Paul’s usual practice is to mention by name those who are with him at the time of writing. Here, however, he mentions no name but only refers to his companions as all the brothers who are here. Brothers usually means “fellow Christians,” although it is very possible that here Paul is referring to his fellow missionaries. There has been a great deal of speculation and guesswork as to who these brothers are. One could wish that Paul had named them so that the writing and reception of the letter could be better defined historically and geographically; but they remain anonymous for a very good reason: it is Paul’s intention to defend himself against the attacks of his opponents without help from anyone.
In a number of languages the brothers must be rendered as “fellow Christians.” If one were to translate brothers literally, the term would have to refer to Paul’s own brothers. If, however, one understands brothers in this context to mean “fellow workers,” it is then possible to translate the term as “all the persons who are working here together with me for the gospel.”
Join me in sending greetings may be rendered in some languages as “are also sending greetings,” or “together with me they are sending greetings.”
The intended recipients of the letter are now identified: the churches of Galatia. Churches, of course, refers to various local congregations in Galatia. As to the location of Galatia, there are two possibilities: Paul may be referring to the geographical area known as Galatia, or to the political province of the same name. Arguments for both positions abound, and any modern commentary on Galatians will give a summary of the arguments. The weight of scholarly opinion tends to favor the latter view, that is, that Paul wrote to the churches in the Roman province of Galatia in Asia Minor, the towns of which he visited during his first and second missionary journeys (see Acts chapters 13, 14, and 16.1-5).
The question of which Galatia is intended is tied up with the problem of the date of this letter. Many scholars hold the opinion that Galatians was the first letter written by Paul, and they assign to it a date as early as the year 47 or 48 A.D. A later date, however, is suggested by the similarity of this letter to letters of Paul which clearly were written at a later date, particularly Romans and the Corinthian correspondence. The similarity tends to show that all these letters were probably written close to each other. If that is the case, the letter to the Galatians may have been written either during Paul’s second missionary journey or before the start of the third. This also makes it possible to equate Paul’s visit to Jerusalem mentioned in Galatians 2 with the visit recorded in Acts 15, when Paul and Barnabas attended the Jerusalem council.
In some languages it is almost a matter of necessity to indicate the nature of Galatia. One must translate “the churches in the province of Galatia,” or “… the region of Galatia,” depending upon one’s interpretation as to which Galatia is intended.
In selecting a term for churches, it is important to avoid an expression which will merely refer to buildings. Paul’s reference here is to groups of believers or “believers who meet together in various places.”
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .