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Document Details :

Title: Abraham and His Offspring
Subtitle: A Comparison of Galatians 5,1 with 3,13
Author(s): LAMBRECHT, Jan
Journal: Biblica
Volume: 80    Issue: 4   Date: 1999   
Pages: 525-536
DOI: 10.2143/BIB.80.4.3200580

Abstract :
Just as after the Abraham passage of 3,6-12 Christ is mentioned in 3,13 quite unexpectedly, so also after 4,21-31, Paul’s so-called allegory which deals with the wives and sons of Abraham, the sudden statement about Christ in 5,1 cannot but surprise the reader. Although the word order differs, both vocabulary and content of parts of 3,13a and 5,1a are identical or at least similar. Abraham’s faith was already, by way of anticipation, Christian faith. Moreover, 'those of faith' in 3,7 and 9 implicitly are believers in Christ. This also applies to 4,26. The children of 'the Jerusalem above' are free because they belong to Christ, even if in v. 26 this is not (yet) explicitly stated. Therefore, a seemingly brusque transition from the Abraham text or the allegory to Christ should not disturb the reader too much.

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