Ver.7. ἐνέκοψεν. The figure ofa race, introduced by ἐτρέχετε, is here carried on. Hitherto they had run a smooth course of obedience to truth; who had thrown obstacles in their way ?
Ver. 8. It was God who called Abra- ham, Moses, Samuel and the prophets of
2--.13,
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ἀληθείᾳ 1 μὴ πείθεσθαι; 8. ἡ πεισμονὴ οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦντος ὑμᾶς.
9. Μικρὰ ζύμη ὅλον τὸ φύραμα Lupot.
το. ἐγὼ πέποιθα εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐν γ pb
Κυρίῳ, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἄλλο φρονήσετε: ὁ δὲ ταράσσων ὑμᾶς βαστάσει
τὸ κρῖμα, ὅστις ἂν ἡ.
11. ἐγὼ δὲ, ἀδελφοὶ, εἰ περιτομὴν ἔτι yf , 2 ριτομῇ
κηρύσσω, τί ἔτι διώκομαι; dpa κατήργηται τὸ σκάνδαλον τοῦ
σταυροῦ ; 12. ὄφελον καὶ ἀποκόψονται οἱ ἀναστατοῦντες ὑμᾶς.
13. Ὑμεῖς γὰρ ἐπ᾽ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἐκλήθητε, ἀδελφοί μόνον μὴ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν εἰς ἀφορμὴν τῇ σαρκὶ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε
1αληθειᾳ SAB; τῃαλ. CDEFGKL,
old and was now calling the Galatians through the Gospel of which Paul was minister, but this new persuasion was no true gospel, and did not come forth from Him.
Ver. g. Leaven became a type of moral and spiritual corruption in virtue of the fermentation it engenders. A very small lump might readily form a centre of widespread corruption; so stringent precautions were adopted in Jewish households for the removal of every particle before the days of unleavened bread. Hence the origin of the proverb quoted here and in 1 Cor. v. 6. It is clear that the taint of heresy had not yet spread widely through the Galatian Churches; it was more its insidious na- ture than its actual extent that alarmed the Apostle.
Ver.10. The emphatic ἐγώ with which this verse opens reminds the converts of the Apostle’s personal claims in the Lord on their allegiance. He reckons with confidence on their support in pronounc- ing the judgment of their church on any who may disregard this warning. Every offender shall bear his own responsibility, whoever he may be.
Ver. 11. It seems strange in view of Paul’s later career that he should have needed to repudiate, however briefly and scornfully, the charge of still preaching circumcision as he had before his con- version. After his open breach with the synagogue, indeed, at Corinth and at Ephesus it would have been hardly pos- sible to advance such a plea. But he had recently, before writing this Epistle, taken two steps open to this misconstruction on which agitators could fasten. He had deposited with the Galatians for their guidance the resolution adopted by the Church at Jerusalem which recommended scrupulous regard for the Law in certain matters, and he had himself circumcised a Galatian convert whose father had been
a Greek. Paul contents himself with pointing for answer to the persecutions which he was still enduring at the hands of Jews, probably those which befel him in Macedonia.—apa. The interrogative ἄρα is far more appropriate to the context than the inferential dpa. The Apostle, being accused of currying favour with the Jews, points indignantly to the per- secutions he was suffering from them and exclaims, ‘‘ Hath the stumbling-block of the Cross been done away?”
Ver. 12. ὄφελον. This adverb occurs also in x Cor. iv. 8, 2 Cor. xi. 1, Rev. iii. 15. In all three places it expresses dissatisfaction with the actual position, ““ Would that it were otherwise”. But it acquires this force from its combination with past tenses, like the aorist ὥφελον in Attic Greek, When coupled however with a future as it is here, it does not express a wish, but like the future of ὀφείλειν declares what ought to be the logical outcome of the present. The clause predicts in bitter irony to what final consummation this superstitious worship of circumcision must lead. Men who exalt an ordinance of the flesh above the spirit of Christ will be bound in the end to proceed to mutilation of the flesh like heathen votaries. — ἀποκόψονται. This word was habitually used to de- scribe the practice of mutilation which was so prevalent in the Phrygian wor- ship of Cybele. The Galatians were necessarily familiar with it, and it can hardly bear any other sense.—davacra- τοῦντες. This word forcibly expresses the revolutionary character of the agita- tion which was upsetting the peace and order of the Galatian Churches. It is used in Acts xvii. 6, xxi. 38 to denounce seditious and riotous conduct.