SEV Biblia, Chapter 4:10
Guardis días, y meses, y tiempos, y aos.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Galatians 4:10
Verse 10. Ye observe days] Ye superstitiously regard the Sabbaths and particular days of your own appointment; And months] New moons; times-festivals, such as those of tabernacles, dedication, passover, &c. Years.] Annual atonements, sabbatical years, and jubilees.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 10. Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years .] Lest the apostle should be thought to suggest, without foundation, the inclination of these people to be in bondage to the ceremonies of the law, he gives this as an instance of it; which is to be understood, not of a civil observation of times, divided into days, months, and years, for which the luminaries of the heavens were made, and into summer and winter, seedtime and harvest, which is not only lawful, but absolutely necessary; but of a religious observation of days, etc.. not of the lucky and unlucky days, or of any of the festivals of the Gentiles, but of Jewish ones. By days are meant their seventh day sabbaths; for since they are distinguished from months and years, they must mean such days as returned weekly; and what else can they be but their weekly sabbaths? These were peculiar to the Israelites, and not binding on others; and being typical of Christ, the true rest of his people, and he being come, are now ceased. By months are designed their new moons, or the beginning of their months upon the appearance of a new moon, which were kept by blowing trumpets, offering sacrifices, hearing the word of God, abstaining from work, and holding religious feasts; and were typical of that light, knowledge, and grace, the church receives from Christ, the sun of righteousness; and he, the substance, being come, these shadows disappeared. By times are intended the three times in the year, when the Jewish males appeared before the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the three feasts of tabernacles, passover, and pentecost, for the observance of which there was now no reason; not of the feast of tabernacles, since the word was made flesh, and tabernacled among us; nor of the passover, since Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us; nor of pentecost, or the feast of weeks, or of the first fruits of the harvest, since the Spirit of God was poured down in a plenteous manner on that day upon the apostles; and when the firstfruits of a glorious harvest were brought in to the Lord, in the conversion of three thousand souls. And by years are to be understood their sabbatical years; every seventh year the land had a rest, and remained untilled; there were no ploughing and sowing, and there was a general release of debtors; and every fiftieth year was a jubilee to the Lord, when liberty to servants, debtors, etc.. was proclaimed throughout the land: all which were typical of rest, payment of debts, and spiritual liberty by Christ; and which having their accomplishment in him, were no longer to be observed; wherefore these Galatians are blamed for so doing; and the more, because they were taught to observe them, in order to obtain eternal life and salvation by them.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 8-11 - The happy change whereby the Galatians were turned from idols to the living God, and through Christ had received the adoption of sons, wa the effect of his free and rich grace; they were laid under the greate obligation to keep to the liberty wherewith he had made them free. All our knowledge of God begins on his part; we know him because we ar known of him. Though our religion forbids idolatry, yet many practis spiritual idolatry in their hearts. For what a man loves most, an cares most for, that is his god: some have their riches for their god some their pleasures, and some their lusts. And many ignorantly worshi a god of their own making; a god made all of mercy and no justice. For they persuade themselves that there is mercy for them with God, thoug they repent not, but go on in their sins. It is possible for those wh have made great professions of religion, to be afterwards drawn asid from purity and simplicity. And the more mercy God has shown, in bringing any to know the gospel, and the liberties and privileges of it, the greater their sin and folly in suffering themselves to be deprived of them. Hence all who are members of the outward churc should learn to fear and to suspect themselves. We must not be conten because we have some good things in ourselves. Paul fears lest his labour is in vain, yet he still labours; and thus to do, whateve follows, is true wisdom and the fear of God. This every man mus remember in his place and calling.
Greek Textus Receptus
ημερας 2250 παρατηρεισθε 3906 5731 και 2532 μηνας 3376 και 2532 καιρους 2540 και 2532 ενιαυτους 1763
Vincent's NT Word Studies
10. Ye observe (parathreisqe). See on Mark iii. 2, and John xviii. 12, and comp. Joseph. Ant. iii. 5, 5, parathrein tav eJbdomadav to watch the weeks. The word denotes careful, scrupulous observance, an intent watching lest any of the prescribed seasons should be overlooked. A merely legal or ritual religion always develops such scrupulousness. Days. Sabbaths, fast-days, feast-days, new moons. Comp. Rom. xiv. 5, 6; Col. ii. 16.
Months. Sacred months. Comp. Isa. lxvi. 23. In the preexilic time the months were mostly not named but numbered first, second, third, etc., and this usage appears also in the post-exilic writings of the O.T. Only four months had special names: the first, Abib, the ear month, which marked the beginning of harvest (Exod. xiii. 4; xxiii. 15; xxxiv. 18): the second, Sif or Zv, the flower month (1 Kings vi. 1, 37): the seventh, Ethanum, the month of streaming rivers fed by the autumnal rains (1 Kings viii. 2): the eighth, Bul, the month of rain (1 Kings vi. 38). In the post-exilic time names for all the months came into use, the most of which appear in the Palmyrene inscriptions and among the Syrians. According to the Talmud, the returning Jews brought these names from Babylon. The names of all are found in a month table discovered at Nineveh. Nsan corresponds to Abib (Nehemaih ii. 1; Esther iii. 7), answering to the latter part of March and April. Jjar answered to Ziv (Targ. 2 Chron. xxx. 2), our May. Tisri to Ethanim, the seventh month of the ecclesiastical, and the first of the civil year, corresponding to October. Marcheschwan (see Joseph. Ant. i. 3, 3) answered to Bul and November. Tisri, being the seventh or sabbatical month, was peculiarly sacred, and the fourth (Sivan, June), fifth (Ab, August), and tenth (Tebeth, January) were distinguished by special fasts. Times (kairouv). Better, seasons. See on Matt. xii. 1; Eph. i. 10, and comp. Lev. xxiii. 4. The holy, festal seasons, as Passover Pentecost, Feast of Tabernacles. See 2 Chron. viii. 13.
Years (eniautouv). Sabbatical years, occurring every seventh year. Not years of Jubilee, which had ceased to be celebrated after the time of Solomon.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
4:10 {Ye observe} (paratereisqe). Present middle indicative of old verb to stand beside and watch carefully, sometimes with evil intent as in #Lu 6:7, but often with scrupulous care as here (so in Dio Cassius and Josephus). The meticulous observance of the Pharisees Paul knew to a nicety. It hurt him to the quick after his own merciful deliverance to see these Gentile Christians drawn into this spider-web of Judaizing Christians, once set free, now enslaved again. Paul does not itemize the "days" (Sabbaths, fast-days, feast-days, new moons) nor the "months" (#Isa 66:23) which were particularly observed in the exile nor the "seasons" (passover, pentecost, tabernacles, etc.) nor the "years" (sabbatical years every seventh year and the Year of Jubilee). Paul does not object to these observances for he kept them himself as a Jew. He objected to Gentiles taking to them as a means of salvation.
