Galatians: A Christian Targum

Too many 21st century Christians read Paul’s letter to the Galatians as if Paul and his opponents were participants in the debates of the 16th century. Paul was not a Protestant and his opponents were not medieval Roman Catholics. When we fail to see that, we misread the text and draw from our readings conclusions that would have baffled the Apostle. Worse, these misreadings have caused deep harm to Jewish-Christian relations, as well as to relationships between Catholics and Protestants. Drawing on Israel’s universal hope, Paul’s letter to the Galatians offers a vision of how that hope can be realized.