Galatians by N. T. Wright

Abstract

Reviewed by: Galatians by N. T. Wright Nina E. Livesey n. t. wright, Galatians (Commentaries for Christian Formation; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021). Pp. xix + 419. $39.99. N. T. Wright's renown as a highly accomplished exegete and gifted and engaging writer is in clear evidence in his most recent work of biblical interpretation. Unlike commentaries that contain an exhaustive history of interpretation and extensive lexical analysis—often sacrificing the forest for the trees—W.'s commentary reads like a well-connected narrative. Yet, while not allowing them to dominate the overall sense of his study, W. nonetheless treats exegetical conundrums (e.g., the meaning of Ioudaïsmos [Gal 1:13–14, p. 73]; the significance of the Antioch incident [Gal 2:11–14, pp. 109–17]; the translation of pistis Christou [Gal 2:15–18, pp. 131–33]; and interpretive possibilities for "still preaching circumcision" [Gal 5:11, pp. 322–23]). And where necessary, he engages with several of the leading voices of Galatians as a whole and of individual passages (in brief footnotes throughout). According to W., passages such as the incident between Cephas and Paul in Antioch, or the allegory of two women, function importantly to illustrate and reinforce Paul's gospel message, which W. gradually unfolds for his readers. Yet another strength of this commentary is W.'s clear discussion of his understanding of the main arguments of Galatians. In contrast to the Reformation reading—W.'s primary foil throughout the commentary—with its emphasis on "justification by faith" for heavenly salvation, and in reliance in part on the work of Teresa Morgan (Roman Faith and Christian Faith: Pistis and Fides in the Early Roman Empire and Early Churches [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015]), W. argues that Paul is concerned with an earth-centric "righteousness," one that encourages the "formation and maintenance of a community" (p. 125). Indeed, W.'s earth-centric understanding of righteousness coupled with his other statements, such as, "What mattered for Paul, in the last analysis, was the goodness of God's creation, and the purpose of the kingdom to restore that creation to its proper order, with human beings playing their part within it" (p. 343), have positive implications for environmental ethics. Wright assesses that Paul's gospel is to be understood entirely within a first-century Judean worldview, an event anticipated in Israel's Scriptures (Psalms of Solomon, Daniel 9, 4 Ezra 11–12, Isaiah 53). Paul's message is that of "messianic eschatology" (p. 32; italics original). W. argues that contemporary Christians are to see themselves as made righteous on account of God's actions in sending his Son (p. 26). The righteous are Abraham's "sons" (gentiles and Judeans, p. 190), and they form part of a new covenant constituted on the basis of pistis ("trust," "faith") rather than Torah. According to W., the situation (the "plight") that bears on the new divine economy is that the "Jewish people of Paul's day were living [End Page 515] in a time of waiting, a time of continuing exile" (p. 16). Evidenced by their current existence under pagan rule, Judeans were living in a "long-drawn-out 'curse'" (p. 198). Deuteronomy 27–29 well characterizes their current experience (p. 198). With the Torah unable to aid them due to sin and their own disease (p. 199), Paul's message of the Messiah "dying for our sins" represents their release from exile and from the "present evil age" (Gal 1:4, pp. 25, 33, 37). In W.'s view, Gal 4:1–7 (subtitled, "The New Exodus"), descriptive of the Judean plight, is to be understood as the central passage of the letter (pp. 32, 248). Wright adopts a factual and trusting reading of Galatians. Barring a few instances—the "unkindest cut of all" (Gal 5:12) is to be understood as "heavy irony" (p. 327)—W. takes Paul at his word. He develops a chronology of Paul's activities from the letter (Gal 1:13–2:14) and from Acts (p. 86). While recognizing the problematic of overreliance on mirror reading (pp. 46, 64, 315), he nonetheless deploys this common interpretive method to surmise the thoughts, messages, and objectives...