Tag Archives: Galatians 1:19

Ἕτερον δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων οὐκ εἶδον εἰ μὴ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ κυρίου. (Galatians 1:19)

But I saw no other of the apostles, except James, the brother of the Lord.

Paul’s Personal Testimony and Apostolic Distinction

This brief verse from Paul’s autobiographical defense in Galatians offers more than a factual statement about his travels — it is a masterclass in Greek syntax. Paul carefully crafts a statement to defend his independence from the Twelve, yet acknowledges one crucial exception: James, the brother of the Lord.

The Greek here demonstrates several elegant syntactic features, especially the partitive genitive, exception clauses with εἰ μή, and apposition.… Learn Koine Greek