The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 228

mity. "My triul "would Rdd to the sentence yours? " that is! whe.t was its valuo in respect a tinge of pn thetic self-commiseration. to the depth or conviction on which it was "Your trial" brings out the sentiment fonnded ?-Ti• being qualia, as Luko x. 22 • ho"' greatly his affliction would be likely xix. 3, etc., whioh would bring us to much to indispose hiB hee.rera to listen to his the same result 88 '!'"oii : or," Bow greo.t, then, meesage ; it " tested " very severely the was that gret11lat1on of you1·s I" But the sincerity and depth of their religious sensi- "then" (o~v) comes in lamely: Ton (".nt bility. Ye despised 11.ot, nor rejeoted (obK that time") would have been more in place· •iou0,vfi<raT,, ou6€ /{,,,..,.,;.,-a.,-,); ye scouted and, further, it is q uestiono.ble whether th~ 'IWt, nor l.oathed,. The disfigurement on the -rt, of admiration ever occurs without the itpostle's person, whatever it was, did not wonder ta.king a tinge of inquu-y, as, for ex- detain their attention; they did not, at least ample, Mark vi. 2; Luke v. 21; Col. i. 27, not long, occupy themselves with indulging which would be out of place here. With the their feelings of ridicule or disgust; their more approved reading, wou o1iv, the o.postle eense of it got to be soon absorbed in their asks, " What ill, then, become of that gratu- admiration of the apostle's character and in lation of yourselves?" The" then" reci tee the their delight in the heavenly message which fact, implied in the description given of their he brought to them. The verb ~{ou0a,I.,, in former behaviour, that they did once felicitate the New Testament found only in St. Luke themselves on the apostle's having brought and St. Paul, means always, not merely "to them the gospel. Thie is more directly brought despise," but to express contempt for a into view in the words which follow. As thing, "to soout" ( comp. Luke xviii. 9; the verb µ.a1tapl(c,, means" pronounce happy," xxiii. 11; Acts iv. 11; Rom. xiv. 3, 10; 1 o.s Luke i. 48 and Jas. v. 11, the substantive Cor. i. 28; vi. 4; 2 Cor. x. 10; 1 Thess. v. µcucap,uµb, denotes " pronouncing one to be 20). Grotius observes of •t..,,...6uaTE that it h11ppy;" as Rom. iv. 6, 9. So Clement of is a :figurative expression drawn from our Rome (' Ad Cor.,' 50), who weaves the spitting out of our mouth what greatly apostle's words into hiB own sentence with offends our taste; quoting Ca.tullus (' Carm.' the so.me meaning. This felicitation must 50, • Ad Llc. ') : " Precesq ue nostras, Ora.mus, have been pronounced by the Galatians ne despuas." Critics have remarked that upon themselves, not upon the apostle; the ;,~,1,,.,, which is not found elsewhere used apostle would have spoken of himself en thus metaphorically as a.,ro'll"Til«v is, is pro- the object of their ~bAo"fla, not of their bably so applied here by the apostle to µa1tapi<Tµo,. For I bear you record (µ.apTupw produce a kind of alliteration after iiou0,vfi• -yo.p vµ'iv); /or I bear you witness; testify on uaTE: as if it were "Non reprobastiB, nee your behalf; the phr~se always denoting respuistis." But reoeived me as a.n angel of commendation (Rom. x. 2; Col. iv. 13). Com- God, even as Christ 1eS118 (&AA' .:,, lin•Aov pare "Ye were running well," oh. v. 3. The 8eoii il>.!~a<r0.! µ.,, .:,, XpiuTbv 'l'll<roiiv); but verb denotes a deliberate, almost solemn, as an a71,!/el of God recei'Ded ye me, as Christ o.verment. That, if it had been possible, ye JU11,1J. Their first feeling of aversation from would ha.ve pluoked out your own eyes, and his personal appearance gave ple.ce to emo- ha.ve given them to me (tfr,, ,l l>uvaTov, Tol,s tions of delight in hiB message of which be orp0a>..µol,, vµ.&v iEopo(_ariTU iBwt<a.Te [Recep- seemed as it were the embodiment, and of tus, &;,, iB&iKaT.!] µo~); that, if, possible, ye had reverential love and gratitude to himself. spitted out your eyes to give them to me. His manifest absorption in the glad tidings 'l'he phrase, iEop0<r<rew urp0a>..µo6s, occurs in he brought, and in love to bis Lord, irra- the Septuagint of Judg. xvi. 21 and I Sam. diating bis whole being with his unbounded xi. 2, Hebrew, "bore out the eyes." The benevolence and gladsomeuess as the mes- omission of the li.v, which is rejected by recent senger of peace (Eph. ii.17), was recognized editors, perhaps intimates the certainty and by them with a ~-espouse of. unspeakable readiness with which they would ha.ve done enthusiasm. A famt pai-a.llel IS afforded by it; but the particle occurs very sparingly in l Thess. ii. 13. the New Testament o.s compared with clas- Ver. 15.-Where is then (or, what was sical Greek. There seems something strange then) the blessedness ye spe.ke ofl (11'oii o1iv in the specification of this particular fo1·m [Receptus, ,,-/s oiv ;\v] o ~•a1<ap,uµb, vµ.wv ;) ; of evidencing zealous attachment. If there where, then, is that gratulatioii of yourselves had otherwise appeared o.ny ·question of (or, of yours)? The reading, 11oii o1iv, which making gifts, the apostle might have bean is that of the best manuscripts, is now gene- construed to mean," Ye were ready to give rally accepted in preference to that of the me anything, your very· eyes even;" but TextllB Receptus, ..,.,, o1iv ;jv, in which, how- this is not the case, Possibly the particular ever, Ti• oiv stands on a higher footing of mention of "the Churches of Galatio." in evidence than the remaining word ;jv. This 1 Cor. xvi. I may have been occasioned by latL0r re&.ding may be taken to mean: eit!Jer, tlieir having shown an especial roadincsa, "Oi wliat ,;ort, then, was that gratufation of even at the npostle's second sojourn among  OH, IV, 1-31.] THE EPIS'£LE '£0 1'.HE GALA'fl.ANS. 195