The leaders are finally identified as James, Peter, and John. James is probably the same as the one identified as the Lord’s brother in 1.19. John is probably the Apostle of that name, the brother of another James (Acts 12.1-2), one of the sons of Zebedee. The order of their names probably suggests their position in the Jerusalem church.
These three men are described as those who seemed to be the leaders (literally, a figurative expression “who are reputed to be pillars”), a description which most commentaries interpret as synonymous with similar expressions in 2.2 and 2.6. “Pillars” is a designation of those upon whom responsibility rests; it was used by Jews in speaking of the great teachers of the Law.
Recognized that God had given me this special task is literally “when they perceived the grace that was given to me.” Many interpreters understand this to be essentially synonymous with “I had been entrusted with the gospel” in verse 7. Others, however, understand “grace” to mean the favor or privilege which God has given to Paul in making him an apostle (compare Rom 1.5). The implicit subject of the expression (God) is made explicit in Good News Translation and other translations (for example, Phillips, New English Bible). Had given me this special task may be rendered as “had caused me to have this special work,” “had told me that this was my work to do,” or “had assigned me to this special work.”
It is particularly important to make clear the relation between the first part of this verse and what follows, namely, the fact that the leaders extended the hand of fellowship to Barnabas and Paul. This result is indicated by the conjunction so. In some languages it may be necessary to say “because of this,” “as a result of this,” or even “because they recognized this.”
They shook hands with Barnabas and me, as a sign that we were all partners is literally “they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship.” The whole action means entering into a covenant, a binding agreement between two parties, a pledge that they will abide by what is agreed upon. “Fellowship” introduces the idea of partnership. While many translations retain the original expression, others restructure it to express its meaning more clearly (New English Bible “accepted Barnabas and myself as partners, and shook hands upon it”; Jerusalem Bible “shook hands with Barnabas and me as a sign of partnership”). In a number of languages, however, the fact of shaking hands does not necessarily indicate agreement. In fact, it may suggest merely that Paul and Barnabas were at the point of leaving. A more appropriate equivalent in some languages may be “they showed that they were in agreement with Barnabas and me,” “they showed that they agreed with us by shaking hands with us,” or “they made us partners by shaking hands with us.”
Partners may be expressed as “persons who were working together,” “persons who shared work,” or even “persons who saw that one another’s work was also good.”
The agreement itself involved a division of labor. Barnabas and I would work among the Gentiles and they among the Jews is literally “that we to the Gentiles and they to the circumcision.” The implicit action may be “go” (as in most translations), “preach,” or the more inclusive expression (as in Good News Translation), work among.
It is not clear whether the division here described is territorial or racial. The problem is particularly complex because Jews were scattered in the so-called Gentile lands and there were many Gentiles living in Palestine. Does “Gentiles” mean Gentile lands or Gentile people, and does “circumcised” mean Jewish lands or Jewish people? It is possible that what is meant here is people and that the division is racial rather than territorial. But it is more likely that the meaning is that Paul would preach the gospel in Gentile lands, but to Gentiles and Jews, while Peter would work in the Jewish homeland, Palestine. In order to indicate the regional meaning involved, one may translate “we would work where the Gentiles mainly lived, and they where the Jews mainly lived.”
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 .