'It doesn't say' Metatextual Observations in Greek Patristic Commentaries on Galatians

Early Christian commentaries occasionally draw attention to what the biblical text does not say, and do so using a consistent rhetorical formula in Greek: Οὐκ εἶπε A, ἀλλὰ B – ‘It does not say A, but B’. The purpose of this construction in context may be merely to clarify a point of vocabulary or grammar, but often it is more broadly theological, paraenetic, or even polemical. The pattern most likely entered usage from the first cen- tury BC onward in Greek commentaries on literature, philosophy, and medicine. Philo also deploys this antithesis in his Old Testament exegesis at nearly the same time, sug- gesting perhaps that this construction arose in a shared rhetorical tradition, possibly Alexandrian. Greek patristic commentaries develop the antithesis further into a relatively set formula, appearing with particular frequency in Origen and Chrysostom. Examples from a range of pagan, Jewish, and Christian commentaries are discussed, followed by a closer look at this pattern as found in patristic commentaries on Galatians. Usage of any similar formula in Latin patristic texts, however, appears to be comparatively rare.