Abstract
This contribution argues for viewing ‘the Israel of God’ in Galatians 6:16 as pointing to God’s people in the previous aeon before the Christ event. Prevalent interpretations of Galatians 6:16 are critiqued in view of the prevalent connotations to the terms Ἰσραὴλ and Ἰουδαῖος in the post-exilic period, Paul’s understanding of the fulfilment of Israel’s messianic hope, and the way in which Paul redefines identity in Christ and the Spirit. Galatians 6:16 is read with the third καί as a normal copulative (not epexegetically), constituting a contrast of the old aeon before or outside of Christ in the “flesh’” under the law with the new aeon in Christ and the Spirit in Galatians and beyond.
Highlights
The aim of this article is to reconsider the prevalent interpretations of Paul’s blessing on ‘the Israel of God’ in Galatians 6:16 and to interpret the referent of ‘the Israel of God’ in line with Paul’s eschatology and his conception of salvation history
Since the referent of ‘the Israel of God’ involves identity, Paul’s conception of identity with respect to his eschatology and his understanding of salvation history will be under discussion
Paul’s conception of messiahship, which involved his understanding of the fulfilment of Israel’s hope, directly influenced the way he perceived identity, which in turn pertains to the question whether Paul would envision Israel to continue as a distinct entity after the Christ event
Summary
The aim of this article is to reconsider the prevalent interpretations of Paul’s blessing on ‘the Israel of God’ in Galatians 6:16 and to interpret the referent of ‘the Israel of God’ in line with Paul’s eschatology and his conception of salvation history. Since the referent of ‘the Israel of God’ involves identity, Paul’s conception of identity with respect to his eschatology and his understanding of salvation history will be under discussion In this discussion, an important question that will be considered is if Paul envisions Israel to continue after the Christ event in the letter to the Galatians. Esler (2003: 144-145, 360) approaches identity in Paul with ‘aid of’ a social-scientific framework, and understands identity in Paul as a new, ‘superordinate’ identity wherein the Ἰουδαῖοι and non-Ἰουδαῖοι as subgroups are incorporated yet enjoyed a ‘relative status’ (cf Zoccali 2010: 176) The latter approach is a step back from viewing believers in Christ as a ‘third entity’, it already seems closer to Paul’s theological thought than an approach where Paul’s ‘theologizing’ is seen as being determined and controlled by a social category (e.g., Tucker 2011).. The latter approach is a step back from viewing believers in Christ as a ‘third entity’, it already seems closer to Paul’s theological thought than an approach where Paul’s ‘theologizing’ is seen as being determined and controlled by a social category (e.g., Tucker 2011). The approach to identity in this article is to consider Paul’s theological thought on identity as master category in approaching the question whether Paul envisioned Israel to continue in some way after the Christ event
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