The Irony of Galatians: Paul's Letter in First-Century Context

by Mark D. Nanos

Intra-Jewish conflict in Paul's communities After taking on traditional interpretations of Romans in (The Mystery of Romans, Nanos now turns his attention to the Letter to the Galatians. A Primary voice in reclaiming Paul in his Jewish context. Nanos challenges the previously dominant views of Paul as rejecting his Jewish heritage and the Law. Where Paul's rhetoric has been interpreted to be its most anti-Jewish, Nanos instead demonstrates the implications of an intra-Jewish reading. He explores the issues of purity, insiders/outsiders; the charactor of "the gospel"; the relationship between groups of Christ-followers in Jerusalem, Antioch, and Galatia; and evil-eye accusations.

Genres: New Testament

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2002

Reviews

[Colby Reese · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite the bulk of this book being historical detail and an argument that the historical setting of Galatians changes our interpretation of the letter, Nanos shows that at the end of the day, the ultimate issue at hand is that of interpretation and hermeneutics. The issue with Nanos is that his preconceived notions - which we all have and use for interpretation - suffocate the text and rely upon changing the most obvious readings to fit that perspective.