Galatians 1:11

Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship

1:11 Now ¹  I want you to know, brothers and sisters, ²  that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. ³ 

Galatians 1:17

1:17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem ⁴  to see those who were apostles before me, but right away I departed to Arabia, ⁵  and then returned to Damascus.

Galatians 2:20

2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, ⁶  and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So ⁷  the life I now live in the body, ⁸  I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, ⁹  who loved me and gave himself for me.

[1:11]  ¹ tc ‡ The conjunction δέ (de) is found in Ì⁴⁶ א*^,2 A D¹ Ψ 1739 1881 Ï sy bo, while γάρ (gar) is the conjunction of choice in א¹ B D*^,c F G 33 pc lat sa. There are thus good representatives on each side. Scribes generally tended to prefer γάρ in such instances, most likely because it was more forceful and explicit. γάρ is thus seen as a motivated reading. For this reason, δέ is preferred.

[1:11]  ² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:11]  ³ tn Grk “is not according to man.”

[1:17]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:17]  ⁵ sn As a geographical region Arabia included the territory west of Mesopotamia, east and south of Syria and Palestine, extending to the isthmus of Suez. During the Roman occupation, some independent kingdoms arose like that of the Nabateans south of Damascus, and these could be called simply Arabia. In light of the proximity to Damascus, this may well be the territory Paul says he visited here. See also C. W. Briggs, “The Apostle Paul in Arabia,” Biblical World 41 (1913): 255-59.

[2:20]  ⁷ tn Both the NA²⁷/UBS⁴ Greek text and the NRSV place the phrase “I have been crucified with Christ” at the end of v. 19, but most English translations place these words at the beginning of v. 20.

[2:20]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to bring out the connection of the following clauses with the preceding ones. What Paul says here amounts to a result or inference drawn from his co-crucifixion with Christ and the fact that Christ now lives in him. In Greek this is a continuation of the preceding sentence, but the construction is too long and complex for contemporary English style, so a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:20]  ⁹ tn Grk “flesh.”

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tc A number of important witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ B D* F G) have θεοῦ καὶ Χριστοῦ (qeou kai Cristou, “of God and Christ”) instead of υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ (Juiou tou qeou, “the Son of God”), found in the majority of mss, including several important ones (א A C D¹ Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co). The construction “of God and Christ” appears to be motivated as a more explicit affirmation of the deity of Christ (following as it apparently does the Granville Sharp rule). Although Paul certainly has an elevated Christology, explicit “God-talk” with reference to Jesus does not normally appear until the later books (cf., e.g., Titus 2:13, Phil 2:10-11, and probably Rom 9:5). For different arguments but the same textual conclusions, see TCGNT 524.