Charles Ellicott Commentary Galatians 1:8

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema." — Galatians 1:8 (ASV)

Though.—The Greek is, strictly, even though, marking an extreme and improbable supposition.

We.—It seems, perhaps, too much to say, in the face of 2 Thessalonians 2:2 (by letter as from us), that St. Paul never used the plural in speaking of himself alone. Still there may, both there and here, be some thought of associating his more immediate companions (the brethren which are with me,Galatians 1:2) with himself, the more so as he knew them to be entirely at one with him in doctrine.

Than that.—The Greek has here, not a conjunction, but a preposition, the precise sense of which is ambiguous. It may mean “besides,” “in addition,” or it may mean “contrary to.” The first of these senses has met with the most favour from Protestant, the second from Roman Catholic commentators, as, on the one hand, it seemed to exclude, and on the other to admit, the appeal to tradition. Looking at it strictly in connection with the context, the sense “contrary” seems best, because the gospel taught by the Judaising teachers was “another,” in the sense of being different from that of St. Paul. It was a fundamental opposition of principles, not merely the addition of certain new doctrines to the old.

Accursed.—See 1 Corinthians 16:22. The original Greek word is retained in the translation, Let him be Anathema. The word exists in two forms, with a long e and a short e respectively; and whereas its original meaning was simply that of being “devoted to God,” the form with the long vowel came by gradual usage to be reserved for the good side of this: “devoted, in the sense of consecration”; while the form with the short vowel was similarly reserved for the bad sense: “devoted to the curse of God.” Attempts have been made to weaken its significance in this passage by restricting it to “excommunication by the Church;” but this, though a later ecclesiastical use of the word, was not current at such an early date.

When considering the dogmatic application, it is important to remember the nature of the heretical doctrines that the Apostle aimed to denounce. These doctrines made no claim to be derived from his own but were in radical and avowed opposition to them.

Still, there is room to believe that if the Apostle could have reviewed his own words at a calmer moment, he might have said of himself: “I spoke as a man.”