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Galatia


Guh-lay´shuh

1 Territory located in north-central Asia Minor dominated by the Gauls, a Celtic tribe famed for warcraft and cunning, from the third to the first century BCE.2 Roman province after the first century BCE that included the traditional Galatian territory mentioned above plus portions of other ethnic territories, especially to the south. Because Galatia can refer to both the territory and the province, it is difficult to know in which sense the word is used in the NT. (1Pet 1:1) and (2Tim 4:10) surely refer to the province, but there remains doubt concerning the other four references (Acts 16:6; Acts 18:23; 1Cor 16:1; Gal 1:2), all of which relate to Paul’s ministry. Some think they refer to the province (the “south Galatian hypothesis”), while others think they refer to the territory (the “north Galatian hypothesis”).

  • Powell, Mark Allan, ed. HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. Abridged Edition. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009.