Galatians 3:24

New Testament Epistle (Pauline) ASV (1901)

What does Galatians 3:24 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “So that the law is become our tutor [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

So that the law is become our tutor [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Galatians 3:24 — American Standard Version

Context — Galatians 3

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
24So that the law is become our tutor [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster unto Christ, etc..] So the words should be read, as they are by the Syriac and Ethiopic versions; for the words “to bring us” are a supplement of our translators, and have nothing to answer to them in the original; and the sense of the passage is, that the law performed this office of a schoolmaster until the coming of Christ; which shows that till that time the church was in its minority, that the Jews were but children in knowledge and understanding, and therefore stood in need, and were under the care of a schoolmaster, the law, by which the whole Mosaic administration is designed. They were taught by the moral law, the letter, the writing on the two…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“"So that the law hath been (that is, hath turned out to be) our schoolmaster (or "tutor," literally, "pedagogue": this term, among the Greeks, meant a faithful servant entrusted with the care of the boy from childhood to puberty, to keep him from evil, physical and moral, and accompany him to his amusements and studies) to guide us unto Christ," with whom we are no longer "shut up" in bondage, but are freemen. "Children" (literally, infants) need such tutoring (Gal 4:3). might be--rather, "that we may be justified by faith"; which we could not be till Christ, the object of faith, had come. Meanwhile the law, by outwardly checking the sinful propensity which was constantly giving fresh proof…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster - The word rendered schoolmaster (παιδαγωγὸς paidagōgos, whence the word “pedagogue”), referred originally to a slave or freedman, to whose care boys were committed, and who accompanied them to the public schools. The idea here is not that of instructor, but there is reference to the office and duty of the “paedagogus” among the ancients. The office was usually intrusted to slaves or freedmen. It is true, that when the “paedagogus” was properly qualified, he assisted the children committed to his care in preparing their lessons. But still his main duty was not instruction, but it was to watch over the boys; to restrain them from evil and temptation;…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster unto Christ - It was designed to train us up for Christ. And this it did both by its commands, which showed the need we had of his atonement; and its ceremonies, which all pointed us to him. Galatians 3:25”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“3:24 The law is like a child’s guardian (Greek paidagōgos, “tutor”). In Greco-Roman culture, a guardian was a faithful slave responsible for training and protecting the heir until he came of age.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“the law: Gal 3:25, Gal 2:19, Gal 4:2, Gal 4:3; Mat 5:17, Mat 5:18; Act 13:38, Act 13:39; Rom 3:20-22, Rom 7:7-9, Rom 7:24, Rom 7:25; Rom 10:4; Col 2:17; Heb 7:18, Heb 7:19, Heb 9:8-16, Heb 10:1-14 justified: Gal 2:16; Act 13:39 Galatians 3:25”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification