1:22

Paul had spent only two weeks in Jerusalem. So the believers in the district of Judea did not know him. (Jerusalem is in the district of Judea.) However, they did hear about his ministry. Paul told the Galatians about the reaction of the Judean believers when they heard about his preaching in Syria and Cilicia.

Some ways to begin this verse are:

At that time (Good News Translation)
-or-
During that time
-or-
So

I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as personally unknown is literally “being unknown by the face.” Paul meant that the believers in Judea had not yet met him. They had not yet seen his face.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

In Judea the churches in Christ had never met me. (New Century Version)
-or-
And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn’t know me personally. (New Living Translation (2004))

In this clause, Paul continued to focus on the fact that he did not receive the gospel from people. He wanted to emphasize that he was not under the authority of the leaders in Jerusalem. (The city of Jerusalem is in the district of Judea.)

the churches…that are in Christ: This phrase refers to the groups of people who believe in Christ.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

group of people who believe in Christ
-or-
believers in Christ
-or-
Christians

The word churches does not refer to church buildings.

The word church first occurs in 1:2b. See also church in the Glossary for more information.

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