PRISON EPISTLES. – The Pauline letters to the Colossians (v.), Ephesians (v.), Philippians (v.), and to Philemon (v.), which presuppose Paul as a prisoner (Col. 4:3, 10, 18; Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20; Phil. 1:7, 13, 17; Philem. 1:9, 13). The first two, especially, display notable affinities in form and content (v. Ephesians, Epistle to the).
As regards their origin, the second Roman imprisonment must be excluded, during which Paul—already once delivered from the lion’s mouth (2 Tim. 4:17)—sees his own end approaching (ibid. 4:6, 8, 9) and awaits salvation only in the heavenly kingdom (ibid. 4:18). In the Prison Epistles, by contrast, he expresses confidence in being released (Eph. 6:19–20; Col. 4:3, 10; Phil. 1:25; 2:24; Philem. 22).
These letters presuppose that Mark and Luke are at Paul’s side (Col. 4:10, 14; Philem. 24), whereas during the Ephesian period Luke speaks in the third person. Moreover, Luke was well known to the community at Philippi (Acts 16:10–40), yet is not mentioned in Philippians. Finally, it should be noted that, both in general tone and in the reference to Judaizers (Phil. 3:2–11), this letter seems closer to Thessalonians and Galatians than to the other three Prison Epistles (v. Philippians, Epistle to). The mention of the “praetorium” (Phil. 1:13) and of “those of Caesar’s household” (ibid. 4:22) does not necessitate a Roman provenance: in every major city of the Empire there was a praetorium (in the local sense) and people who managed imperial interests, working in its treasuries or mines.
BIBL.: Catholic: H. Coppieters, *St Paul fut-il captif à Ephèse pendant son troisième voyage apostolique*, in *Revue biblique*, 16 (1919), pp. 404–18; J. Schmid, *Zeit und Ort der paulinischen Gefangenschaftsbriefe*, Freiburg 1931; M. Meinertz, *Die Gefangenschaftsbriefe des Heiligen Paulus*, in *Die Heilige Schrift des Neuen Testaments*, VII, 4th ed., Bonn 1931, pp. 1–6; B. Brinkmann, *Num. 3. Paulus Ephesi fuerit captivus*, in *Verbum Domini*, 19 (1930), pp. 321–32; id., *Epistolae captivitatis, in Pauli num Ephesi scriptae sint*, ibid., 21 (1941), pp. 9–21. Non-Catholic: in addition to the works by Deissmann and Lisco cited above: B. W. Robinson, *An Ephesian Imprisonment of Paul*, in *Journal of Biblical Literature*, 29 (1916), pp. 181–89; M. Goguel, *La date et le lieu de composition de l'Épître aux Philippiens*, in *Revue de l'histoire des religions*, 66 (1912), pp. 330–42; P. Feine, *Die Abfassung des Philipperbriefes in Ephesus*, Gütersloh 1916; C. R. Bowen, *Are Paul's Prison Letters from Ephesus?*, in *The American Journal of Theology*, 24 (1920), pp. 112–35, 277–87; G. S. Duncan, *St. Paul’s Ephesian Ministry*, London 1929; W. Michaelis, *Der Brief des Paulus an die Philipper*, in *Theologische Handkommentar zum Neuen Testament*, XI, Leipzig 1935, pp. 2–6 (with extensive bibliography at pp. 7 ff., including further writings by the same author on the subject at p. 8); P. Feine – J. Behm, *Einleitung in das Neue Testament*, 8th ed., II (1936), pp. 174–80; T. W. Manson, *St. Paul in Ephesus. The Date of the Epistle to the Philippians*, in *Bulletin of the John Rylands Library*, 23 (1930), pp. 182–200; P. Bonnard, *L'Épître de St Paul aux Philippiens*, in *Commentaire du Nouveau Testament*, X, Neuchâtel–Paris 1950, p. 10.
