Gal 1:1

exegeticalGal 1:1–24

Overview of Galatians 1

• SaysGalatians 1 has three sections: 1:1–5, the greeting and the rescue; 1:6–10, no other gospel; and 1:11–24, the gospel by revelation and Paul’s early years. Paul writes to the churches of Galatia as an apostle not from men nor through a man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Christ gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the Father’s will. There is one gospel. Paul’s former persecution and his call by God’s grace are facts of his life.
• ImpliesThe letter presents itself as Paul’s own word to churches that had heard him preach. His apostleship and his gospel come from Jesus Christ and God the Father, not from any human source.
• UncertainWhich Galatia is meant, the force of the anathema, the sense of the genitive in 1:12 and of in me in 1:16, the purpose of the Arabia stay, how the first Jerusalem visit stands beside Acts 9, and the sense in which James is the Lord’s brother, are set out on their grounds below; no verdict is given here.

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exegeticalGal 1:1–5

The greeting and the rescue

• SaysGalatians 1:1–5 opens with Paul an apostle, not from men nor through a man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead; he writes with the brothers to the churches of Galatia; grace and peace come from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, and Christ gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the Father’s will. The printed Greek of 1:3 has our after Lord; the BSB follows the order with our after Father.
• ImpliesA single preposition joins Jesus Christ and God the Father as the one channel of the commission, against any human source or go-between. The same contrast returns in 1:11–12.
• SaysThe persons are real: Paul writes, and God raised Jesus from the dead. The gift of Christ and the Father’s will are stated in 1:4.

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historicalGal 1:1–24

Early readings of Galatians 1: the curse, and James the Lord’s brother

• SaysGal 1:8, 19: Paul declares that even if he or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one he preached, that one is to be accursed, and he names James, the Lord’s brother; Mark 6:3 names James, Joses, Judas and Simon as brothers of Jesus.
• UncertainIn what sense James was the Lord’s brother (Gal 1:19; Mark 6:3) is open; the early and later readings do not fix the meaning.

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historicalGal 1:1–24

Galatia, the churches, and the letter (1:1–2)

• SaysGal 1:1–2: Paul, an apostle sent not from men nor through man, writes with all the brothers with him to the churches of Galatia, churches that had received his preaching (1:8–9, 11).
• ImpliesBecause Paul names himself as the sender and writes to churches that had heard him preach, the letter presents itself as his own word to congregations he knew.
• UncertainWhether Galatia in 1:2 is the land of the Gauls in the north or the Roman province with its southern cities, and the date of the letter, are open; the background does not fix the meaning.

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languageGal 1:1

Not from men, nor through a man (1:1)

• SaysGalatians 1:1 qualifies Paul’s apostleship as not from men and not through a man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.
• ImpliesOne preposition governing Jesus Christ and God the Father presents them as the one channel of the commission, against any human source or intermediary, a contrast taken up again in 1:11–12.
• SaysThe BSB supplies the word sent, which has no counterpart in the Greek.

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Gal 1:3

languageGal 1:3; Gal 1:4; Gal 1:5

Rescue from the present evil age (1:3–5)

• SaysGalatians 1:3 reads our Lord in the printed order; 1:4 says Christ gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us out of the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father; 1:5 gives him glory forever.
• ImpliesThe verse names the means and the goal of the rescue and grounds both in the Father’s will, without developing them.
• SaysAt 1:4 the printed text has hyper; RP 2018 has peri and the TR has hyper.

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Gal 1:4

exegeticalGal 1:4

He gave himself for our sins

• SaysGalatians 1:4 says Christ gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. The printed text has hyper; the Byzantine text has peri; on either reading he gave himself for our sins. Calvin, Luther, and Wesley are quoted on the verse.
• ImpliesThe verse names the means and the goal of the rescue and grounds both in the Father’s will. It is stated, not developed into a theory of the atonement.
• SaysThe printed preposition and the sense of the rescue are treated in the language note on 1:4.

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Gal 1:6

exegeticalGal 1:6–10

No other gospel

• SaysGalatians 1:6–7 describes a turning to a different gospel, which is not another; the BSB has which is not even a gospel and does not render allo as another. Some are troubling the churches and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. In 1:10 Paul asks whether he is now persuading men or God, and whether he seeks to please men; if he were still pleasing men he would not be Christ’s servant.
• ImpliesThe relative clause denies that the different message is a second gospel. The test is the content already preached, not the standing of the messenger.
• SaysThe wording of 1:6–7 and of 1:10 is treated in the language notes.

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languageGal 1:6; Gal 1:7

A different gospel, which is not another (1:6–7)

• SaysGalatians 1:6 describes the readers as now turning from the one who called them in grace toward a different gospel, and 1:7 says it is not another, naming people who trouble them and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
• ImpliesThe relative clause denies that the different message is a second gospel; the only reality behind it is the troublers who would change the gospel of Christ.

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Gal 1:8

exegeticalGal 1:8–9

The curse on another gospel

• SaysGalatians 1:8–9 states twice that if anyone, even we or an angel from heaven, preaches a gospel contrary to the one already preached and received, he is to be anathema, under a curse. Calvin, Luther, Lightfoot, Burton, and Wesley are quoted; the earlier use in Romans 9 is pointed to.
• ImpliesIncluding the apostle and an angel makes the content of the gospel, not the messenger, the test.
• UncertainHow the anathema is to be read is set out from these holders in the commentary; no verdict is given here.

✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Calvin, Galatians (Pringle) public domain Luther, Galatians (Middleton 1833) public domain

languageGal 1:8; Gal 1:9

Let him be anathema (1:8–9)

• SaysGalatians 1:8–9 states twice that anyone, even we or an angel from heaven, who preaches contrary to the gospel already preached and received is to be anathema; Abbott-Smith glosses the word in these verses as accursed.
• ImpliesIncluding the apostle and an angel makes the content of the gospel, not the messenger, the test.
• UncertainLightfoot, Luther, Burton and Wesley read the anathema as God’s curse on such a preacher; no lean is taken.

✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain Burton, Galatians (ICC) public domain Lightfoot, Galatians public domain Luther, Galatians (Middleton 1833) public domain

Gal 1:10

languageGal 1:10

Persuade and please (1:10)

• SaysGalatians 1:10 asks whether Paul is now persuading men or God and whether he seeks to please men, then states a contrary-to-fact condition: if he were still pleasing men he would not be Christ’s servant.
• ImpliesThe condition assumes Paul is not pleasing men; the BSB renders the persuasion question by its sense of courting favor, and still looks back to his former life.

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Gal 1:11

exegeticalGal 1:11–24

The gospel by revelation

• SaysGalatians 1:11–12 says the gospel Paul preached was not according to man: he did not receive it from a man and was not taught it; it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. The BSB has from; the genitive is not itself from. He then recites his former life, the call, Arabia and Damascus, the fifteen days with Cephas, James the Lord’s brother, and the years in Syria and Cilicia.
• ImpliesThe gospel and the apostleship stand on the same claim: they are not from man. The narrative of 1:13–24 is given as the proof of 1:11–12.
• UncertainThe sense of the genitive in 1:12, of in me in 1:16, the purpose of the Arabia stay, the count of the three years, the first visit beside Acts 9, and the sense in which James is the Lord’s brother, are taken up in the notes that follow and in the commentary; no verdict is given here.

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languageGal 1:11; Gal 1:12

Not according to man, but through revelation (1:11–12)

• SaysGalatians 1:11–12 says the gospel Paul preached is not according to man: he did not receive it from a man and was not taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
• UncertainBurton reads Jesus Christ as the one revealed; Lightfoot renders the phrase as revelation from Christ, the revealer. No lean is taken.

✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain Burton, Galatians (ICC) public domain Lightfoot, Galatians public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

Gal 1:13

historicalGal 1:13–14

Judaism, zeal, and the ancestral traditions (1:13–14)

• SaysGal 1:13–14, 23: Paul recalls his former life in Judaism, his severe persecution of the church of God and his attempt to destroy it, his advance in Judaism beyond many contemporaries, and his zeal for the traditions of his fathers; 1 Cor 15:9, Phil 3:6 and Acts 22:3 speak of the same past.
• ImpliesBecause Gal 1:13 and 1:23 use the same verb for Paul’s action and the churches’ report, and 1 Cor 15:9 and Phil 3:6 agree, the persecution is presented as a known fact of Paul’s life.
• UncertainWhich body of ancestral tradition Paul means in 1:14, beyond what Acts 22:3 says of his training, is open; the background does not fix the meaning.

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historicalRom 10:1–3; Gal 1:13–14; Phil 3:6; Acts 22:3

Zeal for God: Phinehas, the Maccabees and Paul’s past (10:1–3)

• SaysRom 10:1–2 says Paul prays for the Israelites’ salvation and testifies that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge; Gal 1:13–14, Phil 3:6 and Acts 22:3 use the language of zeal for Paul’s own former life, including his persecution of the church; Num 25:13 says Phinehas was zealous for his God and received a covenant of permanent priesthood.

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languageGal 1:13; Gal 1:14

Judaism and zeal for the traditions (1:13–14)

• SaysGalatians 1:13–14 recalls Paul’s former conduct in Judaism: he persecuted the church of God beyond measure and was ravaging it, and he advanced beyond many of his contemporaries as one zealous for his ancestral traditions.
• ImpliesThe imperfects present a sustained course of life; the BSB reads the ravaging as an attempt, which fits 1:23, where the persecutor now preaches the faith.

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Gal 1:15

exegeticalGal 1:15–17

The call and Arabia

• SaysThe printed text of 1:15 has no ho theos: when the one who set Paul apart from his mother’s womb and called him by his grace was pleased to reveal his Son in him so that he might preach him among the Gentiles. The BSB’s God follows the longer reading. He did not consult flesh and blood, nor go up to Jerusalem, but went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. The echoes in Jeremiah 1:5 and Isaiah 49:1 are stated from the BSB only.
• UncertainBurton, Wesley, and Calvin read in me of a revelation given to Paul himself; Lightfoot reads it of a revelation made through him to others. On Arabia, Chrysostom reads a turning to teach; Lightfoot and Burton read a time of retirement. These are their readings; no verdict is given here.

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languageGal 1:15; Gal 1:16

Set apart, called, and revealed in me (1:15–16)

• SaysGalatians 1:15–16 says that the one who set Paul apart from his mother’s womb and called him through his grace was pleased to reveal his Son in him so that he might preach him among the Gentiles, and that Paul did not then consult flesh and blood.
• UncertainBurton, Wesley and Calvin read in me of the revelation given to Paul himself; Lightfoot reads it of a revelation made through him to others. No lean is taken.

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Gal 1:17

historicalGal 1:17

Arabia and Damascus (1:17)

• SaysGal 1:17: Paul did not go up to Jerusalem but went into Arabia and returned again to Damascus; 2 Cor 11:32–33 says the governor under King Aretas guarded Damascus to arrest him and he escaped in a basket; Acts 9:19–25 tells of his days in Damascus and his escape without naming Arabia.
• UncertainThe purpose, place and length of the Arabia stay, and how it fits Acts 9:19–25, are open; the background does not fix the meaning.

✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Josephus (Whiston) public domain Lightfoot, Galatians public domain Ramsay, Galatians public domain

Gal 1:18

exegeticalGal 1:18–24

The first visit and Acts

• SaysAfter three years Paul went up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas and stayed fifteen days. The printed text has Cephas; the Byzantine text and the Textus Receptus have Peter; both name the same apostle. He saw no other apostle except James, the Lord’s brother, and affirms before God that he does not lie. He then went to Syria and Cilicia; the churches of Judea did not know him by face, heard that the former persecutor now preached the faith, and glorified God because of him.
• UncertainLightfoot, Burton, Calvin, and Chrysostom read the exception as counting James among the apostles. How James was the Lord’s brother, from what point the three years run, and how this visit stands beside Acts 9:26–30, are set out from their holders in the commentary; no verdict is given here.

✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Lightfoot, Galatians public domain Burton, Galatians (ICC) public domain

historicalGal 1:18–24

Jerusalem, Cephas and James, and Syria and Cilicia (1:18–24)

• SaysGal 1:18–21: after three years Paul went up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days; he saw no other apostle except James, the Lord’s brother; he then went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. Acts 9:27, 30 says Barnabas brought him to the apostles and the brothers sent him to Tarsus.
• ImpliesBecause Paul names the only two leaders he saw and the length of his stay, and affirms before God that he does not lie (1:20), he presents his early contact with Jerusalem as short and open to check.
• UncertainHow Gal 1:18–24 fits Acts 9:26–30, and from what point the three years are counted, are open; the background does not fix the meaning.

✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Lightfoot, Galatians public domain Ramsay, Galatians public domain Burton, Galatians (ICC) public domain

languageGal 1:18; Gal 1:19; Gal 1:20

To get to know Cephas, and except James (1:18–20)

• SaysGalatians 1:18–20 says Paul went up to Jerusalem after three years to get to know Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days, saw no other apostle except James the Lord’s brother, and affirms before God that he does not lie.
• UncertainLightfoot, Burton, Calvin and Chrysostom read the exception as counting James among the apostles; no lean is taken. The counting of the three years and the family sense of brother are left open.

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