Galatians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹  an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead)

Galatians 1:17

1:17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem ²  to see those who were apostles before me, but right away I departed to Arabia, ³  and then returned to Damascus.

Galatians 5:6

5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. ⁴ 

---

¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

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

³ 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.

⁴ tn Grk “but faith working through love.”