The Greek verb baskainō means to bewitch, to cast the evil eye upon, to fascinate maliciously. In Hellenistic culture, the "evil eye" was believed to bring harm through envious gazing. Paul uses this word in Galatians 3:1 in a rhetorical question that functions as a sharp rebuke to the Galatian churches.
Paul's use of baskainō in Galatians 3:1 — "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?" — is brilliant rhetorical strategy. He frames the Galatians' drift from grace-based faith back toward law as a kind of spiritual enchantment — someone has cast a spell that has clouded their minds. The remedy he points to is the clearly displayed cross of Christ: "before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified." The antidote to all spiritual bewitchment is a fresh, clear vision of the crucified and risen Savior. No legalism, tradition, or false teaching can hold its grip when the cross is kept central.