By Mark Wilson
From biblicalarchaeology.com
“You foolish Galatians!” With these words the apostle Paul scolds his audience in a letter by the same name. But who were the Galatians, and where did they live? There has been a longstanding “north or south” debate concerning the specific location of the Galatians mentioned in the Bible. New archaeological discoveries in Turkey are now reshaping our understanding of Galatia when Paul visited and wrote his letter.
The name Galatia comes from the 20,000 Gauls and their families who migrated from Thrace (a historical region west of modern Istanbul shared today by Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey) into Asia Minor in 278 B.C.E. The Galatians settled the cities of Pessinus, Ancyra, and Tavium in the region later known as Galatia (located in what is now north central Turkey). In 25 B.C.E., the region was bequeathed to Rome, which made it a Roman province. The emperor Augustus named Ancyra (modern Ankara) as its capital. The new province included not only geographic Galatia—“north Galatia”—but also other regions to its south.
The apostle Paul visited “south Galatia”—the regions of Pisidia, Phrygia, and Lycaonia—on his first missionary journey described in Acts 13-14. Despite opposition, Paul and Barnabas established churches in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe in south-central Anatolia. At the end of their journey, they visited the cities of Perga and Attalia in the region of Pamphylia (on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast). On Paul’s second journey, he traveled to Galatia from Antioch on the Orontes (modern Antakya on Turkey’s Syrian border) to read to the churches the letter drafted by the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:41-16:6).1
Because the Book of Acts records Paul’s travels in “south Galatia,” many scholars assume that the audience of Galatians was in provincial south Galatia. They see Galatians as Paul’s first letter, written shortly after he returned to Syrian Antioch (Acts 14:26-27) but before the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15.2
However, the “north Galatian” perspective—that Galatians was written to Christians living in geographic Galatia in central Anatolia—has a long tradition that begins in patristic literature. After Diocletian’s administrative reforms of 297 C.E., Galatia was reduced to its northern section. When the church fathers read “the church of Galatia,” they understood “Galatia” as it was organized in their day.
Some scholars contend that Paul reached north Galatia, where he stayed for a lengthy period of time to recuperate from an illness (Galatians 4:13-14).3 Although longstanding, the north Galatian hypothesis has several weaknesses.
First, the Book of Acts never mentions a visit to north Galatia. A visit—or visits—must be inferred from the Epistle to the Galatians and its reference to Paul’s illness. However, detours into north Galatia make no geographical sense.
Second, Luke’s terminology in Acts 16:6 and Acts 18:23, although difficult to translate, should be understood as the Phrygian region of provincial (southern) Galatia. Recently discovered inscriptions featuring the Greek Γαλατɩκή and the Latin Galatica may help our understanding. Both terms designate the province of Galatia and resemble Luke’s usage. Neither refers specifically to the region of north Galatia.
Third, there is little archaeological evidence of Jewish communities in north Galatia during the mid-first century C.E. Literary texts mention Jews in later centuries, yet Jewish monuments are rare in north Galatia. In Acts, Paul visits cities with Jewish communities and synagogues, if possible. There were apparently none in north Galatia during his day.
Fourth, it is interesting that the name Paul rarely appears on Christian inscriptions in north Galatia. In contrast, Paul (Greek: Παṽλος) became a widely used name on third- to fifth-century C.E. funerary inscriptions in Lycaonia, the region of Lystra and Derbe. More than 50 inscriptions mention the name Paul.4 Such usage likely attests to the lingering influence of Paul’s visits to Lycaonia.
Considering all of this, the “south Galatian” view seems the most probable. Paul likely wrote Galatians to Christians in provincial south Galatia. And new archaeological discoveries suggest that Paul’s south Galatian audience might have been larger than supposed.
Maps in Bible atlases currently show Lycia (on Turkey’s southwestern coast) and Pamphylia as a joint Roman province. So when Paul entered Pamphylia at Perga (Acts 13:13) and exited from Attalia (Acts 14:25-26), he was within the boundaries of this double province. However, inscriptions recently discovered in Patara and Perga overturn this view. At Patara, the capital of Lycia visited by Paul on his third journey (Acts 21:1), a road monument dating to 46 C.E.—the Stadiasmus Patarensis—was found near the port. It describes governors conducting imperial business only in Lycia and its cities. Pamphylia is named as a bordering province.5 Two Latin inscriptions found in excavations at Perga name Burrus and Praesens as procurators of the joint province of Galatia and Pamphylia. The two served from the late 40s to early 50s when Paul was in the area.6
These inscriptions inform us that the province of Galatia extended southward to the Mediterranean Sea and included Pamphylia in Paul’s day. At the end of the first journey, Paul and Barnabas returned to Perga, and they undoubtedly planted a church there (Acts 14:25). Following his return to Antioch on the Orontes, Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians.
Because of this new understanding of Galatia’s boundaries during the time of Paul, it now becomes likely that Christians in Pamphylia were also part of his Galatian audience. In terms of geography, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe were actually “middle Galatian” churches; Perga and possibly Attalia become the true “south Galatian” churches.
This illustrates how archaeological discoveries continue to inform our understanding of the biblical text. They not only provide background information but also continue to change and illuminate the way we read the Bible.
