Historical Commentary on the Galatians by William M. Ramsay

Sir William Mitchell Ramsay’s Historical Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians was based on his own travels in Turkey in the late 19th Century. This research made him the foremost authority on the subject of his day and convinced the initially sceptical Ramsay that the New Testament was historically accurate. My thanks to Book Aid for making this public domain title available for digitisation.

William M. Ramsay [1851-1939], A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1899. Hbk. pp.478. [Click to visit the Galatians page for the download link for this title and other resources on this letter]

Table of Contents

• Preface

1. Preliminary
2. North Galatia: Land and Peoples
3. Pre-Galatic History of North Galatia
4. The Pre-Gaulish Inhabitants of Galatia
5. The Religion of Asia Minor
6. Settlement of the Gauls in Galatia
7. The History of Galatia B.C. 232-64
8. The North Galatian State
9. The Religion of North Galatia
10. Galatia as a Roman Client State
11. Origin of the Province Galatia
12. History of the Province Galatia, B.C. 25-A.D. 50
13. Civilisation of North Galatia under the Roman Empire
14. Language and Letters in North Galatia
15. The Influence of Christianity in North Galatia
16. Later History of the Province Galatia
17. The Cities and the Peoples of South Galatia
18. The Jews in South Galatia
19. Pisidian Antioch
20. Iconium
21. Lystra
22. Derbe
23. Summary
    

• Historical Commentary

Preface

The attempt is made in this book to show how much light the Epistle to the Galatians throws on contemporary history in the widest sense-the history of religion, society, thought, manners, education- in the Eastern Provinces of the Empire. The introductory study of society and religion in Central Asia Minor may seem perhaps too elaborate; but it could not be put more briefly if any adequate conception were to be given of the forces acting on the minds of Paul’s Galatian hearers.

The Commentary is intended to be complete in itself, able to be read and folly understood without continually looking back to the Introduction. The Commentary was written first, and published in the Expositor, June,1898-September, 1899. Many passages have now been completely rewritten (after the Introduction had been composed), three chapters have been suppressed and eleven added.

My first intention was tacitly to carry out the South Galatian Theory, leaving the reader to contrast the flood of light thrown on South Galatia by the Epistle with its barrenness as regards North Galatia…

Page vii

Perhaps less well known is William M. Ramsay’s Historical Commentary on the Epistles to the Corinthians. This was originally Published in The Expositor, sixth series, 1900-1901 in 10 articles, but is available here as one file.