Idete pelikois humin grammasin egrapsa te eme cheiri.

Idete `Ye see'.  The word is emphatic, and not to be translated `ye see'

but rather `see ye', `look ye', drawing attention to a feature of unusual

interest.  In Galatians 5:2 the apostle uses ide `behold', as though he said

`mark this well'.

Pelikois.  Ellicott says that the word `strictly denotes geometrical

magnitude `how large', in contradistinction to arithmetical magnitude expressed

by posos `how many'.  Pelikos is so used in the LXX of Zechariah 2:2.  In

Hebrews 7:4 the idea of magnitude in an ethical sense is expressed by this same

word.  We must therefore avoid confusing the idea of `how large' with `how

many' or `how lengthy'.

Grammasin.  Once only does gramma signify `epistles', namely in Acts

28:21, where the Jews at Rome declared `we neither received letters out of

Judaea concerning thee'.  This, however, is an isolated usage of the term and

not one used by Paul here, but by the Jews.  Where Paul desires to speak of an

epistle he uses the regular word epistole, and that seventeen times, which,

together with five references in the Acts and two in 2 Peter, is very strong

evidence in favour of translating this word in Galatians 6:11 `letters' and not

`an epistle'.  Grammasin is in the plural dative, and we are compelled to

translate these words as it is translated in Luke 23:38, `and a superscription

also was written over Him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew'.  Paul

himself has so used the word grammasin in 2 Corinthians 3:7.  `In letters

having been engraved in stones'.  The fact that the word is plural prevents us

from translating `epistle' and no sense can be extracted from the translation

`ye see how large epistles I have written to you'.

Egrapsa.  This word is in the aorist tense, but it is extremely difficult

to decide whether this is the `epistolary aorist' where Paul refers to the time

at which the letter is received, or whether it should be translated `I wrote'

or in idiomatic English `I have written', referring to the entire epistle.  It

was the custom of Paul, and of writers in his own day, to employ the services

of a trained scribe, and one, evidently a believer, has his name inserted in

the epistle to the Romans: `I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you'

(Rom. 16:22).  It is common knowledge that Romans 16:25 -27 was added as a

`postscript' to the epistle, and Alford has suggested that `we may almost

conceive him (Paul) to have taken his pen off from one of them (the pastoral

epistles) and to have written it (Rom. 16:25 -27) under the same impulse'.  He

gives a list of words and expressions found in the postscript and in the

pastoral epistles that point to this conclusion.  For example, `my gospel' is

found in 2 Timothy 2:8, kerugma `preaching' in 2 Timothy 4:17 and Titus 1:3,

chronon aionion `age times' in 2 Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2 etc.

The apostle makes a pointed reference to his `sign manual' when writing

to the Thessalonians -- for they had been deceived by a letter purporting to

come from himself (2 Thess. 2:2), consequently he draws their attention to a

feature in his salutation.

`The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every

epistle: so I write.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all'

(2 Thess. 3:17,18).

Here the apostle draws attention to two features: