The Epistle to the Galatians in Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Written by Paul, as the style proves. The heading and allusions to the apostle of the Gentiles in the first person throughout confirm his authorship (Galatians 1:1; Galatians 1:13-24; Galatians 2:1-14). Irenaeus (Adv. Haer., 3:7, sec. 2, referring to Galatians 3:19), Polycarp (Philippians 3, quoting Galatians 4:26; Galatians 6:7), Justin Martyr (Orat. ad Graecos, alluding to Galatians 4:12; Galatians 5:20), Tertullian (De Praescr., 60), uphold his authorship. The character of the Gallic Celts given by Caesar (B. G., Galatians 4:5) accords with that described in this epistle: "the infirmity of the Gauls is, they are fickle in their resolves, fond of change, and not to be trusted." So Thierry: "flank, impetuous, impressible, eminently intelligent, but extremely inconstant, fond of show, perpetually quarreling, the fruit of excessive vanity." This description is not altogether inapplicable to their descendants in France and Ireland. They received Paul at first with all affection, but soon wavered in their allegiance to the gospel, and hearkened as eagerly to Judaizing teachers as they had before to him (Galatians 4:14-16). Many Jews resided in Ancyra (Josephus, Ant. 16:62); among these probably, as elsewhere, he began his ministry, and from them perhaps emanated the Judaizers who almost induced the Gentile Christians (Galatians 4:8-9), who constituted the majority of the Galatian church, to undergo circumcision (Galatians 1:6; Galatians 3:1; Galatians 3:3; Galatians 5:2-3; Galatians 6:12-13). Accustomed, when pagan, to the mystic worship of Cybele prevalent in the neighboring Phrygia, they the more readily were led to believe that the full privileges of Christianity could only be attained by submitting to elaborate ceremonial symbolism (Galatians 4:9- 11; Galatians 5:7-12)...