Galatians 1:2

Syriac Peshitta (NT Only)

ܘܟ݂ܽܠܗܽܘܢ ܐܰܚܶܐ ܕ݁ܥܰܡܝ ܠܥܺܕ݂ܳܬ݂ܳܐ ܕ݁ܺܐܝܬ݂ ܒ݁ܓ݂ܰܠܰܛܺܝܰܐ ܀

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

all: Philippians 2:22, Philippians 4:21

churches: Acts 9:31, Acts 15:41, Acts 16:5, Acts 16:6, Acts 18:23, 1 Corinthians 16:1

Reciprocal: Joshua 22:15 - General 1 Corinthians 1:2 - the church 2 Corinthians 11:31 - God 1 Thessalonians 1:1 - unto the 2 Timothy 4:10 - Galatia 1 Peter 1:1 - Galatia

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And all the brethren which are with me,.... Meaning either the brethren of the church where he was when he wrote this epistle, who were children of the same Father, regenerated by the same grace, belonged to the same family and household of God, and were heirs together of the grace of life; or else his fellow ministers, who were assisting to him in his work, and were companions with him in his travels, and whom he sometimes mentions by name and joins with him in his epistles, as Sosthenes, Silvanus, and Timothy; and the rather he takes notice of the brethren here, whoever are meant, to show that they agreed with him in the doctrines of grace he defends, and in the charges he brought against this church, and in the reproofs and advice he gave them; which he might suppose, and hope, would have the greater weight and influence upon them;

unto the churches of Galatia; Galatia was a country in the lesser Asia, inhabited by the Gauls, who coming thither out of Europe, mixed with the Grecians; whence it was first called Gallo Graecia, and afterwards Galatia; :-. The metropolis of it, as Pliny b says, was formerly Gordium, and the chief towns or cities, according to him, were Ancyra, Tavium, and Pessinus; and in some, or all of these places, it is very probable, were the churches here mentioned; :-. It seems there were more than one in this country; for the primitive churches were not national nor provincial, but congregational, consisting of persons called out of the world, and joined together in holy fellowship and who walked in the commandments and ordinances of the Lord: and though these churches had many among them that were disorderly, and were swerving from the faith of the Gospel, yet were not unchurched, but honoured still with the name of churches, there being no perfection to be expected in this state of things; as not in particular persons, so not in congregated bodies and societies; though it is observed by some, that they are barely called churches, without any additional epithets, as churches of God, beloved of God, called to be saints, faithful and sanctified in Christ, which are bestowed on other churches; whereby the apostle is thought to show his indignation and resentment at their principles and practices. For quickly after the Gospel was preached unto them, false teachers crept in among them, endeavouring to subvert it, by mixing it with the law, and joining Moses and Christ; and in which they very much succeeded; and is the reason of the apostle's writing this epistle.

b Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 32.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And all the brethren which are with me - It was usual for Paul to associate with him the ministers of the gospel, or other Christians who were with him, in expressing friendly salutations to the churches to which he wrote, or as uniting with him, and concurring in the sentiments which he expressed. Though Paul claimed to be inspired, yet it would do much to conciliate favor for what he advanced, if others also concurred with what he said, and especially if they were known to the churches to which the epistles were written. Sometimes the names of others were associated with his in the Epistle; see the 1 Corinthians 1:1 note; Philippians 1:1 note; Colossians 1:1 note; 1 Thessalonians 1:1 note. Since we do not know where this epistle was written, of course we are ignorant who the “brethren” were, who are here referred to. They may have been ministers with Paul, or they may have been the private members of the churches. Commentators have been much divided in opinion on the subject; but all is conjecture. It is obviously impossible to determine.

Unto the churches - How many churches there were in Galatia is unknown. There were several cities in Galatia, as Ancyria, Tavia, Pessinus, etc. It is not improbable that a church had been established in each of the cities, and, since they were not far distant from each other, and the people had the same general character and habits, it is not improbable that they had fallen into the same errors. Hence, the Epistle is directed to them in common.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Galatians 1:2. And all the brethren which are with me — It is very likely that this refers to those who were his assistants in preaching the Gospel, and not to any private members of the Church.

Churches of Galatia — Galatia was a region or province of Asia Minor; there was neither city nor town of this name. See the preface. But as, in this province, St. Paul had planted several Churches, he directs the epistle to the whole of them; for it seems they were all pretty nearly in the same state, and needed the same instructions.