Galatians 2:1-9

Context

Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles

2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem¹ again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too. 2:2 I went there² because of³ a revelation and presented⁴ to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so⁵ only in a private meeting with the influential people,⁶ to make sure that I was not running – or had not run⁷ – in vain. 2:3 Yet⁸ not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek. 2:4 Now this matter arose⁹ because of the false brothers with false pretenses¹⁰ who slipped in unnoticed to spy on¹¹ our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves.¹² 2:5 But¹³ we did not surrender to them¹⁴ even for a moment,¹⁵ in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.¹⁶

2:6 But from those who were influential¹⁷ (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people¹⁸) – those influential leaders¹⁹ added²⁰ nothing to my message.²¹ 2:7 On the contrary, when they saw²² that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised²³ just as Peter was to the circumcised²⁴ 2:8 (for he who empowered²⁵ Peter for his apostleship²⁶ to the circumcised²⁷ also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles)²⁸ 2:9 and when James, Cephas,²⁹ and John, who had a reputation as³⁰ pillars,³¹ recognized³² the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me³³ the right hand of fellowship, agreeing³⁴ that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.³⁵

[2:1] ¹map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:2] ²tn Grk “I went up”; one always spoke idiomatically of going “up” to Jerusalem.

[2:2] ³tn Or “in accordance with.” According to BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.5.a.δ, “Oft. the norm is at the same time the reason, so that in accordance with and because of are merged…Instead of ‘in accordance w.’ κ. can mean simply because of, as a result of, on the basis of…κ. ἀποκάλυψιν Gal 2:2.”

[2:2] ⁴tn Or “set before them.”

[2:2] ⁵tn Grk “Gentiles, but only privately…to make sure.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with “But” and the words “I did so,” an implied repetition from the previous clause, were supplied to make a complete English sentence.

[2:2] ⁶tn L&N 87.42 has “important persons, influential persons, prominent persons” for οἱ δοκοῦντες and translates this phrase in Gal 2:2 as “in a private meeting with the prominent persons.” The “prominent people” referred to here are the leaders of the Jerusalem church.

[2:2] ⁷tn Here the first verb (τρέχω, trecw, “was not running”) is present subjunctive, while the second (ἔδραμον, edramon, “had not run”) is aorist indicative.

[2:3] ⁸tn Grk “But,” translated here as “Yet” for stylistic reasons (note the use of “but” in v. 2).

[2:4] ⁹tn No subject and verb are expressed in vv. 4-5, but the phrase “Now this matter arose,” implied from v. 3, was supplied to make a complete English sentence.

[2:4] ¹⁰tn The adjective παρεισάκτους (pareisaktou"), which relates to someone joining a group with false motives or false pretenses, applies to the “false brothers.” Although the expression “false brothers with false pretenses” is somewhat redundant, it captures the emphatic force of Paul’s expression, which labels both these “brothers” as false (ψευδαδέλφους, yeudadelfou") as well as their motives. See L&N 34.29 for more information.

[2:4] ¹¹tn The verb translated here as “spy on” (κατασκοπέω, kataskopew) can have a neutral nuance, but here the connotation is certainly negative (so F. F. Bruce, Galatians [NIGTC], 112-13, and E. Burton, Galatians [ICC], 83).

[2:4] ¹²tn Grk “in order that they might enslave us.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause with the subjunctive verb καταδουλώσουσιν (katadoulwsousin) has been translated as an English infinitival clause.

[2:5] ¹³tn Grk “slaves, nor did we…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, οὐδέ (oude) was translated as “But…even” and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 5.

[2:5] ¹⁴tn Or “we did not cave in to their demands.”

[2:5] ¹⁵tn Grk “even for an hour” (an idiom for a very short period of time).

[2:5] ¹⁶sn In order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. Paul evidently viewed the demands of the so-called “false brothers” as a departure from the truth contained in the gospel he preached. This was a very serious charge (see Gal 1:8).

[2:6] ¹⁷tn Or “influential leaders.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a.β has “the influential men Gal 2:2, 6b. A fuller expr. w. the same mng., w. inf. added…vss. 6a, 9.” This refers to the leadership of the Jerusalem church.

[2:6] ¹⁸tn Grk “God does not receive the face of man,” an idiom for showing favoritism or partiality (BDAG 887-88 s.v. πρόσωπον 1.b.α; L&N 88.238).

[2:6] ¹⁹tn Or “influential people”; here “leaders” was used rather than “people” for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy with the word “people” in the previous parenthetical remark. See also the note on the word “influential” at the beginning of this verse.

[2:6] ²⁰tn Or “contributed.” This is the same word translated “go to ask advice from” in 1:16, but it has a different meaning here; see L&N 59.72.

[2:6] ²¹tn Or “added nothing to my authority.” Grk “added nothing to me,” with what was added (“message,” etc.) implied.

[2:7] ²²tn The participle ἰδόντες (idontes) has been taken temporally to retain the structure of the passage. Many modern translations, because of the length of the sentence here, translate this participle as a finite verb and break the Greek sentences into several English sentences (NIV, for example, begins new sentences at the beginning of both vv. 8 and 9).

[2:7] ²³tn Grk “to the uncircumcision,” that is, to the Gentiles.

[2:7] ²⁴tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

[2:8] ²⁵tn Or “worked through”; the same word is also used in relation to Paul later in this verse.

[2:8] ²⁶tn Or “his ministry as an apostle.”

[2:8] ²⁷tn Grk “to the circumcision,” i.e., the Jewish people.

[2:8] ²⁸tn Grk “also empowered me to the Gentiles.”

[2:9] ²⁹sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:9] ³⁰tn Or “who were influential as,” or “who were reputed to be.” See also the note on the word “influential” in 2:6.

[2:9] ³¹sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

[2:9] ³²tn The participle γνόντες (gnontes) has been taken temporally. It is structurally parallel to the participle translated “when they saw” in v. 7.

[2:9] ³³tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

[2:9] ³⁴tn Grk “so,” with the ἵνα (Jina) indicating the result of the “pillars” extending the “right hand of fellowship,” but the translation “they gave…the right hand of fellowship so that we would go” could be misunderstood as purpose here. The implication of the scene is that an agreement, outlined at the end of v. 10, was reached between Paul and Barnabas on the one hand and the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church on the other.

[2:9] ³⁵tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.