# Ambassador ## Ignatius Catholic Study Bible *Ambassador* (Philem 9) - *Presbytēs* (Gk.): refers to an \"elderly man\" in his early to mid 50s or possibly older. The term is used two other times in the NT ([[luke-01#^luke-01-18|Lk 1:18]]; [[titus-02#^titus-02-2|Tit 2:2]]). By using this word in Philem 9, Paul is describing himself as an elderly prisoner in order to elicit respect from Philemon and to gain his favorable response. The reminder of his age is thus an appeal to his emotions and sense of compassion. The RSV\'s \"ambassador\" is not a translation in the strict sense but is actually a conjecture made by scholars that Paul must have written a very similar word that was miscopied at an early date (Gk. *presbeutēs*). This alternative also makes good sense of the passage; however, the term for \"ambassador\" does not appear in any surviving manuscript of the book. ### Source [[18-philemon-commentary#^0agjz4|Ambassador — word study]]