Philemon 1:11

Which in time past was to thee unprofitable,.... Yea, injurious and hurtful; one that was an eye servant, that loitered away his time, and set an ill example to fellow servants; and not only so, but…

Which in time past was to thee unprofitable - Either because he was indolent; because he had wronged him (compare the notes at Phm 1:18), or because he had run away from him. It is possible that there…

Was to thee unprofitable - Alluding to the meaning of Onesimus's name, as has been already noted; though the apostle uses a different Greek word to express the same idea.

We have here,

I. The main business of the epistle, which was to plead with Philemon on behalf of Onesimus, that he would receive him and be reconciled to him. Many arguments Paul urges for this…

in time past In the Greek, simply, once.

unprofitable A gentle "play" on "Helpful's" name; an allusion, and no more (for no more was needed), to his delinquencies. To Onesimus himself Paul had no…