Galatians 2:17-19 – “Somewhat Obscure?”

 Once again, here is my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁷But if we ourselves are also found [to be] sinners [while] seeking to be justified in Christ, then [is] Christ a servant of sin? May it never be! ¹⁸For if I am building again those things which I destroyed, I am presenting myself [to be] a trespasser, ¹⁹for through the Law I died to the Law that I might live to God.

I find the logic and logical flow of this passage somewhat elusive. Interestingly, Barnes says, “The connection here is not very clear, and the sense of the verse is somewhat obscure.” It’s always nice to know someone else feels the same! Even Eadie calls it a “difficult verse,” and goes on to say, “The structure of the verse … prevents it from being well rendered into English …”

This definitely happens from time to time in the Bible. As I’ve studied along verse by verse down through the years, there have definitely been passages like this where I can translate the words, diagram the grammatical structure, read it over and over, and yet still struggle to follow its logic.

Why does this happen?

Sometimes I wonder if their minds were simply clearer 2000 years ago. As I read history, observe archaeological findings, and just all around in life I see a lot of other indications that this is so. We think because we have computers and technology that we are the intelligent ones and everyone who lived before us was ignorant. “Why, people 2000 years ago were practically cave men!” I don’t think that at all the case. What we have today is collective knowledge but I fear that we as individuals are far behind the mental acumen even of our grandparents, and how much more so the ancients? So it’s possible that is the problem with verses like this. They are simply speaking in a logic that was for them child’s play but which to us remains obscure.

It’s also possible it is simply a cultural difference. I have long realized from exegeting ancient languages (Hebrew and Greek, specifically) that a people’s language is actually a window into their culture. What they say and how they say it is sometimes distinct to them because it reflects what they find important (or not). It will always blow my mind to realize there is no real past, present, or future tense in Hebrew. We could not speak in English if we were unable to express whether we meant past, present, or future! Time means everything to us. It apparently meant nothing to them. That is an enormous cultural difference expressed through the very structure of a people’s language. When it comes to the passage before us, we can translate the words, study the grammatical structure, and do our best to translate it into English, but perhaps because we simply do not share their culture, we may be left a little confused as to what exactly they’re saying.

One last explanation would be the problem of context. We all know how a group of friends, classmates, co-workers, or perhaps a family can say things which they all understand but no one else does. “You had to be there.” “It’s an ‘inside joke.’” It’s true of history, jokes, catch phrases, etc. When people share a context they can begin to communicate in a sort of verbal shorthand. They don’t need to explain themselves. They all know what they mean. But if you come in as an outsider, you’re like, “Huh?” It’s very possible that is often a problem studying an ancient language. We simply do not share their context. For instance, Paul’s suggestion that justification by faith makes Christ the “minister of sin” could easily have been an assertion of the Judaizers. The Galatians would know that immediately. We’re just left with, “Huh?”

All of this does not mean we cannot understand the writings of ancients. Usually (as I think is true of the passage before us) their point is obvious enough. It’s just that it can be difficult to follow their logic line by line and word by word. Frankly, I think it just means we ought to study all the more carefully and humbly, realizing we are studying someone else’s language. …And we shouldn’t be surprised when, “The structure of the verse … prevents it from being well rendered into English …” It is simply a fact of working with someone else’s language and would be true whether what we’re studying is Scripture or any other ancient document or even something contemporary. Translation simply cannot always be a neat and tidy business.

Having said all this, I’ll come back and try to unravel this “difficult” passage in another blog.