Galatians: recent issues in interpretation

Pauline studies have undergone something of a Copernican revolution in recent years, and the epistle to the Galatians has figured prominently in every reconfiguration of the Pauline solar system. The critical issues raised by the “new perspective” on Paul concern, among other things, the nature of first-century “Judaism” – a controversial term in itself – and the reason(s) behind Paul's rejection of his “former way of life in Judaism” (Gal. 1.13). Because Galatians is one of our primary sources in this debate, scholarly writing on this letter has been (rightly) preoccupied with this subject, and this is reflected in the “ever-burgeoning literature” on the theme. Indeed, the “new perspective” has generated a whole body of material devoted solely to keeping up with the debate.

A second important issue in the interpretation of Galatians, though perhaps not of Copernican magnitude, gained prominence with the publication of Hans Dieter Betz's Hermeneia commentary, which analyzed the argument of Galatians in terms of classical rhetorical theory. Betz's work has been challenged and modified in a number of ways, though most would accept that the relationship between structure and meaning so ably illustrated by Betz's exegesis had not been fully appreciated prior to his detailed rhetorical analysis.

Given the all-encompassing nature of these two issues, it may come as a surprise to discover that Paul's new-creation motif in Galatians may be pursued largely independently of these interpretive maelstroms.