Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh!
It seems the church of the Philippians, though a faithful and flourishing church, was disturbed by the judaizing teachers, who endeavoured to keep up the law of Moses, and mix the observances of it with the doctrine of Christ and his institutions. He begins the chapter with warnings against these seducers. I.
Commenting on Philippians 3:1-3
Beware of dogs,.... By whom are meant the "judaizing" teachers, who were for imposing the works and ceremonies of the law upon the Gentiles, as necessary to salvation; and they have the name retorted on them they used to give to the Gentiles; see Mat 15:26; nor should they think it too severe, since the Jews themselves say (p), "the face of that generation (in...
Verse 2. Beware of dogs. Dogs in the east are mostly without masters; they wander at large in the streets and fields, and feed upon offals, and even upon corpses. Comp. . They are held as unclean, and to call one a dog is a much stronger expression of contempt there than with us, .