Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

corpus-paul - Re: "And when Kephas came to Antioch . . . " was:Paul Not a Pharisee? <LYR95920-32841-2000.01.21-09.05.14--nm_mcgovern#acad.fandm.edu@franklin.oit.unc.edu>

corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Corpus-Paul

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Nathan McGovern <NM_McGovern AT ACAD.FANDM.EDU>
  • To: Corpus-paul <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: "And when Kephas came to Antioch . . . " was:Paul Not a Pharisee? <LYR95920-32841-2000.01.21-09.05.14--nm_mcgovern#acad.fandm.edu AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 22:30:59 -0800


Dieter Mitternacht wrote:

>With regard to Gal, one such implication is the often discussed fact, that
>Paul does not actually tell his readers, whether or not he succeeded with
>his reprimand of Peter (2.11-14). But I suppose most of us would agree,
>that a listener, to whom the account is read, followed by the
>heartbreaking confession of 2.19-20, at least to begin with, would just
>simply suppose Paul's success. The fact, however, that Paul does not
>recount any success at Antioch (and other evidence from outside Gal that
>points towards a problematic relationship between Paul and Antioch) would
>seem to suggest, that he was constructing his argument in order to make
>his listeners assume something contrary to fact, namely his victory over
>Peter in Antioch.

I agree that it is significant that Paul does not say whether or not he
succeeded in reprimanding Peter. But what has me baffled is the question
of what he was reprimanding Peter for. The answer to this seems obvious:
he was reprimanding him for pretentiously separating himself from Gentiles
at meals when people from James arrived in Antioch. However, Paul says
something puzzling in his actual rebuke of Kephas at the end of verse 14:

PWS TA EQNH ANAGKAZEIS IOUDAIZEIN; (how can you compel the Gentiles to
live like Jews?)

My question is this: When did Kephas try to compel the Gentiles to live
like Jews? He apparently didn't do so earlier in Jerusalem, but instead
extended his right hand in partnership to Paul and Barnabas, that they
should go to the Gentiles. In fact, Paul says, not even Titus was
compelled to be circumcised! And Paul doesn't say anything about Kephas
compelling the Gentiles to live like Jews in Antioch, unless separating
from their table fellowship constituted a demand that they regain said
fellowship by "living like Jews." Ultimately, the source of Kephas'
"hypocrisy" or "play-acting" is not his living like a Gentile but telling
Gentiles to live like Jews, but rather his doing one thing (eating with
Gentiles) while alone but doing another (not eating with Gentiles) when
"people from James" are present. Why, then, does Paul make this reference
to Kephas compelling Gentiles to live like Jews? Is this a Freudian slip
on Paul's part? Or am I just missing something?


Nathan McGovern
Franklin and Marshall College
nm_mcgovern AT acad.fandm.edu





  • Re: "And when Kephas came to Antioch . . . " was:Paul Not a Pharisee? <LYR95920-32841-2000.01.21-09.05.14--nm_mcgovern#acad.fandm.edu AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>, Nathan McGovern, 01/22/2000

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page