Galatians 4:13–14

Context

This passage comes from the Epistle to the Galatians, which Paul wrote to the churches of the region of Galatia. In 4:12–20, Paul makes a personal appeal to believers who had come under the influence of teachers demanding observance of the law. Within that appeal, these two verses look back to the time when Paul first met them. He recalls that when he came to them in poor health, they received him "as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus." In the very next verse (4:15) he asks what has become of the joy they had at that time. The argument draws on the closeness they once showed in order to urge believers who have since grown distant to return.

Interpretation

The Greek behind the phrase "through infirmity of the flesh" means "because of weakness." Scholars therefore generally take it to mean that illness caused Paul to remain in Galatia and that this circumstance became the occasion for his preaching of the gospel there. Several conjectures have been offered as to the nature of the illness.

• An eye disease: This reading points to the statement in 4:15 that "ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me," and to Paul's remark in 6:11 that he wrote in large letters.
• Malaria: This view is associated with the British scholar William Ramsay. It holds that Paul contracted a fever in the lowlands and went up into the highlands of southern Galatia.
• Epilepsy or another condition: The word rendered "rejected" in verse 14 literally means "to spit out." This reading notes the ancient custom of spitting at the sight of a seizure-related illness or of something regarded as ill-omened.
• Suspended judgment: This reading holds that the text alone does not allow the illness to be identified and focuses instead on the contrast between Paul's weakness and the Galatians' hospitality.

Many interpreters identify this "infirmity" with the "thorn in the flesh" of 2 Corinthians 12:7–10. It has not been established, however, that the two passages refer to the same thing.

Debates and Issues

• Manuscript variants: In verse 14, manuscripts differ between "your temptation" (or trial) and "my temptation." The Korean Revised Version's rendering, "that which tried you," follows the former reading, meaning that Paul's illness became a test of whether the Galatians would receive him. Other translations, such as the King James Version, render it "my temptation."
• The meaning of "at the first": Some scholars read this expression as "the first of two visits." On that reading, it bears on the debate over the date of Galatians and the identity of its recipients (whether they were in northern or southern Galatia). Others take it simply to mean "formerly."
• Illness and faith: This passage is sometimes cited in discussions between churches that emphasize divine healing and those that do not. One side argues that because even the apostle Paul suffered illness, sickness cannot simply be attributed to a lack of faith. The other side notes that the illness was ultimately used for the spread of the gospel, yet is cautious about generalizing the passage into grounds for abandoning the expectation of healing.

Related Passages

• Galatians 4:15
• Galatians 6:11
• 2 Corinthians 12:7–10
• 2 Corinthians 4:7
• Acts 14:11–12