3:1–2  The apostle begins this section of his letter by addressing his readers as foolish Galatians! This designation appears to have been a common one for the Galatian tribes who were often considered barbarians and “foolish.” The ancient Greek writer Callimachus (c. 305–c. 240 B.C.), for instance, uses the word as if it were a standard epithet, writing: “the foolish tribe of the Galatians” (Hymn 4, To Delos [Mair, LCL]).

Paul uses this epithet to remind the Galatians that they need not be as they once were and that in listening to the rival evangelists they are acting from their former ignorance instead of from their new life in Christ. In 3:3 he will repeat the word “foolish,” where it is used to stress a turning away from what the Galatians know.

Paul is on the side of his converts, for …