Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 6:11

"See with how large letters I write unto you with mine own hand." — Galatians 6:11 (ASV)

There can be little doubt that Paul took the pen in his own hand at this point and that he did so for at least two purposes: (1) to authenticate the letter, as he seems also to have done on other occasions (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:21; Colossians 4:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:17), and (2) to emphasize his main points. There is less agreement about the meaning of the words “large letters,” though most now see this as referring to the size of his letters. But why write in large letters? It is generally assumed that Paul increased the size of his letters for emphasis, much as in contemporary printing a paragraph is italicized or set in boldface. Another possibility is that Paul’s large letters were due to poor eyesight (cf. 4:15; perhaps also his “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians 12:7).