The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 113

Oeph11e and John, though not an 11postle, 11e a11 especially etelldfnst npholdere of the truth being the le11diog "elder" (bishop, as such of the gospel or of the Christian cause. In o functioo11ry soon got to be designated) of Rev. iii. 12 the "pillar'' seems thought of, the Church of Jerus11lem; for in the classifi• not so much as upholding e. superstructure c11tion of the component members of that as of somethin~ itself stationary, and also, meeting in Acts xv. 6, "the 11postles ond the perhaps, beautiful and glorious. Clement ciders," Ja.mes must be o.ssigned to the latter of Rome, in his Epistle to the Corinthians cate,'{ory. The twelve had no distinctive (§ 5), borrows the phra.se with II more ex- oflicia.l connection with this particular tensive application. The idea couched in (Jhurch more tha.n with other Churches; the word "Cephas," roek, is so nearly iden- ond, therefore, in meetings held at Jerusalem, tical with that of '' settled basis," that the the presidential position would oa.turally be like affinity of idellS as led the 11postle to conceded, not to any one of the apostles, but connect "pillar" with the latter term in to the man who w11s statedly recognized 118 1 Tim. iii. 15 m11y be suppnsed to have led 1he superior "elder" of this p11rticular him now to connect" pillar" with" Cephas" community. St. John's name is not men- and his two illustrious brethren. They gave tioned in Acts xv.; but in other places in to me and Barnabas the right hands of St. Luke's history "Peter and John" 11re fellowship (Be!(a.r (Bo,r,a.v lµ.ol ""' Bapvti/3<;. found acting in conjunction, and this in such 1<01110,vla.r); they each of them clasped each a ma.oner as to betoken their holding a very of ns by the right h11nd, in token that they prominent pl11ce 11mong the 11postles (Acts both did then, and would thereafter continue iii. 1; iv. 13; viii. 14). The re11eon why to, regard ns, and we also them, as partn era these three are named, 11nd none but these, with one another in a common work. W o is prob11bly that on the occasion referred to meet with the phrases, "give right hands," these three alone-J11mee 11s on behalf of the "receive right hands," in 1 Mace. xi. 50, 52; Church of Jerusalem, and Peter and John xiii. 50, with reference, app11rently, to the 11s on beh11lf of the twelve-stepped forw11rd victor conceding, and the vanquished accept- at the general request before the meeting, ing, terms of peace to be ratified by the and formally all three clasped hands with mutu11l cl11Bp of right hands. This, hovi.e,~er, Paul and Barnabas in token of their recog- is not precisely what is me11nt in the present niz,ng 11nd ratifying their doctrine and oaee ; there is no room here for the notion of ministry. In reference to the n11me ••Ceph11s," reconciliation. Neither seems there intended it may be observed tho.t St. Paul finds a signification of love, such as the "kiss of occasion to name this apostle nine times: in love" would have afforded. Tl&is h11nd-cle.sp eeven of these he writes, 11ccording to the best simply ratified by a palpable gesture the m11nuscripts," CephllB" (1 Cor. i. 12; iii. 22: formal assurance between the two parties ix. 5; xv. 5; ch.i. 18; ii. 9,14); in two, "Peter" thot they reg11rded e11ch other as friendly (eh. ii, 7, 8). The Judaizers in the Church, partners in a common undertaking. That whether at Corinth or in Galatia., in their the use of this gesture in ratifying compact morbid hunkering after whatever was dis- hue been very common in all oges, is shown tinctively Jewish, were sure to affect the use by the insto.aces in Liddell and Scott's of the Hehraio form; on which 11ccount, •Lexicon' (A,{/,.), and in Facciolati (" Dex- probably, St. Paul, in dealing with these tro"), as well as by Bishop Lightfoot's note on men, is seen so frequently ueing this form the present passage. Its nse among the J ewe himself. Those reputed to be pillar,. The is attested, not only by the very phrase em- upostle's object in adding this clause is ployed here and in the Macco.bees, but by apparently, to iodico.te why these three, the phrases, "strike hands" and" give one's rather than any others, represented the rest hand," in Job xvii. 3; Prov. vi. 1; Ezek. in this act of formal proceeding, and at the xvii. 18. Joscphus's remark in •Aut.,' xviii. same time to intimate to his Galatie.n renders ix. 3, on the unique inviolability which the the supremo cha.meter of the attest11tion thus Persians, Parthians, and other Oriental afforded, both to th11t gospel of his which nations felt to attach to engagements thus ccrt11in among the Galo.tians were now ratified, by no me11ns precludes the supposi- tampering with, aud to his official ch11r11cter tion tbo.t Jews used this gesture of guarantee, which thoso sllme persons were beginning to but only shows th11t it Wll.S not with them disparage. "Pilhus." The o.postle, years the most sacred of all forms of covenanting: after, in writing to Timothy, speaks of its they would, of course, regard an outh by the being the proper function of " the Church Name of God as affording o higher so.nction. of the liviug God" that she should be "a In the cnse now under consideration there pillar nod settled basis (,Bpa.{o,µ.a;) of the was no "strife" between James, Cephas, truth," i.e. upholding the truth (1 Tim. iii. and John, and Paul and Barnabo.s, whioh 15). This suggests to us his meaning in needed to be "ended" by "an oath:" the osing the same figure here. Those three solemn o.nd oordial mutual pressure of the men were by general consent looked up to right ho.nd seeDll! just the kiud and meaaure  78 THE EPISTLE '1'0 THE GALA'l'IANS. (bH, II, 1-21,