617
οκ αά μακαρισμὸς οὖν οὗτος, ἐπὶ τὴν d Gal. iv.rs.
περιτομὴν, ἢ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκροβυστίαν; λέγομεν γὰρ ὅτι ἐλογίσθη
mn? ’ ΄ τῷ ᾿Αβραὰμ ἡ πίστις εἰς δικαιοσύνην.
IO. πῶς οὖν ἐλογίσθη ; ἐν
~ ~ > περιτομῇ ὄντι, ἢ ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ; οὐκ ἐν περιτοµῆ, GAN’ ἐν axpo-
η ‘ a ἔλ -~_le re - δ , ' βυστίᾳ: 11. καὶ σημεῖον ἔλαβε περιτομῆς, “oppayida τῆς δικαιοσύνης e 2 Cor. 22;
τῆς πίστεως τῆς ἐν τῇ ἀκροβυστίᾳ : eis τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν πατέρα πάντων
Eph. i. 13, iv. 30.
τῶν πιστευόντων δι ἀκροβυστίας, els τὸ λογισθῆναι καὶ αὐτοῖς τὴν f Ch ii 27.
1 περιτοµης ΝΒΟΡΕΕΙ,, etc.; περιτοµην AC}, etc.
σάρκα (i.¢., the natural ancestor of the Jews), but he is the spiritual ancestor of all believers. The faith which was imputed to him for righteousness con- stitutes him such; it is the same in essence as Christian faith; and so it is a vital bond between him and all who believe, whether they be Jews or Gentiles. _God’s method has been the same through all history.
Ver. 9. ὁ μακαρισμὸς οὖν οὗτος: This felicitation, then, what is its εχ- tent? Does it apply to the circumcision only, or to the uncircumcision also ? Just as vers. 1-8 correspond to iii. 27 f., so do vers. 9-12 correspond to ΠΠ. 20-31. God is not the God of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles also, and the Apostle’s purpose here is to show that the felicita- tion of the justified in Ps, xxxii. is not limited by circumcision. λέγομεν yap x.t.A.: for our proposition is, that his faith was reckoned, etc.
Ver. 10. πῶς οὖν ἐλογίσθη: To say that his faith was reckoned as righteous- ness, without mentioning circumcision, suggests that the latter was at least not indispensable; still it is not decisive, and so the further question must be asked, How—.e., under what conditions —was his faith thus reckoned to him? Was it when he was circumcised or when he was uncircumcised? History enables Paul to answer, Not when he was circumcised, but when he was un- circumcised. Abraham’s justification is narrated in Gen. xv., his circumcision not till Gen. xvii., some fourteen years later: hence it was not his circumcision on which he depended for acceptance with God,
Ver. 11 f. On the contrary, he re- ceived a sign in circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised. Both sign
(min) and seal (πι) are fre-
quently used by Rabbinical writers to
describe circumcision as a symbol or pledge that one is in covenant with God. So even of heathens: ‘“‘ Og was circum-
cised, and Moses feared [8 Sy sui ΠΠ propter signum foederis
gus”, But usually of Jews: “ Jonah
shewed Leviathan sigillum (nmin) Abrahami patris nostri’’. See Schoett- gen, Wetstein, or Delitzsch, ad loc. περιτομῆς (for which W. and H. have in margin περιτοµήν) must be a gen- itive of apposition. With εἰς τὸ εἶναι the Divine purpose in this relation of circumcision to justification in the case of Abraham is explained. Things were ordered as has been described that he might be father of all that believe while uncircumcised (as he himself did)—that. the righteousness in question might be imputed to them; and father of circum- cision (1.6., of persons circumcised) in the case of those who are not only circum- cised, but also walk in the steps of the faith which he had while not circumcised. It was God’s intention that Abraham should be the representative and typical believer, in whom all believers without distinction should recognise their spiritual father ; the Divine method of justification was to be inaugurated and illustrated in him, as it should hold good for all who were to be justified: accordingly the whole process took place antecedent to his circumcision, and in no circumstances has circumcision any essential relation to this great blessing. For its true meaning and advantage see on ii. 25. On οὐκ ἐκ περιτομῆς µόνον, see Simcox, Lan- guage of the N.T., 184. The gramniar in ver. 12 is faulty, and Westcott and Hort suspect a primitive error. Either τοῖς before στοιχοῦσιν must be omitted, or it must be changed, as Hort suggests, into αὐτοῖς, if we are to express the meaning correctly. The sense required by the context is not open todoubt. For