Both Luke and Demas also appear in the letter to Philemon (verse 24). Luke is affectionately called dear doctor. Ancient tradition associates him with the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, but his name appears only here, Philemon 24, and 2 Tim 4.11. Demas appears again in 2 Tim 4.10.

The appositional construction Luke, our dear doctor, must often be expressed by a relative clause, for example, “Luke who is our dear doctor,” or “Luke, our doctor, who is dear to us,” or “… who is so much appreciated by us.” Our in this context is obviously exclusive since Luke here functions as a doctor for Paul and his colleagues.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .