Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Galatians 5:12
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
I would they were even cut off which trouble you.] These words are a solemn wish of the apostle's with respect to the false teachers, or an imprecation of the judgment of God upon them; that they might be cut off out of the land of the living by the immediate hand of God, that they might do no more mischief to the churches of Christ: this he said not out of hatred to their persons, but from a concern for the glory of God, and the good of his people. The word here used answers to the Hebrew word jpq, and which is often made use of by the Jews in solemn imprecations; we read f110 of a righteous man, wynb ta jpqm, “that cut off his children”: the gloss upon it is, “he used to say, when he made any imprecation, ynb ta jpqa, “may I cut off my children”;” that is, may they die, may they be cut off by the hand of God, and I bury them; “says R. Tarphon f111, may my children be “cut off”, if these books of heretics come into my hands, that I will burn them;” and says the same Rabbi f112 may I “cut off” my children, or may my children be cut off, if this sentence or constitution is cut off, or should perish. There is another use of this word, which may have a place here, for it sometimes signifies to confute a person, or refute his notion f113. “It is a tradition of the Rabbius, that after the departure of R. Meir, R. Judah said to his disciples, let not the disciples of R. Meir come in hither, for they are contentious; and not to learn the law do they come, but twklhb ynjpql, “to cut me off”; (i.e. as the gloss says, to show how sharp they are that none can stand against them;) to confute and overcome me, by their sentences, or constitutions.” So the apostle here might wish that the mouths of these false teachers were stopped, their notions refuted, that they might give them no more trouble; to which agrees the Arabic version; “they that trouble you I wish they were dumb”; or that their mouths were stopped, as such vain talkers should be; (see <560110>Titus 1:10,11) or the sense of the apostle is, that it was his will and desire that these men should be cut off from the communion of the church; with which views he mentions the proverbial expression in (<480509>Galatians 5:9) with which compare (<460506>1 Corinthians 5:6,7) or that they would cut themselves off, by withdrawing from them, going out from among them, and leaving them as these men sometimes did.
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