A Historical Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians

By W. M. Ramsay

Part 2

Historical Commentary

Chapter 51

The Conclusion (Gal 5:1)

Paul now sums up the argument of chapters 3 and 4 in the brief conclusion: “It was with a view to our full freedom (and not for any new kind of slavery) that Christ has set us Christians free from the bondage of sin.1 Stand firm, then, and do not submit yourselves anew to the yoke of slavery.”

The rapid variation between “we” and “you” in the passage Gal 4:21 to Gal 5:1 is full of meaning. The MSS. vary a good deal on this point; but the preponderance of evidence is so clear that all the chief editors adopt the same text so far as that variation is concerned; and the Authorised and Revised Versions agree with them.

At this point Paul would naturally proceed to the warnings set forth in 5:13 ff.; but he turns away for the moment to a digression, Gal 5:2-12.

 

[1] The marginal reading in R.V. (preferred by the American Revisers) is undoubtedly right. Lightfoot reads: “sons of her who is free with the freedom with which Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, etc.” It is difficult to sympathise with Lightfoot in discarding our text, preferred also by Tischendorf, Weiss, Zöckler, etc., and in saying that that text “is so difficult as to be almost unintelligible”.

Book Navigation Title Page Preface Table of Contents Religion in Asia Minor      ► Chapter 1      ► Chapter 2      ► Chapter 3      ► Chapter 4      ► Chapter 5      ► Chapter 6      ► Chapter 7      ► Chapter 8      ► Chapter 9      ► Chapter 10      ► Chapter 11      ► Chapter 12      ► Chapter 13      ► Chapter 14      ► Chapter 15      ► Chapter 16      ► Chapter 17      ► Chapter 18      ► Chapter 19      ► Chapter 20      ► Chapter 21      ► Chapter 22      ► Chapter 23 Historical Commentary      ► Section 1      ► Section 2      ► Section 3      ► Section 4      ► Section 5      ► Section 6      ► Section 7      ► Section 8      ► Section 9      ► Section 10      ► Section 11      ► Section 12      ► Section 13      ► Section 14      ► Section 15      ► Section 16      ► Section 17      ► Section 18      ► Section 19      ► Section 20      ► Section 21      ► Section 22      ► Section 23      ► Section 24      ► Section 25      ► Section 26      ► Section 27      ► Section 28      ► Section 29      ► Section 30      ► Section 31      ► Section 32      ► Section 33      ► Section 34      ► Section 35      ► Section 36      ► Section 37      ► Section 38      ► Section 39      ► Section 40      ► Section 41      ► Section 42      ► Section 43      ► Section 44      ► Section 45      ► Section 46      ► Section 47      ► Section 48      ► Section 49      ► Section 50      ► Section 51      ► Section 52      ► Section 53      ► Section 54      ► Section 55      ► Section 56      ► Section 57      ► Section 58      ► Section 59      ► Section 60      ► Section 61      ► Section 62      ► Section 63      ► Section 64