ፡ አስተበቊዐከ፡ አስተብቊዖተ፡ አነ፡ ጳውሎስ። እስመ፡ ልሂቅ፡ አነ፡ ዘከመ፡ ተአምር። ወይእዜኒ፡ ዓዲ፡ ሙቁሑ፡ ለኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ። በእንተ፡ አናሲሞስ አነ፡ አስተበቊዐከ፡ በእንተ፡ ወልድየ፡ ዘወለድክዎ፡ በመዋቅሕትየ፡ ዘውእቱ፡ አናሲሞስ። ዘቀዲሙሰ፡ ኢበቊዐከ፡ ወይእዜሰ፡ ለከሂ፡ ወሊተሂ፡ ባቍዐ፡ ኮነ፡ ጥቀ። ወናሁ፡ ፈነውክዎ፡ ኀቤከ፡ ተወከፎ፡ ከመ፡ ወልድየ። ወፈቀድኩሰ፡ አንብሮ፡ ኀቤየ፡ ከመ፡ ይትለአከኒ፡ ህየንቴከ፡ በመዋቅሕትየ፡ ዘበወንጌል። ወኢፈቀድኩ፡ ምንተኒ፡ እግበር፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ታእምር። ከመ፡ ኢይኩን፡ በአገብሮ፡ ሠናያቲከ፡ ዳእሙ፡ በፈቃደ፡ ልብከ። ወዮጊ፡ በበይነ፡ ዝንቱ፡ ኀደገከ፡ ለሰዓት፡ ከመ፡ ይኩንከ፡ ለዓለም። አኮ፡ እንከ፡ ከመ፡ ገብር፡ አላ፡ ዘይኄይስ፡ እምገብር። እመሰ፡ ኮነ፡ ሊተ፡ እኁየ፡ እፎ፡ ፈድፋደ፡ ይኄይስ፡ በኀቤከ። በሥጋሁኒ፡ በዘይደልዎ፡ ይርዳእከ፡ ወበሃይማኖትኒ፡ ዘበእግዚእነ። ወእመሰ፡ እኁየ፡ አንተ፡ ተወከፎ፡ ከማየ።
English
And in love I have received you, I, Paul, have received you, for I am old, as you know. And now also, I am a fellow prisoner of Jesus Christ on account of Onesimus. I have received you on account of my son, whom you begot in my chains, who is Onesimus. Formerly I received you, and now also for you and for me, it has become a great benefit. And behold, I have sent him to you, receiving him as my son. And I wished to place him with me, so that he might serve me in your place in my chains, which are in the gospel. And I did not wish to do anything without your knowledge, so that there might not be any harm to your good deeds, but rather by the will of your heart. And woe to me, because of this I have left you for a moment, so that it might be for you forever. Not, however, as a servant, but as one who is more than a servant. If he were my brother, how much more would he be honored by you? In his body, in what he lacks, he will help you, and in his faith, which is in our Lord. And if you, my brother, receive him as I do.
LIT3528Epistle:3 · narrativemedium
Source
ወእመሂ፡ ቦ፡ ዘአበሰ፡ ለከ፡ አው፡ እመ፡ ቦ፡ ዘይፈድየከ፡ ላዕሌየ፡ ረሲ። አነ፡ ጳውሎስ፡ ጸሐፍኩ፡ በእዴየ። አነ፡ እፈዲ፡ በእንቲኣሁ፡ ከመሰ፡ ኢይበልከ፡ ርእሰከኒ፡ ትመጡ። ይደልወኒ፡ እወ፡ እኁየ። እትፌሣሕ፡ ብከ፡ በእግዚእነ፡ አዕርፈኒ፡ ካዕበ። ወአስተፋስሓ፡ ለነፍስየ፡ በክርስቶስ። ወተአሚንየ፡ በተአዝዞትከ፡ ጸሐፍኩ፡ ለከ። አእሚርየ፡ ከመ፡ ትወስከ፡ እምዘአዘዝኩከ። ወምስለ፡ ዝኒ፡ አስተዳሉ፡ ሊተ፡ ማኅደረ። እስመ፡ እትአመን፡ በጸሎትክሙ፡ ከመ፡ ይሠርሐኒ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ ወይጸግወኒ፡ ኪያክሙ። ማኅተመ፡ መልእክት አምኀከ፡ ኤጳፍራስ፡ ዘተፄወወ፡ ምስሌየ፡ በኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ። ወማርቆስ፡ ወአርስጥሮኮስ፡ ወዴማስ፡ ወሉቃስ፡ እለ፡ ነኀብር፡ ግብረ። ጸጋሁ፡ ለእግዚእነ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ምስለ፡ መንፈስክሙ፡ አሜን።
English
And if there is something that is too much for you, or if there is something that troubles you concerning me, forgive me. I, Paul, have written with my hand. I am a prisoner for the sake of him, as if he were not able to come to you yourself. It pleases me, O my brother. I rejoice in you; the Lord has placed me again, and has gladdened my soul in Christ. And trust me, by your obedience I have written to you. Know that you will be released from what I have commanded you. And with this, prepare a lodging for me, for I trust in your prayer that God may help me and grant me to you. The seal of the letter. I have sent Epaphras, who was chosen with me in Jesus Christ. And Mark, and Aristarchus, and Demas, and Luke, who are our fellow workers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Citation. Tergwame, “መልእክተ፡ ጳውሎስ፡ ኀበ፡ ፊልሞና፡”, LIT3528Epistle:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/LIT3528Epistle#s1
Colophon. Source: betmas · licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0023 · generated 2026-11-15.