Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:13
Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
13. through infirmity of the flesh ] Rather, as R.V. ‘because of an infirmity of the flesh’, owing to bodily sickness.
What was this infirmity? Most commentators identify it with the ‘thorn in the flesh’, 2Co 12:7. Bp Lightfoot (p. 169 foll.) enumerates in chronological order the different conjectures which have been put forward in early and more modern times. They are (1) some bodily ailment, (2) persecution, (3) fleshly desires, (4) spiritual trials, such as temptations to despair, blasphemous suggestions of the Devil. The most recent expositors recur to the earliest view of this infirmity that it was some bodily ailment. Bp Lightfoot conjectures that it was ‘of the nature of epilepsy’. Between this suggestion and that of some defect of eye-sight, perhaps acute ophthalmia, it is not easy to choose. The passages adduced in support of this latter conjecture are not conclusive in its favour, though their cumulative evidence is strong. They are discussed in an interesting note by Bp. Lightfoot, p. 174, note 1.
at the first ] Probably, ‘on the former occasion’, i.e. on the earlier of my two visits, mentioned Act 16:6. The second or later visit is named Act 18:23. We may fairly infer from the Apostle’s language that on the former occasion he had not intended to preach the Gospel in Galatia, but that sickness of some kind (probably acute disorder) detained him there, and that notwithstanding weakness and pain distress to himself, and disadvantage to the reception of his message he proclaimed the Gospel of his Lord.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ye know how – To show them the folly of their embracing the new views which they had adopted, he reminds them of past times, and particularly of the strength of the attachment which they had evinced for him in former days.
Through infirmity of the flesh – Greek Weakness ( astheneian); compare the 1Co 2:3 note; 2Co 10:10; 2Co 12:7 notes.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Gal 4:13
Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh.
Preaching in the infirmity of the flesh
I. That we might not exalt our teachers unduly, who are only instruments of grace (Act 14:15).
II. That we might ascribe the whole work of our conversion to God alone (2Co 4:7).
III. That God might by this means confound the wisdom of the world, and cause men that would be wise to become fools that they might be wise (1Co 3:18).
IV. That we might be assured that the doctrine is of God because it prevails without the strength and policy of man. (W. Perkins.)
The Gospel
I have been delighted, on a calm summers evening, to hear the tones of a sweet human voice borne to my ears from the other side of the valley. The shadows of the evening were around me, the birds had gone to their rest, a sadness was over the land; not a sound was heard save that voice, singing some tender Welsh air. The voice wandered among the hills, or seemed to linger in the eaves; then it trembled among the branches; by and by it became more powerful as it passed over the clear plain below. There was in it an indescribable pathos–it was a sigh swelling into a song–and it created in me unutterable longings for the perfect good, for that state in which life is musical, harmonious, and not filled with wild, discordant notes, as our present life is. The gospel resembles that voice, it comes to us trembling with Divine love; a tender, melting, pathetic voice, speaking of God and His love and His heaven, and the blessedness that shall be revealed. (Thomas Jones.)
Why no record of Paul s preaching
While we have more or less acquaintance with all the other important Churches of Pauls founding, not a single name of a person or place, and scarcely a single incident connected with the apostles preaching in Galatia is preserved in either the Acts or the Epistle. This may partly be accounted for by the circumstances of the Church. The same delicacy which has concealed from us the name of the Corinthian offender may have led the apostle to avoid all special allusions in addressing a community to which he wrote in a strain of severest censure. And the historian would seem to have purposely drawn a veil over the infancy of a Church which swerved so soon and so widely from the purity of the gospel. (Bp. Lightfoot.)
The indisposition of St. Paul
Nothing is more natural than that the traversing of vast distances over the burning plains and freezing mountain passes of Asia Minor–the constant changes of climate, the severe bodily fatigue, the storms of fine and blinding sand, the bites and stings of insects, the coarseness and scantiness of daily fare–should have brought on a return of his malady to one whose health was so shattered as that of St. Paul. (Farrar.)
The climate and the prevailing maladies of Asia Minor may have been modified by lapse of centuries; and we are without the guidance of St. Lukes medical language which sometimes throws a light on diseases alluded to in Scripture; but two Christian sufferers, in widely different ages of the Church, occur to the memory as we look on the map of Galatia. We could hardly mention any two men more thoroughly imbued with the spirit of St. Paul than John Chrysostom and Henry Martyn. And when we remember how these two saints suffered in their last hours from fatigue, pain, rudeness, and cruelty, among the mountains of Asia Minor which surround the place where they rest, we can well enter into the meaning of St. Pauls expression of gratitude to those who received him kindly in the hour of his weakness. (Conybeare and Howson.)
Personal suffering a means of the worlds progress
The hopes of humanity do not lie in the fulness with which science discovers and employs the forces of nature. On the contrary, there is no danger which is more imminent than the appropriation of those powers by the coarsest despotism which can enslave and corrupt its subjects. It does not consist in what is called culture, because art and poetry are easily made slaves of that wealth which is willing to have its existence certified and its power acknowledge by the homage of cultivated parasites. It is not learning that can save man; for at best learning only influences a few, and is apt, in those who possess it, to degenerate into self-sufficiency and ease. Least of all do the hopes of man lie in the aggregation of wealth; for experience tells us that wealth is not only apt to be arrogant and domineering, but to form a coarse and harsh oligarchy, degraded by low tastes and prone to ferocious fears. Nor, finally, do the hopes of humanity reside in any form of polity. It may be that one form of administration is better than another, because it offers least resistance to the influence which ought to leaven society, gives a freer course to those forces which can chasten and exalt mankind. Despotism degrades us, but it does not follow that liberty purifies us. The atmosphere is cleared of its accumulated poisons by some furious storm, which does in the end bring health to the many, but bestows its benefits amidst the waste and the rain of those whom it smites. And so the moral purification of society is affected by the suffering of those whom the cleansing storm catches in its course; the victory of the most righteous cause demands the suffering and death of some among those who enter into the battle. When the stronghold of truth and virtue is to be built, the foundations are laid in the firstborn, and the youngest perishes before the walls are finished. (Paul of Tarsus.)
Affliction a means of moral influence
The sunlight falls upon a clod, and the clod drinks it in, is itself warmed by it, but lies as black as ever, and sheds out no light. But the sun touches a diamond, and the diamond almost chills itself as it sends out in radiance on every side the light that has fallen upon it. So God helps one man to bear his pain, and nobody but that one man is a whir the richer. God comes to another sufferer–reverent, unselfish, and humble–and the lame leap, and the dumb speak, and the wretched are comforted all around by the radiated comfort of that happy soul. (Phillips Brooks, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. Ye know how through infirmity] The apostle seems to say that he was much afflicted in body when he first preached the Gospel to them. And is this any strange thing, that a minister, so laborious as St. Paul was, should be sometimes overdone and overcome by the severity of his labours? Surely not. This might have been only an occasional affliction, while labouring in that part of Asia Minor; and not a continual and incurable infirmity, as some have too hastily conjectured.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Scripture having not given us a particular account of Pauls circumstances when he first preached the gospel to the Galatians, we are at a loss to determine what those infirmities were which Paul here speaketh of, more than that he calls them
infirmities of the flesh: by which may be understood, either the baseness and contemptibleness of his presence, (which the false teachers at Corinth objected to him, 2Co 10:10), or some bodily sickness which Paul had at that time, (as some of the ancients guess), or his sufferings for the gospel, which were those infirmities wherein he chose to glory, 2Co 11:30.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. how through infirmityrather,as Greek, “Ye know that because of an infirmity ofmy flesh I preached,” c. He implies that bodily sickness,having detained him among them, contrary to his original intentions,was the occasion of his preaching the Gospel to them.
at the firstliterally,”at the former time” implying that at the time ofwriting he had been twice in Galatia. See my Introduction;also see on Ga 4:16, and Ga5:21. His sickness was probably the same as recurred moreviolently afterward, “the thorn in the flesh” (2Co12:7), which also was overruled to good (2Co 12:9;2Co 12:10), as the “infirmityof the flesh” here.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ye know how, through infirmity of the flesh,…. Meaning either their infirmity, to which the apostle accommodated himself in preaching the Gospel to them, delivering it in such a manner as suited with their capacities, feeding them with milk, and not with strong meat; or his own infirmity, respecting either some particular bodily infirmity and disorder, as the headache, with which he is said to be greatly troubled; or the weakness of his bodily presence, the mean outward appearance he made, the contemptibleness of his voice, and the great humility with which he behaved; or rather the many reproaches, afflictions, and persecutions which attended him, when, says he,
I preached the Gospel unto you at the first; not the law, but the Gospel; and this he did at his first entrance among them, and was the first that preached it to them, and was the means of their conversion; and therefore, being their spiritual Father, they ought to be as he was, and follow him as they had him for an example.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Because of an infirmity of the flesh (‘ ). All that we can get from this statement is the fact that Paul’s preaching to the Galatians “the first time” or “the former time” ( , adverbial accusative) was due to sickness of some kind whether it was eye trouble (4:15) which was a trial to them or to the thorn in the flesh (2Co 12:7) we do not know. It can be interpreted as applying to North Galatia or to South Galatia if he had an attack of malaria on coming up from Perga. But the narrative in Gal 4:13; Gal 4:14 does not read as if Paul had planned to pass by Pisidia and by Lycaonia but for the attack of illness. The Galatians understood the allusion for Paul says “Ye know” ().
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Ye know [ ] . The A. V. omits de which is wanting in some Mss. De not oppositional as commonly explained : “Ye did not injure me, but on the contrary ye know, etc. “; but introducing an explanation of ye did not injure me by reference to the fact that they might easily have been moved to do him wrong by the unfavorable circumstances under which he first preached the gospel to them (through infirmity of the flesh). The formulas oida de, oidamen de, oidate de, are habitually used by Paul to introduce an explanation of what precedes, from a new point of view. See Rom 2:2; Rom 3:19; Rom 14:29; Phi 4:15. The general sense therefore is :” Ye did not wrong me at all as you might easily have been moved to do; for [] you know in what an unfavorable light my infirmities placed me when I first came among you. ”
Through infirmity [ ] . On account of infirmity. Referring to the fact that Paul, in his first journey, was compelled by sickness to remain in Galatia, and preached to the Galatians during this enforced sojourn. This fact made their kindly reception the more commendable. 73 At the first [ ] . Either generally, at an earlier time than the present (as Joh 6:62; Joh 9:8; 1Ti 1:13), or the first time (as Heb 7:27). Here in the latter sense. Paul had visited the Galatians twice before he wrote this letter.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh,” (oidate de hoti di’ astheneian tes sarkos) “Moreover you all understand well that through a weakness, infirmity, or sickness of the flesh,” what I am by natural birth, subject to physical weakness and maladies, 1Co 2:3; 2Co 11:30; 2Co 12:7; 2Co 12:9. In weakness, fear, and trembling, buffeted by a thorn in the flesh, he kept on keeping on as an example for believers after him, 1Co 11:1-2.
2) “I preached the gospel unto you at the first,” (euengelisamen humin to proteron) “I preached the gospel (good tidings) to you all formerly, when I first came among you,” Gal 1:6. Tho physically afflicted with bodily weakness, sickness of recurring, or continuing nature, he heralded the gospel to and among them, as his desire was always deep, Rom 1:16; Gal 6:14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
13. Ye know that, through infirmity of the flesh. He recalls to their recollection the friendly and respectful manner in which they had received him, and he does so for two reasons. First, to let them know that he loved them, and thus to gain a ready ear to all that he says; and secondly, to encourage them, that, as they had begun well, they would go on in the same course. This mention of past occurrences, then, while it is an expression of his kind regards, is intended likewise as an exhortation to act in the same manner as they had done at an earlier period.
By infirmity of the flesh he means here, as in other places, what had a tendency to make him appear mean and despised. Flesh denotes his outward appearance, which the word infirmity describes to have been contemptible. Such was Paul when he came among them, without show, without pretense, without worldly honors or rank, without everything that could gain him respect or estimation in the eyes of men. Yet all this did not prevent the Galatians from giving him the most honorable reception. The narrative contributes powerfully to his argument, for what was there in Paul to awaken their esteem or veneration, but the power of the Holy Spirit alone? Under what pretext, then, will they now begin to despise that power? Next, they are charged with inconsistency, since no subsequent occurrence in the life of Paul could entitle them to esteem him less than before. But this he leaves to be considered by the Galatians, contenting himself with indirectly suggesting it as a subject of consideration.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) Through infirmity of the flesh.Rather, because (or, on account) of infirmity of fleshi.e., some bodily weakness or ill-health. We should gather from this that St. Paul was detained in Galatia accidentally by illness, and that this led to his preaching the gospel there.
At the first.The first time; on my first visit. This would be the one mentioned in Act. 16:6, in distinction from that referred to in Act. 18:23. (See Introduction.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Through infirmity Rather, on account of infirmity, or bodily illness. A visitation of St. Paul’s thorn in the flesh (note, 2Co 12:7) detained him at Galatia; and in spite of its drawback on his oratory the Galatians cordially received him and his message.
At the first The Greek meaning seems to be, at the former of two visits.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And you know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the Gospel to you the first time (or ‘previously’), and you did not despise, nor did you reject with loathing (literally ‘spit out’) that which tested you out in my flesh. But you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.’
It is clear that Paul had been suffering some kind of severe infirmity when he first went to the Galatian region with the Gospel, an infirmity that had made it advisable that he go there rather than elsewhere. Malaria has been suggested, so that he had to seek higher ground. In that region such fevers were often seen as demonstrating divine anger, and may thus have been regarded with loathing. But they had not despised him. Another possibility is epilepsy or even some kind of putrefying sore, or pus in the eyes, for which he sought medical aid in the region (perhaps Luke was there), and which thus prevented him from travelling any further. But the important point is that they took it without flinching and even welcomed him warmly. They were not put off by his illness.
‘You did not despise, nor did you reject with loathing.’ They might have suggested that God had smitten him, and thus have mocked him, or they might have loathed what they saw and turned away from him. He acknowledges quite freely that they might well have been tempted to do so and that it was a genuine test of their goodwill. But they had not.
‘You received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.’ See Act 13:44; Act 13:48; Act 14:1; Act 14:11-12. Rather they had treated him like a divine messenger (at Lystra literally), yes, they could not have greeted him more warmly had he been Jesus Christ Himself. He may even mean that they mistook him for the Messiah Jesus, but the warmth of his words suggests that he was speaking about more than just a mistake and therefore is suggesting that what he means is that they greeted him with the same warmth they would have shown to Jesus Christ.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gal 4:13-14 . Contrast to the preceding . Comp. Chrysostom: “Ye have done nothing to injure me; but ye doubtless know, that I on account of weakness of the flesh preached the gospel to you the former time, and that ye,” etc.
] The only correct explanation, because the only one agreeable to linguistic usage, is that adopted by Flatt, Fritzsche, Hilgenfeld, Wieseler, and others, also by Winer, Gramm . p. 373 [E. T. 499], on account of weakness of the flesh: [193] so that it is clear, that on Paul’s first journey through Galatia (Act 16:6 ) he was compelled by reason of bodily weakness to make a stay there, which properly did not form a part of his plan; and that during this sojourn, forced on him by necessity, he preached the gospel to the Galatians. How he suffered, and from what cause , whether from natural sickness (comp. 2Co 12:7 ), [194] or from ill-treatment which he had previously endured on account of the gospel (comp. Gal 6:17 ), we do not know. The mention of an involuntary or rather quite unpremeditated working among the Galatians is not opposed to the apostle’s aim (as Rckert objects), but favourable to it; because the love which received him so heartily and joyfully must have been all the greater, the less it depended on the duty of befitting gratitude for a benefit previously destined for the recipients, and for exertions made expressly on their account. Many others have understood as denoting the apostle’s condition: “ amidst bodily weakness ,” which is then referred by some, and indeed most expositors, following Chrysostom and Luther, to persecutions and sufferings , by others to his insignificant appearance (Calvin), by others to sickness (Rckert, Matthies, Olshausen, Ewald; comp. also in Jerome), and by others even to embarrassment and perplexity on account of the strange circumstances (Baumgarten-Crusius). But in this case must have been used with the genitive (see Matthiae, p. 1353; Fritzsche, ad Rom . I. p. 138); for expressions such as , , , , . . . , in which denotes stretching through , are merely poetical (see Schaefer, ad Mosch . 4. 91; Bernhardy, p. 236 f.; Khner, II. p. 282). We should be obliged to think of the occasioning state (as in , , . . . ), which would just bring us back to our interpretation. Hence we must reject also the explanation of Grotius: “per varios casus, per mille pericula rerum perrexi, ut vos instituerem.” Others still have gone so far as to refer . to weakness of the Galatians , to which Paul accommodated himself . So Jerome, Estius, Hug, and Rettig l.c . p. 108 ff.: “ I have preached to you on account of the weakness of your flesh ,” which is supposed to mean: “I have in my preaching had respect to the infirmity of your flesh.” Utterly mistaken: because Paul must necessarily have added a modal definition to . (even if it had only been an ), or must have written . instead of .; moreover, in Gal 4:14 shows that Paul meant the to apply to himself .
] may mean either: earlier , at an earlier time, so that it would be said from the standpoint of the present (Thuc. i. 12. Galatians 2 : , , Isocr. de pace , 121 and Bremi in loc .), which in relation to the past is the later time (Joh 6:62 ; Joh 7:51 ; Joh 9:8 ; 2Co 1:15 ; 1Ti 1:13 ; 1Pe 1:14 ; Heb 10:32 ; LXX. Deu 2:12 ; 1Ch 9:2 ; 1Ma 11:27 ); or the former time , so that the same fact (the preaching) took place twice (Heb 4:6 ; Heb 7:27 ). It is interpreted in the former sense by Usteri and Fritzsche, and in the latter by Koppe, Winer, Rckert, Matthies, Baumgarten-Crusius, de Wette, Wieseler, Hilgenfeld, Ewald, Hofmann, and others. [195] The latter is the correct view, so that presupposes a second sojourn of the apostle among the Galatians. For if he had preached among them only once, would have been quite an idle, superfluous addition. But Paul adds it just in order to denote quite distinctly his first visit, during which he founded the churches (Act 16:6 ): at his second visit (Act 18:23 ), the happy experiences which he had enjoyed were not repeated in such full measure; the churches were already tainted by Judaism. Comp. Introd. 2, 3. Fritzsche, indeed, maintains that Gal 4:18-19 imply that Paul before the composition of the epistle had only once visited the Galatians; but see on Gal 4:19 .
[193] Bengel also translates correctly: “ propter infirmitatem ,” but erroneously explains that the weakness was not indeed “ causa praedicationis ipsius ,” but “ adjumentum , cur P. efficacius praedicaret, cum Galatae facilius rejicere posse viderentur.” Similarly, but still more incorrectly, Schott, who detects an “ acumen singulare ” in Paul’s saying: “ per ipsam aegritudinem carnis doctrinam divinam vobis tradidi;” for the fact that Paul, although sick, had preached very zealously, had been of great influence in making his preaching more successful. In this interpretation everything is mistaken: for must have been used with the genitive; the “ ipsam ” and the thought of successful preaching are quite gratuitously imported; and the whole of the alleged “ acumen ” would be completely out of place here , where Paul wishes to remind his readers of their love then shown to him, and not of the efficacy of his preaching.
[194] In respect to 2 Cor. l.c ., Holsten, in Hilgenfeld’s Zeitschrift , 1861, p. 250 f., conceives it to refer to epileptical disturbances of the circulatory and nervous system, such as occur among visionaries . Comp. his Ev. d. Paul. u. Petr . p. 85.
[195] The older expositors, translating it jam pridem (Vulgate), or prius (Erasmus, Beza, Calvin), or antea (Castalio), do not for the most part attempt any more precise explanation. Luther: “ for the first time .” Chrysostom, Theodoret, and Theophylact do not give any explanation of .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
Ver. 13. Through infirmity of the flesh ] That is, though much broken with many miseries, yet I spared not to take pains among you. Zachariah, though he ceased to speak, yet he ceased not to minister; he took not his dumbness for a dismission, but stayed out the eight days of his course, Luk 1:23 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
13 .] can surely bear but one rendering, on account of bodily weakness : all others (e.g. ‘ in weakness ,’ as E. V., , as c., Thl., ‘ per infirmitatem ,’ as vulg., Luth., Beza, Grot., Estius, Jowett (comparing Phi 1:15 , where see note), ‘ during a period of sickness ,’ as Mr. Bagge) are ungrammatical, or irrelevant, as ‘ on account of the infirmity of ( your ) flesh ’ (Jer., Estius, Hig., Rettig), which would require some qualifying adverb such as with , and would besides be wholly out of place in an Epistle in which he is recalling them to the substance of his first preaching. The meaning then will be, that it was on account of an illness that he first preached in Galatia: i.e. that he was for that reason detained there, and preached, which otherwise he would not have done. On this, see Prolegomena, ii. 3: the fact itself, I cannot help thinking, is plainly asserted here. Beware of conjectural emendation, such as of Peile, for which there is neither warrant nor need.
may mean ‘formerly,’ but is more probably ‘the first time,’ with reference to that second visit hinted at below, Gal 4:16 , and ch. Gal 5:21 . See Prolegomena, Gal 4:3 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Gal 4:13 . . This can only mean owing to infirmity of the flesh, i.e. , to illness. with accusative has the same causal force in the N.T. as in Attic Greek. A phrase like , by night , is found in Homer, but subsequently lost its temporal force, and only regained it in the Latinised Greek of later centuries from confusion with the Latin per. The position of before the verb lays stress upon the fact that the ministry was due to illness alone, and not to spontaneous resolve.
It appears from this and the following verses that the illness occurred under the eyes of the Galatians, who watched its progress, were familiar with its repulsive symptoms, and displayed tender sympathy with the sufferer. They were aware also of the alteration it had made in his plans. The inference from these facts is clear, that he did not intend at the time of his arrival in Galatia to preach there at all, but was prostrated immediately after by sudden illness, and so forced to relinquish his previous project and abandon for the present any further journey. The only conceivable way, in short, in which an attack of illness in Galatia can have occasioned his preaching there was by involuntary detention. Here, accordingly, the motive for mentioning it is to show how little claim he had on the gratitude of the Galatians at that time, and how little he had deserved the tender sympathy which they exhibited. The historical connection of this illness with the ministry of Paul and Barnabas is investigated in the Introduction (pp. 135 7).
It has been suggested that this attack was perhaps identical with the mentioned in 2Co 12:7 , and this may be true, but the real nature of the is unknown. Some features of this attack on the contrary may be inferred from the description given of its effects: it incapacitated the patient for travel, produced disfigurement and offensive symptoms, but allowed free intercourse with those around him. His success in winning the hearts of those who visited him in his sick chamber suggests a chronic ailment prolonged for a considerable time, as does also the complete change in his plans. The only definite hint given of a specific malady is the language of Gal 4:15 : from which I gather that the eyesight was imperilled by a virulent attack of ophthalmia. That disease was notoriously prevalent in the lowlands of Pamphylia through which he had been travelling, and if so contracted, would produce the symptoms described. The pathetic appeal to Galatian sympathy on the score of imperfect sight in Gal 6:11 confirms this view. If his sight had been impaired by an illness to which they had themselves ministered with tender solicitude, they would be quick to feel for his privation. . Lightfoot contends with justice that this phrase cannot on account of the prefixed article refer to an indefinite period in time past. The author clearly had in his mind two distinct periods, an earlier and a later, during the earlier of which he states that his preaching had been occasioned by illness. Lightfoot suggests that he referred perhaps to the two visits which he had paid to the Galatian Churches: and the suggestion is reasonable if his theory be accepted of sites in Northern Galatia, for no details are known of either visit. But it is quite incompatible with the history of his ministry in Southern Galatia recorded in Act 13:14 . That lasted over two winters at the very least, comprised two visits at considerable intervals to each of the Churches, and displayed throughout as resolute an initiative, as determined 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 up to that time ( )”. It is needless to dwell on the complete harmony of this interpretation with the context.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
through = on account of. Greek. dia App-104. Gal 4:2.
preached, &c. Greek. evangelizo. App-121.
at the first = before. Compare 2Co 12:7.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
13.] can surely bear but one rendering,-on account of bodily weakness: all others (e.g. in weakness, as E. V., , as c., Thl., per infirmitatem, as vulg., Luth., Beza, Grot., Estius, Jowett (comparing Php 1:15, where see note), during a period of sickness, as Mr. Bagge) are ungrammatical, or irrelevant, as on account of the infirmity of (your) flesh (Jer., Estius, Hig., Rettig), which would require some qualifying adverb such as with , and would besides be wholly out of place in an Epistle in which he is recalling them to the substance of his first preaching. The meaning then will be, that it was on account of an illness that he first preached in Galatia: i.e. that he was for that reason detained there, and preached, which otherwise he would not have done. On this, see Prolegomena, ii. 3: the fact itself, I cannot help thinking, is plainly asserted here. Beware of conjectural emendation, such as of Peile, for which there is neither warrant nor need.
may mean formerly, but is more probably the first time, with reference to that second visit hinted at below, Gal 4:16, and ch. Gal 5:21. See Prolegomena, Gal 4:3.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Gal 4:13. ) , on account of, by reason of infirmity. Infirmity had not been the cause of his preaching: but yet it proved an advantage [an assistance], owing to which Paul preached more effectively; 2Co 12:9; though it might have seemed that the Galatians would have been the more easily disposed to reject him on account of it.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Gal 4:13
Gal 4:13
but ye know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you the first time:-They did not while he was among them injure or annoy him, but in infirmity of the flesh he preached to them and they kindly received him, more than kindly received him, as the following verses show. He at his first coming among them preached with some fleshly infirmity. That infirmity is referred to on several occasions, but no clue is given by which to determine what it was. Of it Paul says: And by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted overmuch, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be exalted overmuch. Concerning this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2Co 12:7-9). I take it that this refers to some fleshly weakness of Paul.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
through: 1Co 2:3, 2Co 10:10, 2Co 11:6, 2Co 11:30, 2Co 12:7-10, 2Co 13:4
at: Gal 1:6, Act 16:6
Reciprocal: Lev 13:40 – hair is fallen off his head Mat 18:10 – heed Act 20:19 – with all 2Co 4:7 – in Gal 4:14 – ye Heb 4:2 – unto us Heb 5:2 – is compassed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gal 4:13. -But ye know. So far from doing me any injury, your treatment of me was the very opposite-ye wronged me in nothing; on the other hand, , ye know that. is wanting in D1, F, but found in A, B, C, and it is supported by the Vulgate. The demonstrative introduces the series of clauses describing the facts of his first reception, which were matter of knowledge to them. He does not say, Ye remember, as if an act of reminiscence were needed, but, Ye know. And first he says-
-that on account of weakness of my flesh I preached the gospel unto you the first time. The phrase -Vulgate, jam prius-might point to an early time, or formerly: Joh 6:62; Joh 7:51; Joh 9:8; Sept. Deu 2:12, Jos 10:9 (Usteri). But it here refers to the apostle’s first visit. Heb 4:6; Heb 7:27. Had he been once only in Galatia, the phrase would have been superfluous. The article gives emphasis to the expression. Some indeed affirm that Paul paid only one visit to the Galatian province. Thus Grotius interprets against the true construction-nempe cum praesens essem, nam et absens eos docet; but a simple docet falls short of that oral teaching which is expressed by the verb . The phrase , literally rendered, can have only one meaning-on account of infirmity of the flesh, that is, on account of bodily weakness. Winer, 49, c. This meaning of is found in Act 2:26; Act 2:31, Col 1:22, and such is the regular sense of with the accusative. On account of bodily infirmity the apostle preached during his first visit to Galatia. We cannot explain it. Either, travelling through the country, he was seized with sickness, and being unable to prosecute his journey, he employed his leisure in preaching; or, some malady detaining him longer in the province than he had intended or expected, he devoted what strength he had, or what strength was returning to him, to a hearty and successful proclamation of the good tidings. This strictly grammatical sense given to the clause is in complete harmony with the context, as the exegesis of the following verse will show; and to suppose a change of case is contrary to any real example in the New Testament. It is wrong, therefore, to evade this literal and only admissible meaning by giving the preposition the meaning of under, as is done by not a few commentators. Thus Chrysostom: While I preached to you, I was scourged, I suffered a thousand deaths; yet ye thought no scorn of me. OEcumenius and Theophylact explain it as , and the Vulgate, per infirmitatem. Luther, too, Olshausen, Matthies, follow this exegesis; and Brown says it is equivalent to . Jowett’s explanation is similar, and also that of Turner. In such a case would require the genitive, for such a phrase as belongs to poetry. Bernhardy, p. 236. Some dilute the meaning, as Calvin: abjectus et in hominum conspectu nullius pretii; and similarly Rosenmller, Koppe, and Borger. Others understand the phrase of persecutions. Thus Grotius: per varios casus, per mille pericula rerum perrexi, ut vos instituerem. Jatho, going still beyond this, and taking as denoting sinful humanity, gives the weakness of humanity to save itself as the ground of all Paul’s preaching. Bengel gets clear of the supposed difficulty by the allegation that sickness was not the cause of the preaching, sed adjumentum cur Paulus efficacius praedicaret. Similarly Schott-that the apostle continuing to preach assidue et alacriter, notwithstanding his sickness, had a great effect on the minds of the Galatians. Semler thinks that the phrase refers to timidity, which kept the apostle from openly withstanding the supporters of Judaism! Baumgarten-Crusius takes the allusion to be to some Befangenheit und Verlegenheit-perplexity and dilemma-occasioned by the antipathy to him of the Jewish element in those communities. Lastly, Jerome propounds this strange explanation: Per infirmitatem autem non suae sed audientium, qui non poterant carnem subjicere verbo Dei. Estius, Hug, and Rettig follow him. But there wants some qualifying particle to bring out such a meaning, and the of the following verse seems to decide that the reference is to himself. Gwynne denies that the grammatical sense suits the context, and suggests that it would have fitted the apostle, instead of saying on account of, to say in spite of, my weakness in the flesh. Peile also calls the proper translation utterly irreconcilable with the context, adding, we would gladly read . Jowett thus defends his view: In the interpretation of we have to choose between ordinary Greek usage and the sense of the passage; but how, except through the Greek usage, can the sense of this or any Greek passage be ascertained? Nor have the prepositions such uncertainty of usage as he ascribes to Paul. Classical precision may not be uniformly predicated of them, but their generic sense is always preserved even in rhetorical accumulations. The plain meaning then, without resort to grammatical torture, undue dilution, or remote reference, is, that in some way or other unknown to us, but quite known to the Galatians, bodily weakness led the apostle to preach, or to continue to preach, in Galatia at his first visit; and he goes on to say, that in spite of this, he met with a most cordial welcome, and with great success. It is needless to allege that if he had been sick or ill, he could not have preached. For what know we of the real nature of the malady? It might be so severe or of such a character as to prevent him from travelling, but not from preaching. What know we of his bodily infirmities, caught by infection or brought on by persecution?-for he was in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent,-or created by numerous causes, for he was in weariness and painfulness, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. What know we of the maladies and sudden attacks incident to a constitution which had been so tried and enfeebled, and into which had been sent also a thorn in the flesh? (Suicer, sub voce .)
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Verse 13. Through infirmity of the flesh. That is, in spite of this infirmity, Paul preached the Gospel to these Galatians and they gladly accepted it. For more comments on this infirmity, see those at 2Co 12:7.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Gal 4:13. But ye know that on account of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you the former time. On account of or because of is the only correct translation of the Greek text,[1] not through (as in the E. V.), nor in, nor amid. The infirmity, whatever it was, is here represented as the occasion of Pauls preaching (not as the condition during his preaching). It seems that he intended first merely to pass through Galatia, on his second large missionary tour, but was detained there by some undefined bodily infirmity or sickness, and thus induced to preach the gospel. This would place the love of the Galatians to him in a still stronger light, since he had no claim upon it, and became their benefactor, so to speak, only by accident. Conybeare well expresses the sense by translating, somewhat too freely: On the contrary, although it was sickness (as you know) which caused me to preach the glad-tidings to you at my first visit, yet you neither scorned nor loathed the bodily infirmity which was my [your] trial. In the absence of further information, the exact character of this infirmity of the flesh cannot be determined, except that it was a painful, recurrent, and repulsive physical malady, no doubt the same which he calls a thorn in the flesh, 2Co 12:7. This infirmity was a check upon spiritual pride and kept Paul near the cross. God overruled the obstacle for the furtherance of the gospel (as He did afterwards his bonds, Php 1:12), and manifested the strength of His supernatural grace in and through the weakness of nature, comp. 2Co 12:9 : (My) strength is made perfect in weakness. See Excursus below.The former time, on the first of my two visits. Paul had been twice in Galatia before writing this Epistle, comp. Act 16:6; Act 18:23. At his second visit (Act 18:23) the pleasant relation was already disturbed by the intermeddling of the Judaizing teachers, as intimated in Gal 4:16.
[1] with the accusative, not with the genitive. Sometimes the preposition with the accusative has the temporal sense (during a period of sickness), but only in poetry and rarely.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. A singular instance which St. Paul gives of his sincere affection towards these Galatians, he preached the gospel to them at first, and this both with difficulty and danger, through the infirmity of the flesh; that is, through much bodily weakness and imperfections. The ancients say St. Paul was little man, and had some deformity or crookedness of body, and imperfection in his utterance, which rendered both his person and his speech contemptible. These bodily infirmities he calls a temptation; intimating, that the afflictions of the body are great temptations to the soul. And besides these bodily infirmities, he encountered also with persecutions in preaching the gospel to them; which were evidences and convincing demonstrations of his fervent love and affectionate regard towards them: Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel to you at the first.
Observe, 2. The reciprocal returns of love and affection which the Galatians made to St. Paul, at his first coming among them to preach the gospel; they received him as an angel of God, or as a messenger from God sent unto them, yea, as Jesus Christ, as if Christ himself had been there in person, and preached to them: Nay, so warm were their affections then to St. Paul at his first coming amongst them, that they did not only pull open their purses, but had it been possible for them, or profitable to him, they could even have plucked out their very eyes for him. But note, it was at his first coming amongst them, and preaching to them.
Whence we may observe, that the first years of a minister’s preaching to, and amongst a people, are usually most successful: then our people’s affections are warmest, and perhaps our own too: Our people then hear us without any kind of prejudice against us, with great desire and delight; afterwards their affections cool, either through their own inconstancy, or our inadvertency, or by the malice of Satan, or by the mischievous designs and misrepresentations of some of his instruments.
Observe farther, that the love and reverence which the people owe to their ministers, should not be verbal and in profession only, but real and in sincerity; they ought to part with what is dear to them, to promote the work of God in their houses. There was a time when these Galatians would have given all they had to the apostle, money out of their purse, bread from their table, yea, blood out of their veins, and the very eyes out of their head: I bear you record, that you would even have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.
Learn, lastly, that it is a high commendation to a people, when neither poverty nor deformity, nor any deficiency, which may render a minister of the gospel base and contemptible in the estimation of the world, can possibly diminish anything of that respect which they know to be due and payable unto him. Notwithstanding the Galatians knew the infirmity and temptation of the apostle, yet they received him (at first) as an angel of God.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
but ye know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you the first time
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 13
Through infirmity of the flesh; that is, suffering under infirmity of the flesh. (Comp. 2 Corinthians 12:7.)
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. 14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, [even] as Christ Jesus.
Paul had a problem when he was there originally, but he went ahead and preached to them anyway. He was ministering to them in spite of his limitations. In spite of this they accepted him and his message as from God, as though he was an angel from God. They realized their lostness and understood the salvation that he was offering.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
4:13 Ye know how through {m} infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
(m) Many afflictions.