1, 2 Following first century custom, the salutation contains the names of the letter’s author and its recipient. This is a very personal letter and Philemon was one of only 3 individuals (Timothy and Titus are the others) to receive a divinely inspired letter from Paul. 1 prisoner of Christ Jesus. At the time of writing, Paul was a prisoner in Rome (see Introductions to Ephesians and Philippians: Author and Date). Paul was imprisoned for the sake of and by the sovereign will of Christ (cf. Eph. 3:1;