Galatians 1:15-16a, Paul's "revealing"

15 But when [God]1, who set me apart from my mother’s womb2 and called me through his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal3 his son in me, so that I might preach him among the gentiles... Galatians 1:15-16a

Introduction

Here is the answer to the question that I posed in the last blog.  For those that are local to the Jackson, MS metro area, please join us at TurningPointe Church for our Greek Studies class in Galatians starting January 25th, at 7:00pm.  For directions or questions, please contact me at rbeatty5@gmail.com.  Thanks!!!

1 [ὁ θεὸς] (God)

[ὁ θεὸς] is in brackets because it may not be original to the text. Original or not, God is the subject of the sentence whether implied or originally placed. I left it in if for no other reason than clarity.

2 ὁ ἀφορίσας με ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου (who set me apart from my mother’s womb)

This passage shows Paul’s jewishness as he used a common phrase from the Old Testament here. In this case, he is paraphrasing from the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The phrase can mean either “since I was born” or “since before I was born”. It is probably the latter as that is how it is applied in the Old Testament.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

3 ἀποκαλύψαι (to reveal)

ἀποκαλύπτω (apocalypto) means “to reveal” or “to unveil”. The noun form of the verb is used in verse 12 (ἀποκάλυψις). ἀποκάλυψις is apocalypse in english and is also the name of our final book in the New Testament. It is traditionally translated as “revelation”, but it really means “the revealing”. God revealed his son in Paul; both outwardly, as Paul saw Jesus on his way to Damascus, and inwardly, as Paul was completely transformed as the Spirit of God filled him.

The Greek

15 Ὅτε δὲ εὐδόκησεν [ὁ θεὸς] ὁ ἀφορίσας με ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου καὶ καλέσας διὰ τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ 16 ἀποκαλύψαι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐμοί, ἵνα εὐαγγελίζωμαι αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν...