Word of the Week
May 9, 2026
Onēsimos: Living Up to Your Name
I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment.
Philemon 10 NASB
Why did your parents choose the name that appears on your birth certificate?
They might have named you after Grandma or a favorite uncle.
Some parents with a warped sense of humor have burdened their children with names that seemed cute or catchy. I went to high school with a girl named Candi Kanne, and I have read of one fellow named Hogg who named his daughter Ima.
Perhaps your parents chose a name with an eye to more significant reasons. We named our first daughter Alicia because we had a Latin American student with that name and we thought it sounded pretty, but we were also aware that it was related to the Greek word for truth.
God must have thought that the meanings of names were significant, because He more than once changed someone’s name. Jacob (“heel-grabber”) became Israel (“prince with God”) in Genesis 32:28.
Today we will look at a New Testament character who took a long time to live up to the meaning of his name.
The story begins in the town of Colosse, a modest-sized community in Asia Minor (now Turkey). There was a fairly prosperous man named Philemon living there, running a household big enough to include some slaves.
One of the slaves on his staff was a fellow named Onesimus. His name, a common one for slaves, meant “useful” or “profitable.” But that’s not how it turned out. Onesimus wanted his freedom, and took the first opportunity to make a break for it. He stole some money from his master to finance the trip and ended up far away in the city of Rome. Rome was an ideal place for a slave to hide, unnoticed among the hundreds of thousands of other slaves in the city.
Somehow in the providence of God, Onesimus crossed paths with the apostle Paul, who was then under house arrest, waiting for a trial date before Caesar. The runaway slave found Christ and began serving Paul.
Eventually the day came when a messenger was leaving to take a letter from Paul to the church at Colosse. The time had come for Onesimus to go home and make things right with his former master. Paul wrote the short letter that we know as “Philemon” to smooth the path for Onesimus to reenter his old household. Philemon had the legal right to punish Onesimus harshly, but Paul made a plea for mercy.
Notice the clever way Paul uses the nuances of the Greek vocabulary to make his case.
First, he acknowledges that Onesimus had failed to live up to his name.
Found frequently in ancient documents and inscriptions, Onesimus was derived from the verb oninēmi [aw-NIH-ney-mee], which meant “to receive profit or pleasure from someone.” When Philemon discovered that his worker had disappeared along with some of his money, he certainly didn’t feel any pleasure!
In fact, Paul says that Onesiumus was useless at that point. He employs a different Greek word to recognize that he “formerly was useless to you” (Philemon 11). He took the word chrēstos, meaning “useful” and added an a to make it “of no use.” Onesimus, in fact, was worse than useless; he was a net loss for Philemon.
Second, however, Paul declares that Onesimus has changed. He now lives up to his name.
Philemon 11 goes on to claim that Onesimus “now is useful both to you and to me.” This time he adds eu to the front of chrēstos, turning it into an emphatic recommendation. Now the useless slave is extremely useful. He has provided valuable service for Paul and his return to Philemon can be a great benefit for his former master.
Finally, Paul gives Philemon a chance to bring joy to him.
He urges, “Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord” Philemon 20. The word “refresh” comes from oninēmi, the root of Onesimus’s name. In other words, Philemon can bring joy to the apostle by welcoming his old servant as a brother in Christ. Slaves are not the only ones who can be profitable to the others around them!
Paul had invested in Philemon through spiritual ministry and friendship. Watching him respond in a godly, gracious manner gives the apostle a welcome return on his investment.
We are all servants of the Lord who loves us. And like the servants in Christ’s parable of the talents, we have the joyful opportunity to be profitable to Jesus (Matthew 25:14-23).
Study Hint:
We have focused on the name of Onesimus and its matching verb, but you will find a very interesting pattern of usage by checking the other words for “useful” or “profitable.” The underlying verb chraomai appears in these passages:
Acts 27:3, 17; 1 Corinthians 7:21, 31,; 9:12, 15; 2 Corinthians 1:17; 3:12; 13:10; 1 Timothy 1:8; 5:23. In the New American Standard version, it is translated “treat, use, do, and vacillate.” It’s quite a range of meaning!
Coming Up
Judaism had a lot going for it, and there were some first century Christians who were wondering if might not be better to set aside the difficulties of the Christian faith and go back to their Jewish roots. But the book of Hebrews is dedicated to the proposition that even though Judaism is very good, Jesus is better. Next week we will zero in on that theme by examining the Greek word for “better.”
©Ezra Project 2026
One Response
In scripture we see that names had a specific meaning. In many cultures today, that same rule applies. My name is James. Named after the Book of James in the Bible.