SEV Biblia, Chapter 3:2
Guardaos de los perros, guardaos de los malos obreros, guardaos del cortamiento.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Philippians 3:2
Verse 2. Beware of dogs] The Jews, who have here the same appellative which they formerly gave to the Gentiles: because the Gentiles were not included in the covenant, they called them DOGS; and themselves, the children of the Most High. Now, they are cast out of the covenant and the Gentiles taken in; therefore they are the dogs, and the Gentiles the children. Evil workers] Judaizing teachers, who endeavoured to pervert the Gospel.
The concision.] katatomhn? The cutting or excision; not peritomhn, the circumcision: the word is used by the apostle to degrade the pretensions which the Jews made to sanctity by the cutting in their flesh.
Circumcision was an honourable thing, for it was a sign of the covenant; but as they now had rejected the new covenant, their circumcision was rendered uncircumcision, and is termed a cutting, by way of degradation.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 2. Beware of dogs , etc.] By whom are meant the judaizing teachers, who were for imposing the works and ceremonies of the law upon the Gentiles, as necessary to salvation; and they have the name retorted on them they used to give to the Gentiles; (see Matthew 15:26,27); nor should they think it too severe, since the Jews themselves say , the face of that generation (in which the Messiah shall come) shall he, blkh ynpk , as the face of a dog.
The apostle calls them so, because they returned to Judaism, as the dog to its vomit, ( 2 Peter 2:22); and because of the uncleanness in which many of them lived, and the impudence they were guilty of in transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ, and putting themselves upon an equal foot with them; as also for their calumny and detraction, their wrangling with the apostles, snarling at their doctrines, and biting them with the devouring words of reproach and scandal: likewise, they may be styled dogs for their covetousness, being such greedy ones as in ( Isaiah 56:10), with feigned words making merchandise of men; and for their love of their, bellies, which they served, and not Christ, and made a god of, ( Philippians 3:19). Moreover, because they were without, as dogs are, ( Revelation 22:15); having gone out from the communion of the saints, because they were not of them; or if among them, yet not true members of Christ, nor of his mystical body; all which are so many arguments why the saints should beware of them, and why their persons, conversation, and doctrine should be avoided. Beware of evil workers : meaning the same persons, who were deceitful workers, did the work of the Lord unfaithfully, walked in craftiness, and handled the word of God deceitfully, endeavoured to subvert the Gospel of Christ, and the faith of men in it; who worked from bad principles, and with evil views; and notwithstanding their large pretensions to good works, teaching that justification and salvation were by them, which notion the apostle tacitly refers to in this character; yet were of bad a character, and such as Christ will reject another day as workers of iniquity; a character they deservedly bear, if there was no other reason for it than their preaching the doctrine of salvation by men's own works of righteousness, and who, and their ministry, are by all means to be shunned. Beware of the concision ; the men of the circumcision, as the Arabic version renders it; they chose to be called so, but the apostle would not give them that name, but calls them the concision; or the concision of the flesh, as the Syriac version renders it; referring either to the cuttings in the flesh, forbidden ( Leviticus 21:5); or to the circumcision of the flesh rather, which they valued themselves upon, and were for introducing among the Gentiles, whereby they made sad divisions, and cutting work among the churches; and were some of them at least cut off, as the Ethiopic version renders it, from the churches; and who, as much as in them lay, cut themselves off from Christ, and rendered him unprofitable to them; (see Galatians 5:2,4).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-11 - Sincere Christians rejoice in Christ Jesus. The prophet calls the fals prophets dumb dogs, Isa 56:10; to which the apostle seems to refer Dogs, for their malice against faithful professors of the gospel of Christ, barking at them and biting them. They urged human works i opposition to the faith of Christ; but Paul calls them evil-workers. He calls them the concision; as they rent the church of Christ, and cut it to pieces. The work of religion is to no purpose, unless the heart is in it, and we must worship God in the strength and grace of the Divin Spirit. They rejoice in Christ Jesus, not in mere outward enjoyment and performances. Nor can we too earnestly guard against those wh oppose or abuse the doctrine of free salvation. If the apostle woul have gloried and trusted in the flesh, he had as much cause as any man But the things which he counted gain while a Pharisee, and had reckone up, those he counted loss for Christ. The apostle did not persuade the to do any thing but what he himself did; or to venture on any thing but that on which he himself ventured his never-dying soul. He deemed all these things to be but loss, compared with the knowledge of Christ, by faith in his person and salvation. He speaks of all worldly enjoyment and outward privileges which sought a place with Christ in his heart or could pretend to any merit and desert, and counted them but loss but it might be said, It is easy to say so; but what would he do when he came to the trial? He had suffered the loss of all for the privileges of a Christian. Nay, he not only counted them loss, but the vilest refuse, offals thrown to dogs; not only less valuable tha Christ, but in the highest degree contemptible, when set up as agains him. True knowledge of Christ alters and changes men, their judgment and manners, and makes them as if made again anew. The believer prefer Christ, knowing that it is better for us to be without all worldl riches, than without Christ and his word. Let us see what the apostl resolved to cleave to, and that was Christ and heaven. We are undone without righteousness wherein to appear before God, for we are guilty There is a righteousness provided for us in Jesus Christ, and it is complete and perfect righteousness. None can have benefit by it, wh trust in themselves. Faith is the appointed means of applying the saving benefit. It is by faith in Christ's blood. We are mad conformable to Christ's death, when we die to sin, as he died for sin and the world is crucified to us, and we to the world, by the cross of Christ. The apostle was willing to do or to suffer any thing, to attai the glorious resurrection of saints. This hope and prospect carried his through all difficulties in his work. He did not hope to attain it through his own merit and righteousness, but through the merit an righteousness of Jesus Christ. (Php 3:12-21)
Greek Textus Receptus
βλεπετε 991 5720 τους 3588 κυνας 2965 βλεπετε 991 5720 τους 3588 κακους 2556 εργατας 2040 βλεπετε 991 5720 την 3588 κατατομην 2699
Vincent's NT Word Studies
2. Beware (blepete). Lit., look to. Compare Mark iv. 24; viii. 15; Luke xxi. 8. Dogs. Rev., correctly, the dogs, referring to a well-known party - the Judaizers. These were nominally Christians who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but as the Savior of Israel only. They insisted that Christ's kingdom could be entered only through the gate of Judaism. Only circumcised converts were fully accepted by God. They appeared quite early in the history of the Church, and are those referred to in Acts xv. 1. Paul was the object of their special hatred and abuse. They challenged his birth, his authority, and his motives. "'Paul must be destroyed,' was as truly their watchword as the cry for the destruction of Carthage had been of old to the Roman senator" (Stanley, "Sermons and Lectures on the Apostolic Age"). These are referred to in ch. i. 16; and the whole passage in the present chapter, from ver. 3 to ver. 11, is worthy of study, being full of incidental hints lurking in single words, and not always apparent in our versions; hints which, while they illustrate the main point of the discussion, are also aimed at the assertions of the Judaizers. Dogs was a term of reproach among both Greeks and Jews. Homer uses it of both women and men, implying shamelessness in the one, and recklessness in the other. Thus Helen: "Brother-in-law of me, a mischief devising dog" ("Iliad," vi., 344). Teucer of Hector: "I cannot hit this raging dog" ("Iliad," viii., 298). Dr. Thomson says of the dogs in oriental towns: "They lie about the streets in such numbers as to render it difficult and often dangerous to pick one's way over and amongst them - a lean, hungry, and sinister brood. They have no owners, but upon some principle known only to themselves, they combine into gangs, each of which assumes jurisdiction over a particular street; and they attack with the utmost ferocity all canine intruders into their territory. In those contests, and especially during the night, they keep up an incessant barking and howling, such as is rarely heard in any European city. The imprecations of David upon his enemies derive their significance, therefore, from this reference to one of the most odious of oriental annoyances" ("Land and Book," Central palestine and Phoenicia, 593). See Psalm lix. 6; xxii. 16. Being unclean animals, dogs were used to denote what was unholy or profane. So Matt. vii. 6; Apoc. xxii. 15. The Israelites are forbidden in Deuteronomy to bring the price of a dog into the house of God for any vow: Deut. xxiii. 18. The Gentiles of the Christian era were denominated "dogs" by the Jews, see Matt. xv. 26. Paul here retorts upon them their own epithet.
Evil workers. Compare deceitful workers, 2 Cor. xi. 13.
Concision (katatomhn). Only here in the New Testament. The kindred verb occurs in the Septuagint only, of mutilations forbidden by the Mosaic law. See Lev. xxi. 5. The noun here is a play upon peritomh circumcision. It means mutilation. Paul bitterly characterizes those who were not of the true circumcision (Rom. ii. 28, 29; Col. ii. 11; Eph. ii. 11) as merely mutilated. Compare Gal. v. 12, where he uses ajpokoptein to cut off, of those who would impose circumcision upon the Christian converts: "I would they would cut themselves off who trouble you;" that is, not merely circumcise, but mutilate themselves like the priests of Cybele.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
3:2 {Beware} (blepete). Three times for urgency and with different epithet for the Judaizers each time. {The dogs} (tous kunas). The Jews so termed the Gentiles which Jesus uses in a playful mood (kunariois, little dogs) to the Syro-Phoenician woman (#Mt 15:26). Paul here turns the phrase on the Judaizers themselves. {The evil workers} (tous kakous ergatas). He had already called the Judaizers "deceitful workers" (ergatai dolioi) in #2Co 11:13. {The concision} (tn katatomn). Late word for incision, mutilation (in contrast with peritom, circumcision). In Symmachus and an inscription. The verb katatemn" is used in the LXX only of mutilations (#Le 21:5; 1Ki 18:28).
