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ὑμῖν τὸ πρότερον, 14. καὶ τὸν πειρασμὸν ὑμῶν 1 ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου οὐκ ἐξουθενήσατε οὐδὲ ἐξεπτύσατε, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἄγγελον Θεοῦ ἐδέξασθέ µε,
ὡς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν.
15. ποῦ 3 οὖν ὁ μακαρισμὸς ὑμῶν; μαρτυρῶ
γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι, εἰ δυνατὸν, τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν ἐξορύξαντες ἐδώκατέ
μοι.
16. ὥστε ἐχθρὸς ὑμῶν γέγονα ἀληθεύων ὑμῖν, 17. Ζηλοῦσιν
ὑμᾶς οὐ καλῶς, ἀλλὰ ἐκκλεῖσαι ὑμᾶς θέλουσιν, ἵνα αὐτοὺς ζηλοῦτε.
Ίνμων NABD'FG 17, εἴς. ; μου τον D°EKLP, 3 που NABCFGP 5, εἴς. ; τις DEKL. 8 εδωκατε NABCD! 17, 47; av εδωκατε NCD°EKLP
the Churches, and displayed through- out as resolute an initiative, as deter- mined energy, as vigorous activity, as can be found in the whole course of his apostolic career. That ministry gave certainly no sign of illness, but the contrary. We have seen, however, that it was preceded by a prolonged illness, during which he was probably confined to his sick chamber and could only minister to those who visited him there. His first ministry in Galatia passed in short through two distinct stages, first the private ministrations of a sick man, and then a public career of unexampled vigour and success. The last verse placed the readers on the division line between the two, for it reminded them of the memorable petition addressed to him and Barnabas at the close of his first public address in the synagogue of the Pisidian Antioch. It is, therefore, of the preceding period that he writes here, “' You know that it was owing to illness that I had preached to you uf to that time (τὸ πρότερον) ᾿. It is needless to dwell on the complete harmony of this interpretation with the context. Ver. 14. τὸν πειρασμὸν ὑμῶν. The best MSS. all read ὑμῶν, not pov or μου τον. The accusative τὸν πειρασμόν is not governed by ἐξουθενήσατε or ἐξεπτύσατε, whose real object is the pe which follows ἐδέξασθε: it is really a pendent accusative in apposition to the sentence: As for the temptation to you in my flesh (i.e., the temptation to reject me with contempt and disgust on account of my diseased state), you did not.... Ver. 15. ποῦ οὖν... The MSS. are decisive in favour of ποῦ, which makes excellent sense. ‘‘ You congratu- lated yourselves,” it is urged, “‘on my coming among you, you welcomed me as an angel, as Christ Himself: what has become of that feeling now ? where is your satisfaction at your lot?”— ἐδώκατε. Some MSS. insert av before
this verb: the addition would be necessary in Attic Greek to express the conditional force of the clause, but is not needed in Hellenistic Greek—rovs ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν. The full force of ὑμῶν may be given in English by the rendering your own eyes : for it lays stress on the contrast between their eyes and those of Paul. The addition is significant, and strongly confirms the view that his eyes were the organ specially affected by his malady.
Ver. 16. ὥστε is often used in the sense of therefore to introduce an im- perative or an affirmative conclusion in the Epistles of Paul, but not an interro- gation. I can see no reason here for making the clause interrogative: the rendering I am therefore become an enemy to you is quite in harmony with the context, which assumes the existence of some actual estrangement. This es- trangement is attributed to plain speaking which had given offence to the disciples. As he had seen no trace of coldness at the time of his recent visit, he must be referring to some language which he had used on that occasion. Circumstances forced him to take up strong ground at that time on the subject of circumcision and to denounce the opposition and in- trigues which he had encountered from the Pharisaic party.
Vv. 17, 18. The substantive ζῆλος (probably derived from ζέειν, burn) de- notes some kind of passionate desire. Whether it was of good or evil tendency depended on the nature of its object and the spirit in which it was pursued: for the same term was used to designate zeal for God or for some noble object, personal passion, or an exclusive spirit of selfish jealousy. The verb ζηλοῦν partakes of the same neutral quality. Its figurative meaning is here borrowed from the efforts of a lover to win favour. The Pharisaic party affected (i.e., courted) the Galatians in a selfish spirit, being minded to shut them out of their rightful inheritance in