Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance: Davidic Messianism and Paul’s Worldwide Interpretation of the Abrahamic Land Promise in Galatians
in Library of New Testament Studies
Pages
240
Publisher
T&T Clark
Published
4/18/2019
ISBN-13
9780567685926
This book explores the link between Paul's belief that Jesus is Israel's Messiah, and his interpretation of the Abrahamic Land Promise in Galatians. Countering claims that Paul replaces the Promised Land with the gift of the Spirit or salvation, Esau McCaulley argues that Paul expands this inheritance to include the whole earth; believing that, as the seed of Abraham and David, Jesus is entitled to the entire world as his inheritance and kingdom.
McCaulley argues that scholars have neglected Paul's expanded interpretation of the inheritance of the earth, rarely appreciate the role that messianism plays in Galatians, and fail to acknowledge that Second Temple authors often portrayed royal and messianic figures as God's means of fulfilling the promises made to Abraham and Israel, via the establishment of kingdoms. Through a comparison of texts from the Pseudepigrapha, apocrypha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls with Galatians 3:1–4:7, 5:21, McCaulley argues Paul's interpretation of Jesus's death is a manifestation of Second Temple messianism because it ends the covenant curses outlined in Deuteronomy and begins the restoration of the inheritance to Abraham's offspring through the establishment of Jesus's worldwide kingdom; he concludes that Paul's interpretation of the Abrahamic inheritance is inseparable from his belief that Jesus is Israel's Messiah.
McCaulley argues that scholars have neglected Paul's expanded interpretation of the inheritance of the earth, rarely appreciate the role that messianism plays in Galatians, and fail to acknowledge that Second Temple authors often portrayed royal and messianic figures as God's means of fulfilling the promises made to Abraham and Israel, via the establishment of kingdoms. Through a comparison of texts from the Pseudepigrapha, apocrypha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls with Galatians 3:1–4:7, 5:21, McCaulley argues Paul's interpretation of Jesus's death is a manifestation of Second Temple messianism because it ends the covenant curses outlined in Deuteronomy and begins the restoration of the inheritance to Abraham's offspring through the establishment of Jesus's worldwide kingdom; he concludes that Paul's interpretation of the Abrahamic inheritance is inseparable from his belief that Jesus is Israel's Messiah.
- Table of contents
- Abstract
- Chapter 1: The Land and Messiahship in Galatians
- Chapter 2: Royal Figures, Davidic Messiahs, and the Land as Kingdom in the Pseudepigrapha
- Chapter Three: Davidic Messiahs and the Land in the Dead Sea Scrolls
- Chapter 4: The End of the Curse and the Beginning of the Inheritance: Davidic Messianism, the Spirit, and the Abrahamic Land Promise
- Chapter 5: Sharing in the Son's Inheritance: Davidic Messianism and the Abrahamic Land Promise in Galatians 3:15–4:7, 5:21
- Chapter Six: Conclusion
- Abbreviations
- Bibliography
Reviews
DavidH
August 12, 2026
August 12, 2026
McCaulley’s monograph is one of the most original specialist contributions to the theology of Galatians in this collection. He argues that Paul’s language of inheritance should be read not merely as an abstract soteriological metaphor but within the intertwined biblical themes of Abrahamic promise, land, Davidic messianism, worldwide kingdom, and the gift of the Spirit. This gives fresh significance to the movement from Abraham and the “seed” in 3:15–29 through sonship and inheritance in 4:1–7 and ultimately to inheriting the kingdom in 5:21. Not every proposed connection carries equal weight, and this is obviously too specialized to function as a primary commentary, but the central thesis opens up dimensions of Paul’s argument that standard treatments often underdevelop. For anyone writing on promise, inheritance, Messiah, or the Abrahamic narrative in Galatians, McCaulley is an unusually valuable resource.