Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Galatians 2:3

ἀλλʼ. So far from any hindrance to my work resulting from the interview.

οὐδὲ. Not even though Titus was both my companion and a Greek.

Τ. ὁ σὺν ἐμοὶ. Actually with me in Jerusalem, exposed to all the opposition. This would be increased by the inconvenience of having a Gentile fellow-believer with whom many Jewish Christians would not even eat.

Ἕλλην ὤν. Ἕ.: Greek, not merely Gentile. It would hardly be applied to any non-Jew, e.g. Roman or Egyptian, but only to any Greek-speaking non-Jew, who was, therefore, presumably, of Greek origin. But because Aryan culture and religion had, since the days of Antiochus, come to Judaea by way of Greek-speaking persons, “Greek” came to mean very nearly “non-Jew.”

ἠναγκάσθη περιτμηθῆναι. Some have strangely laid such stress on ἠναγκάσθη as to argue that Titus was circumcised, not compulsorily indeed, but by way of kindly feeling on St Paul’s part (see Galatians 2:5 note). If so he had better have said nothing about it to the Galatians, for he could not well allow him to be circumcised and blame them when they seriously thought of circumcision for themselves, ἠναγκάσθη in reality only suggests the greatness of the pressure brought to bear on St Paul. The form of the sentence suggests that neither the Church at Jerusalem generally nor οἱ δοκοῦντες brought pressure to bear on the circumcision of so well-known a Gentile as Titus. The attempt of others to secure this failed (see Zahn).

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Galatians 2:3

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