Phile 9 | RWP | e4.org | Paul the aged ( Παυλος πρεσβυτης ). Paul is called νεανιας (a young man) at the stoning of Stephen ( ). He was perhaps a bit under sixty now. Hippocrates calls a man πρεσβυτης from 49 to 56 and γερων after that. The papyri use πρεσβυτης for old man as in of Zacharias and in . But in Paul says πρεσβευω εν αλυσε (I am an ambassador in a chain). Hence Lightfoot holds that here πρεσβυτης = πρεσβευτης because of common confusion by the scribes between υ and ευ . In the LXX four times the two words are used interchangeably. There is some confusion also in the papyri and the inscriptions. Undoubtedly ambassador ( πρεσβευτης ) is possible here as in ( πρεσβευω ) though there is no real reason why Paul should not term himself properly "Paul the aged."

‏ Philemon 9

Paul the aged ( Παυλος πρεσβυτης ). Paul is called νεανιας (a young man) at the stoning of Stephen (Ac 7:58). He was perhaps a bit under sixty now. Hippocrates calls a man πρεσβυτης from 49 to 56 and γερων after that. The papyri use πρεσβυτης for old man as in Lu 1:18 of Zacharias and in Tit 2:2. But in Eph 6:20 Paul says πρεσβευω εν αλυσε (I am an ambassador in a chain). Hence Lightfoot holds that here πρεσβυτης = πρεσβευτης because of common confusion by the scribes between υ and ευ. In the LXX four times the two words are used interchangeably. There is some confusion also in the papyri and the inscriptions. Undoubtedly ambassador ( πρεσβευτης ) is possible here as in Eph 6:20 ( πρεσβευω ) though there is no real reason why Paul should not term himself properly "Paul the aged."