Christ Redeemed 'Us' from the Curse of the Law: A Martyrological Reading of Galatians 3:13

Jarvis J. Williams advances the argument that Paul borrowed from the martyr traditions represented in 2 and 4 Maccabees, and that he reconstructed them to fit his exegetical, theological, and polemical purposes in Gal 3:13 in order to persuade the Galatians not to embrace his opponents' Torah-observant, gentile-exclusive gospel.

There are several points of contact between the martyr traditions and Gal 3:13 which are arranged under the categories of exegetical points of contact, theological/conceptual points of contact, lexical/grammatical points of contact, and polemical/argumentative points of contact. An exposition of these categories is used to support the thesis that Jewish martyr traditions are the context in front of which Gal 3:13 should be read, and that a martyrological reading of Gal 3:13 grants further insight into Paul's attack against his opponents' “other gospel.”

• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. Introduction: Thesis, and History of Research
• Chapter 2. Reception History of Deuteronomy in Second Temple Judaism)
• Chapter 3. Deuteronomic Suffering in 2 and 4
• Chapter 4. Deuteronomic Suffering in Gal 3:10-13
• Chapter 5 Representation in 2 and 4 Maccabees
• Chapter 6. Representation in Gal 3:13
• Chapter 7. Substitution in 2 and 4 Maccabees
• Chapter 8. Substitution in Gal 3:13
• Chapter 9. Miscellaneous Theological and Conceptual Parallels between Martyr Traditions and Gal 3:13
• Chapter 10. Lexical and Grammatical Parallels between 2 and 4 Maccabees and Gal 3:13
• Chapter 11. Defense of Judaism in 2 and 4 Maccabees
• Chapter 12. Paul's Defense of His Gospel in Galatians
• Conclusion