When was Ephesians written?
Ephesians never names a year, but it does name a place: Paul writes as a man in chains, and that single fact anchors the whole question of its date. Working out when the letter was written means asking which imprisonment Paul was in, who carried the letter, and why God allowed His most active servant to be shut up at exactly that moment.
The Letter Dates Itself
The evidence starts inside the epistle. Paul names himself twice, and three separate times he describes his situation as a prisoner — which groups this letter with a small family of others.
Arend RemmersIt is clear from various passages in the epistle that the author Paul, mentioning his name twice (Eph. 1:1; 3:1), was in captivity (Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20). The epistle to the Ephesians, like the epistles addressed to the Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, belongs to the so-called "captivity epistles". That this refers to the time of the two-year Roman imprisonment of the apostle (Acts 28; Phil. 1:13; 4:22), was considered an established fact since earliest times… The epistle was, therefore, probably written in the years 61 - 62 AD.
That reasoning is drawn out further by another writer, who notes that these letters also look forward — Paul keeps mentioning both his chains and his expected release.
Church HistoryThere can be no reasonable doubt that the Epistles to Philemon, to the Colossians, to the Ephesians, and to the Philippians were written towards the latter part of Paul's imprisonment at Rome. He refers to his "bonds" in them all, and repeatedly to the expectation of his release. (Compare Philemon 22; Col. 4:18; Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20; Phil. 1:7, 25; 2:24; 4:22.)
Roughly AD 62
A specific year is offered, tied to when Paul arrived in Rome and how long he stayed.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinPaul reached Rome as a prisoner in the year 61 A.D. and remained there for two years (Acts 28:30). During this time he wrote the Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and to Philemon. In each he speaks of the fact that he was a prisoner.
One historical chart places it more finely still, in the spring of that year, with Philippians following months later: "62.—[Spring.] Epistles to Philemon, Colossians, and Ephesians written. [Autumn.] Epistle to the Philippians written." (Church History)
Rome, or Somewhere Else?
Commentators note that the Roman setting has been challenged. Paul had also spent two years confined at Caesarea, and some have proposed that or Ephesus instead.
Arend RemmersOnly in more recent times, however, the two years of his imprisonment in Caesarea have been considered as a possible alternative – but also without conclusive reasons.
The writers in this collection hold to Rome. One observes that during the Caesarean confinement Paul "was apparently quiet," while at Rome "he resumed his apostolic service, not by visiting churches, but by writing to certain assemblies" (The Christian's Friend).
Carried Out of Rome by Hand
The letter left prison with a courier, and not alone. Two men walked out of Rome that day with three of the most valuable documents ever written.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinTychicus and Onesimus, the runaway slave, but now through grace "a brother beloved" (Philemon 16) were sent to Colossae by Paul (Col. 4:7-9)… Onesimus the slave carried that beautiful little Epistle addressed to his master Philemon. And at the same time when Tychicus and Onesimus left Rome, Paul handed to Tychicus the Epistle to the Ephesians. Never before and never after were such weighty and blessed documents entrusted to human messengers.
Commentators differ here. Another writer argues Tychicus made two separate journeys, which would separate the letters in time: "we may regard the visit of Tychicus to Ephesus as an independent one, at a time when Timothy was not with the apostle at Rome, inasmuch as he is not conjoined in the address as he probably would have been, had it been written at the same time with the Colossians" (The Bible Treasury).
Why the Timing Was Chosen
The date is not a mere detail of filing. The circumstances themselves shaped what Paul could write.
George DavisonIt is interesting to see that in order to have this truth given free from all other encumbrances, the apostle is apprehended in the very centre of Judaism and transferred to the centre of the Gentile world, so that in the Roman prison he writes freely of this wonderful truth. It took some time to draw him away in heart from the Jewish synagogue, but we see him in this epistle right outside of that system.
And what the chains cost Paul in travel, they gave back in permanence:
An Outline of Sound WordsIn the wisdom of God, the Lord had allowed His devoted servant to be a prisoner so that there might be left on record in his writings, for the saints of succeeding centuries, the truths relating to the purpose and counsels of God.
Summary
- Chains — Paul writes as a prisoner (Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20), which places Ephesians among the captivity letters with Philippians, Colossians and Philemon.
- Rome — the long-held view is the two-year Roman imprisonment of Acts 28; Caesarea and Ephesus have been suggested more recently, but without conclusive reasons.
- AD 61–62 — Paul reached Rome around 61 and stayed two years; one chart puts Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon in the spring of 62.
- Tychicus — the letter left prison in a courier's hand; commentators differ on whether he carried it on the same trip as Colossians or a later one.
- Purpose — the chains that ended Paul's journeys freed him to write, leaving the counsels of God on record for every century since.