Galatians 3:6

6. This verse serves both as an answer to St Paul’s question in Galatians 3:5—yes, it was by faith—and also as a transition to the next important paragraph showing the same truth from Scripture. Marcion omitted Galatians 3:6-9 (see Jerome here) in accordance with his opposition to the Old Testament.

καθὼς Ἀβραὰμ ἐπίστευσεν τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην. From Genesis 15:6. So verbally in the LXX. A, D (B non est). In Romans 4:3; James 2:23 the only difference is ἐπίστευσεν δὲ Ἀβραάμ. In Romans 4:9 only the second half is quoted, ἐλογίσθη τῳ Ἀβραὰμ ἡ πίστις εἰς δικαιοσύνην, and this is again used in Galatians 3:22-23. The Judaizers were doubtless urging the Gentile Christians to be circumcised as Abraham was. St Paul shows, on the contrary, that he, the great forefather of the Jews, obtained his righteousness not by circumcision and works, but by faith. “The right state of mind is declared to be in God’s sight equivalent to the right action” (Mayor on James 2:23). Observe, however, that in St Paul’s usage faith does not take the place of the Law in the sense that it, in itself, is the ground of confidence. On the contrary, faith is only the hand that lays hold on Christ. On the Jewish estimation of Abraham see Sanday-Headlam on Romans 4:3-8.