Bewitching and public portrayal (3:1)
Says “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (Gal 3:1; ἐβάσκανεν). “Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified” (προεγράφη ἐσταυρωμένος; the verb is “publicly set forth”).
Burton takes Paul to be “describing his preaching to the Galatians under the figure of public announcement or placarding of Jesus before them.” Ramsay: “Paul’s aim now is to revivify among the Galatians the memory of their first condition, before any contradictory and confusing messages had affected them.” Luther writes, “Paul here sheweth his apostolical care, and burning zeal which he beareth to the church”. These are their readings.
Implies Because Paul asks who has bewitched them when Christ crucified had been set before their very eyes (3:1), and then asks how they received the Spirit (3:2), the text treats their turning as a turning from what they had plainly been shown at the start.
Uncertain Whether “clearly portrayed” pictures a public notice or the plainness of the preaching, and how literally the image of bewitching is meant, are open; this background does not fix the meaning of the text.
Claims
- SaysGal 3:1: Paul calls the Galatians foolish and asks who has bewitched them, since before their eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed (publicly set forth) as crucified.
- ImpliesBecause Christ crucified had been set before their eyes and Paul goes on to ask how they received the Spirit (3:2), the text treats their turning as a turning from what they had plainly been shown.
- UncertainWhether ‘clearly portrayed’ pictures a public notice or plain preaching, and how literally the image of bewitching is meant, are open; the background does not fix the meaning.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gal 3:1
- SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Gal 3:1
- Burton, Galatians (ICC) public domain Burton, Galatians (ICC, Scribner 1928 printing of the 1920 edition), on Gal 3:1, p. 145 (leaf n238); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Ramsay, Galatians public domain Ramsay, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (1899), on Gal 3:1, p. 306 (leaf n323); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Luther, Galatians (Middleton 1833) public domain Luther, A Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (London, 1833), on Gal 3:1, p. 140 (leaf n246); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
2026-11-13
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