Galatians 4:15 - Exposition

Where is then (or, what was then ) the blessedness ye spake of? ( ποῦ οὖν [Receptus τίς οὖν ἦν ] ὁ μακαρισμὸς ὑμῶν ;); where , then , is that gratulation of yourselves (or, of yours )? The reading, ποῦ οὖν , which is that of the best manuscripts, is now generally accepted in preference to that of the Textus Receptus, τίς οὖν ἦν , in which, however, τίς οὖν stands on a higher footing of evidence than the remaining word ἦν . This latter reading may be taken to mean: either, "Of what sort, then, was that gratulation of yours? "that is, what was its value in respect to the depth of conviction on which it was founded?— τίς being qualis , as Luke 10:22 ; Luke 19:3 , etc., which would bring us to much the same result as ποῦ : or, "How great, then, was that gratulation of yours!" But the "then" ( οὖν ) comes in lamely; τότε ("at that time") would have been more in place; and, further, it is questionable whether the τίς of admiration ever occurs without the wonder taking a tinge of inquiry, as, for example, Mark 6:2 ; Luke 5:21 ; Colossians 1:27 , which would be out of place here. With the more approved reading, ποῦ οὖν , the apostle asks, "What is, then, become of that gratulation of yourselves?" The "then" recites the fact, implied in the description given of their former behaviour, that they did once felicitate themselves on the apostle's having brought them the gospel. This is more directly brought into view in the words which follow. As the verb μακαρίζω means "pronounce happy," as Luke 1:48 and James 5:11 , the substantive μακαρισμὸς denotes "pronouncing one to be happy;" as Romans 4:6 , Romans 4:9 . So Clement of Rome ('Ad Cor.,' 50), who weaves the apostle's words into his own sentence with the same meaning. This felicitation must have been pronounced by the Galatians upon themselves, not upon the apostle; the apostle would have spoken of himself on the object of their εὐλογία , not of their μακαρισμός . For I bear you record ( μαρτυρῶ γὰρ ὑμῖν ); for I bear you witness ; testify on your behalf; the phrase always denoting commendation ( Romans 10:2 ; Colossians 4:13 ). Compare "Ye were running well," Galatians 5:3 . The verb denotes a deliberate, almost solemn, averment. That, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me ( ὅτι εἰ δυνατόν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν ἐξορύξαντες ἐδώκατέ [Receptus, ἂν ἐδώκατε ] μοι ,); that , if possible , ye had spirted out your eyes to give them to me. The phrase, ἐξορύσσειν ὀφθαλμούς , occurs in the Septuagint of 16:21 and 1 Samuel 11:2 , Hebrew, "bore out the eyes." The omission of the ἄν , which is rejected by recent editors, perhaps intimates the certainty and readiness with which they would have done it; but the particle occurs very sparingly in the New Testament as compared with classical Greek. There seems something strange in the specification of this particular form of evidencing zealous attachment. If there had otherwise appeared any question of making gifts, the apostle might have been construed to mean, "Ye were ready to give me anything, your very eyes even;" but this is not the case. Possibly the particular mention of "the Churches of Galatia" in 1 Corinthians 16:1 may have been occasioned by their having shown an especial readiness, even at the apostle's second sojourn among them, to take part in the collection referred to; or by their having been the first Churches he came to in that particular tour, the directions which he gave to them being given also to all the Churches he went on to visit; but on this point see Introd. p. 16. The tone of Galatians 6:6-10 does not betoken especial open-handedness on their part, unless, perhaps, the words, "let us not grow weary," hint at a liberality once displayed but now declined from. On the whole, this specification of "eyes" seems rather to point to there having been something amiss with the apostle's own eyes, either from ophthalmia or as the effect of personal outrage perpetrated upon him. It is especially deserving of notice how the apostle, in the two clauses of this verse, links together their joy in their newly found Christian blessedness with their grateful love to himself; the latter fact is adduced as proof of the former. Their gospel happiness, he feels, was indissolubly woven in with their attachment to him: if they let go their joy in Christ Jesus, as, apart from any qualification to be acquired by observances of the Law of Moses, their all-sufficient righteousness, they must also of necessity become estranged from him, who was nothing if not the exponent and herald to them of that happiness. This consideration is of great moment for the right understanding of the next verse.