23. The same persons send salutations in the accompanying
Epistle, except that "Jesus Justus" is not mentioned here.
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner--He had been sent by the Colossian
Church to inquire after, and minister to, Paul, and possibly was cast
into prison by the Roman authorities on suspicion. However, he
is not mentioned as a prisoner in
Col 4:12,
so that "fellow prisoner" here may mean merely one who was a faithful
companion to Paul in his imprisonment, and by his society put himself
in the position of a prisoner. So also "Aristarchus, my fellow
prisoner,"
Col 4:10,
may mean. Benson conjectures the meaning to be that on some
former occasion these two were Paul's "fellow prisoners," not
at the time.
JFB.
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