Galatians (The Anchor Yale Bible | AYB)

by J. Louis Martyn

Publisher:

Yale University Press

, 2008

Overview

As the early church took shape in the mid-first century AD, a theological struggle of great consequence was joined between the apostle Paul and certain theologians who had intruded into the churches founded by the apostle in Galatia. Writing his letter to the Galatians in the midst of that struggle, Paul was concerned to find a way by which he could assert the radical newness of God’s act in Christ while still affirming the positive relation of that act to the solemn promise God had made centuries earlier to Abraham.

With the skill of a seasoned scholar and teacher, J. Louis Martyn enables us to take imaginary seats in the Galatian churches so that we may hear Paul’s words with the ears of the early Christians themselves. Listening in this manner, we begin to sense the dramatic intensity of the theological struggle, thus coming to understand the crucial distinctions between the theology of Paul and that of his opponents. We can therefore see why Galatians proved to be a momentous turning point in early Christianity: In this letter Paul preached the decisive and liberating newness of Christ while avoiding both the distortions of anti-Judaism and his opponents’ reduction of Christ to a mere episode in the epic of Israel’s history. Like the Galatians of Paul’s day, we can begin to hear what the apostle himself called “the truth of the gospel.”

Galatians successfully makes available all the significant historical and linguistic knowledge which bears on the interpretation of this important New Testament book. A personal letter written by Paul in the mid-first century to friends in the churches emerging in the region of Galatia, where it was circulated, Galatians is down to earth and pragmatic. This biblical book requires the modern reader to take a seat in one of the Galatian congregations, to listen to Paul’s letter with Galatian ears, and discern the contours of Paul’s theology. That is exactly what J. Louis Martyn makes possible in his marvelous commentary, with its careful translation and creative interpretation of Galatians. Though relatively brief, Paul’s letter is filled with complex theological and historical issues that demand a thorough treatment. Readers will not be disappointed in J. Louis Martyn’s sensitive handling of difficult passages, and all will be delighted to have a fresh translation that makes sense to our modern ears. All in all, this volume will stand out as a shining example of top notch scholarship written for the general reader.

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Key Features

• Offers original translations, including alternative translations, annotations, and variants
• Provides verse-by-verse commentary on the text
• Presents the reader with historical background, including analysis of authorship and dating
• Features an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary literature

Contents

• 1:1–5 Prescript
• 1:6–9 The Letter’s Theme
• 1:10–12 The Gospel and Rhetoric: First Thesis
• 1:13–16 Paul’s Apostolic Call
• 1:17–24 Paul and the Jerusalem Apostles
• 2:1–10 A Conference Involving Two Churches
• 2:11–14 An Incident in the Antioch Church
• 2:15–21 Making Right What Is Wrong
• 3:1–5 The Galatian Churches’ Birth Identity and Their Present Leanings
• 3:6–9 Descent from Faithful Abraham
• 3:10–14 The Law’s Curse and the End of that Curse
• 3:15–18 The Promissory Covenant and the Sinaitic Law
• 3:19–25 The Genesis of the Sinaitic Law and the Advent of Christ
• 3:26–29 Baptism into the Christ Who Is Neither Jew nor Gentile
• 4:1–7 Enslavement and Liberation
• 4:8–11 Returning to Slavery
• 4:12–20 Joyous Days and Anxious Days
• 4:21–5:1 Two Gentile Missions
• 5:2–12 A Warning
• 5:13–24 Pastoral Guidance, Part 1: Daily Life in Wartime
• 5:25–6:10 Pastoral Guidance, Part 2: Exhortation
• 6:11–18 Autographic Subscript

Top Highlights

“That is a linguistic turn inadequately represented by the usual translation of apokalyptô as ‘to reveal,’ ‘to unveil’; for it shows that in Galatians Paul’s apocalyptic is not focused on God’s unveiling something that was previously hidden, as though it had been eternally standing behind a curtain (contrast 1 Cor 2:9–10). The genesis of Paul’s apocalyptic—as we see it in Galatians—lies in the apostle’s certainty that God has invaded the present evil age by sending Christ and his Spirit into it. There was a ‘before,’ the time when we were confined, imprisoned; and there is an ‘after,’ the time of our deliverance. And the difference between the two is caused not by an unveiling, but rather by the coming of Christ and his Spirit.” (Page 99)

“Galatians thus antedates all of the Corinthian letters, and Romans comes after them.^{20” (Page 20)}

“However that may be, one point is certain: The formula is to a significant degree foreign to Paul’s own theology; for it identifies discrete sins as humanity’s (in the first instance Israel’s) fundamental liability; and it sees forgiveness of sins as the remedy provided by God (see Comment #28). As we have noted, Paul, when he is formulating his own view, consistently speaks not of sins, but rather of Sin, identifying it as a power that holds human beings in a state of slavery. And he sees liberation rather than forgiveness as the fundamental remedy enacted by God.” (Page 90)

“For Paul the picture is quite different; the Spirit and the Flesh constitute an apocalyptic antinomy in the sense that they are two opposed powers, actively at war with one another since the advent of the Christ and of his Spirit. They form a militant antinomy born of apocalypse.” (Page 101)

Product Details

• Title: Galatians
• Author: J. Louis Martyn
• Series: Anchor Yale Bible (AYB)
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 638

About J. Louis Martyn

J. Louis Martyn is Edward Robinson Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He has written books and scholarly articles on various New Testament topics, notably Theological Issues in the Letters of Paul.