Paul's letter to the Galatians, sometimes known as the Magna Carta of Christian liberty, is central to the understanding of the relation of Paul and the Law and is packed with crucial historical, social and theological material.
    Philip F. Esler provides a detailed and accessible interpretation of the text, which draws on contemporary and modern literary models. He outlines the problems often associated with reading Galatians, the context of the text, the rhetoric of the text and the intercultural and social implications of Galatians. Galatians includes comprehensive indices of ancient sources and modern sources, detailed references and an appendix discussing Paul's attitude to the Law in Romans 5.20-21.
    Galatians presents a succinct and emminently readable analysis of a dense and important New Testament text.

    Preface 1 Reading Galatians 2 Social identity and the epistle to the Galatians 3 Context and rhetoric in Galatians 4 The problem with mixed table-fellowship 5 Paul, Jerusalem and Antioch 6 Righteousness as privileged identity 7 Paul and the law 8 Freedom, the Spirit and community life (Gal. 4.21–6.10), Epilogue: the intercultural promise of Galatians

    Biography

    Philip F. Esler

    'Esler's book ... is an extraordinary rich reading of Galatians, and shows the fruitfulness of reading a text from a clear methodological standpoint.' - Halvor Moxnes, Biblical Interpretation