The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 341

of penmanship that he here draws attention. again, in Eph. ii. 11, "ye, the Gentiles in Many modern critics ho.ve acquiesced in the fteeb," that is, who in that state of things this explanation; o.nd if -ypdµ,µauw means in which men lived before the spiritual "letters," that is, charo.cters of the writing, economy intervener!, were the " uncircnm- it seems the most probable; for it does not cision (l,.1tpoflvu-rla.)," while the Jews were soem. likely that the whole Epistle we.a the •• circumcision." But as the distinc- wri Uen in letters of an extro.orclinary size ; tion between these two clasB<Js we.a sig- w bile, if the charo.cters were those of hie nalized by an external corporeal mark, ordinary style of penmo.nship, the remark the e.postle in that passage immediately would be too trivial to come from him. The after UB<JB the expression, "in the flesh," in present writer inclines to the former method e. varied sense, with reference to this latter, of interpretation. "that which is called circumcision, in the Ver. 12.-As many a1 dellire to make a flesh, made by hands." With similar varia- fa.ir llhow in the flesh (8cro, 8,>..oucrw ,lnrpo- tion of mee.ning the word "llesh" is used crtn"ijn, iv (fa.p1t{) ; all those who wish to here. The Christians spoken of, losing sigM ma1,e a fair show in the fteah. In this verse of the cross of Christ and the Spirit's work, and the next the apostle singles ont for were becoming possessed by feelings be- especial animadversion certain Christiaus, longing to the old " ea.ma!" relo.tions be- Galatian Christians no -doubt, who were tween Jews and Gentiles, and so were aotuated by the aim of standing fair with making it their e.mbition to figure with the religious world of Judaism. They were advantage in the eyes of the circumcision, Gentile Christians and not Jews; this ap- as well a.a to escape their enmity. And pears from their not themselves wishing then, as in the passage j ast referred to t.o keep the Law; for if they had been Jews, (Eph. ii. 11), the apostle pe.sses from this the external observance of the Law, being sense of the phrase, "in the t!esh," to another natural to them from their infancy, wonld relating to corporeal flesh ; for this he does have. been with them a matter of course: in the next verse, in the words, "that they St. Paul himself would probably not have may glory in your flesh." They constrain urged them t.o relinquish it. The verb you to be airoumciaed (o'ii-ro, d11a.-y,ca(ouu,v <lnrpocro,,r,iv is not found by the critics in i,µ,ci., ,r,p,-rlµ,.,,•cr9a.,); thae compel you to be any earlier Greek writer, though the adjec- eircumcised. "Compel; " the same verb as tive ,lnrp&"-os, fair-faced, is used of "spe- was used above (eh. ii 14) of St. Peter's cious" answers in Herodotus (vii. 168), and attitude t.owards the Gentile believers at ." specious words'.' conjoi.iJ.ed with "fables." Antioch. As here applied, it means" advise,'' in Demosthenes (' De Oor.,', p. 277). .Ari- "urge," argue for it as right and necessary st.ophe.nes uses the word "•µ,vo,rpo"-•iv for salvation, insist upon it as a condition (' Nub.,' 362) to "oe.rry a solemn and wor- of friendship. "These;" not, perhaps, shipful face." The notion of falsity, plainly meaning "these only," "none but these;" hinted by ,tn,po""'.,,.fj"a.,, reminds ·us, Bishop it appears enough to suppose that the Lightfoot observes, of .our Lord's words re- apostle, from definite information which he 1peoting whited sepulchres, whioh "out- had received, was persuaded that some of wardly appear beautiful, but •inwardly,'' those who took the lead in urging onward eto. (Matt. :u:iii. 27). Compare the use of the Judaizing movement were led to join ,rpo(f.,.,..011, face, in 2 Cor. v. -12, " glory in in it by the cowardly motives here described. appearance, and not in heart." As I.he aorist With indigna.nt scorn, he sa.ys." As surely e.a of verbs denoting a certain state frequently a man wants to stand well with the world, expresses an entrance upon such a state (see so surely will he be found with these (fiuo, above;'oh. ii. 19 and note), it probably circumcisers." Only lest they llhonld awfer is intimated that the persons referred to peraeoution for the oroll8 of Christ (µ,011011 were conscious that their "autwe.rd appear- 111<1 -r,p (f-ra.uptji -roii Xp,crroii µ,¾} o,C:,,,.,,n-a.,. ance" was hitherto not aoceptable to Jewish (Textus Reoeptus, pl,11ov 1va. µ,¾} -rep cr-ra.uprp minds, but that they now were desirous of .-oii Xp,o--roii ou.\1t.,J1Ta.,]); only that they may me.king it so. Time· he.d been when they not by mean., of the cro38 of Christ auffer did not care so much a.bout it. "In the persecution. " Only that ; " that is, for no flesh." This word" flesh" not unfrequently other reason than tbat. The µ,.¾} is thrust design&tes men's condition as Ullillodified out of its proper position in the sentence by the Spirit of God : as when the apostle (which is that assigned to it in the Textus speaks of "being in the llesh" (Rom. vii. 5; Receptus) by the fervour of the writer's viii. 8, 9): thence also circumstanc~s or i'e- feelings. To himself the cross of Christ -lations pertaining to this unspiritu&l condi- seemed the centre of all glory ,md blessed- tion, as in Phil. iii. 3, 4 ; where the apostle ness; to be connected with it he would be ,speaks of "having ooufidenoe in the flesh," well pleo.sed to suffer martyrdom: but these and goes on, in vers . .6, 6, to enumerute soma men could be-well content to shelve it out of those circumsto.nces or rel11tiollJI. Thua. of sizht, and, in fact, wero d,_,ing so· and  308 THE EPISTLE TO TBE GALATIANS. [en. v1. 1-lA,