Corpus-Paul

[Loren Rosson <rossoiii AT yahoo.com>]

Moon,

You raised an excellent point about the grammar in
Gal. 4:3-5 which undermines Gaston's theory. That
Jesus, a Jew, was "born under the law, in order to
redeem those under the law", indicates clearly that it
is the Jewish people, not the Gentiles, who are in
view. So I'm now inclined to interpret the text of
4:1-7 differently from Gaston, while maintaining that
he is on the right track with 3:10-14 and 3:23-29.

Note that in 4:3-5 Paul does not say Jesus was sent in
order to "redeem Jews from the law". He simply points
out that Jesus "redeemed those under the law". Paul
obviously believed that Jews needed Christ's redeeming
power as much as Gentiles did. But there is no
evidence in this text that Jews needed redeeming FROM
THE LAW ITSELF. They simply needed redeeming.

Put another way: In 4:3-5, the law is not spoken of
negatively, while in 3:10-14 and 3:23-29 it is.

So, with Gaston:

3:13: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law"
really means "Christ redeemed us Gentiles from the
curse of the law".

3:25: "We are no longer under a pedagogue" really
means "We Gentiles are no longer under a pedagogue."

But, against Gaston:

4:3-5: "When we were minors, we were enslaved to pagan
spirits...[Then] God sent his son, born under the law,
in order to redeem those under the law, so that we
might receive adoption" really means "When we Gentiles
were minors, we were enslaved to pagan
spirits...[Then] God sent his son, a Jew, born under
the law, in order to redeem the Jewish people under
the law, so that we Gentiles might also receive
adoption (redemption)."

The different thrust in 4:1-7, I think, paves the way
for Paul's gear-shifting in 4:8-10, where he proceeds
to question the Galatians' motives for wanting to
observe pagan holy days rather than proselyte
conversion (so Mark Nanos, with whom I agree on
interpreting 4:8-10). I would propose, therefore, that
we should read 4:1-7 as a "bridge" between the
arguments of 3:1-29 and 4:8-10, diffusing the former
and leading into the latter.

Thank you, Moon, for asking the tough questions. What
do you think of this?

Best,

Loren Rosson III,
Nashua NH
rossoiii AT yahoo.com

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