For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that you should receive him forever;
All Commentaries on Philemon 1:15 Go To Philemon 1
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Paul wisely said “perhaps,” that the master may yield to his request. For since Onesimus’s flight arose from wickedness and a corrupt mind and not from the intention to accomplish good, Paul has said, “perhaps.” And he has not said, “therefore he fled,” but “therefore he was separated,” in order to elicit some tenderness on the part of Philemon.
