Bible Commentary

Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if [it had been] possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me. 15. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of] The last three words are not in the original. They are a paraphrase … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:15”

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. 14. And my temptation ] The true reading is probably ‘ your temptation’. The Apostle’s sickness was a trial of their faith. Like his Divine Master, he had no natural … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:14”

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 … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:13”

Brethren, I beseech you, be as I [am]; for I [am] as ye [are]: ye have not injured me at all. 12 20. Personal Appeal The Apostle now makes a personal appeal, marked by deep affection and earnestness. “Brethren, I beseech you, become as I am, free yourselves from the trammels of the ceremonial law … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:12”

I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain. 11. I am afraid of you ] Sad thought, that all the toil which he had undergone on their behalf might prove to have been in vain! The possibility of such a result softens his tone, and as he thinks of … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:11”

Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 10. Perhaps this verse should be read interrogatively, ‘Do ye observe &c.?’ or the construction may be carried on from the preceding verse, ‘How is it that ye are turning, that ye are observing &c.?’ Ye observe ] The whole meaning of the verse depends on … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:10”

But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 9. now, after that ye have known are known ] The word rendered ‘known’ is different in the original from that so rendered … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:9”

Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. Danger of going back to the observance of the legal ceremonial. 8 11 8. Notwithstanding, is it so that you who once were idolaters and ignorant of God, yet after having been brought to the knowledge of … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:8”

Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. 7. The conclusion of the argument is not stated didactically, but made emphatic by its personal form, passing from ‘we’ to ‘ye’, from ‘ye’ to ‘thou’. no more a servant ] rather no longer … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:7”

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 6. In proof of this, as in ch. Gal 3:2, St Paul appeals to their own experience. Man by nature does not regard God, much less does he pray to Him, as a father. If … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Galatians 4:6”