Grace in Galatia is an innovative socio-rhetorical study of Paul's most polemical letter. Ben Witherington breaks new ground by analyzing the whole of Galatians as a deliberative discourse meant to forestall the Galatians from submitting to circumcision and the Jewish law. The commentary features the latest discussion of major problems in Pauline studies, including Paul's view of the law and the relationship between the historical data in Galatians and in Acts. Yet the narrative character of Witherington's work allows it to remain exceedingly accessible. The volume also includes sections following the major divisions of the commentary that point to the relevance of the text for believers today, making Grace in Galatia of special value to pastors and general readers as well as students and scholars.

NEXT TO ROMANS, NO OTHER WRITING has impacted the shape of reformed theology more than Paul's letter to the Galatians. So important was the letter that Luther affectionately referred to it as his Katie von Bora – the name of his wife, stating that in some ways he was married to the letter as well. Like Romans, Galatians is rooted in Paul's conviction that through the resurrection of Jesus, God's new creation has burst in upon the old with redeeming power and vindication for those made part of Christ's body by faith. Unlike Romans however, Galatians isn't primarily an exposition on the gospel or how we get saved. Rather, what is really at issue is the inclusion of all people in the single, multi-ethnic family of God. Who is in and who is out? Who belongs? And on what basis? These are the real issues being debated by the churches to whom Paul is writing. Paul's answer is that men and women are made part of the community of Christ by faith alone and not works of the Law. Followers of Jesus, no matter what their ethnic or moral background is, are incorporated into the family of God by the grace and action of God alone, and not by outward marks of Jewish identity. In Galatians: A Commentary, pastor and author Marc Simon offers a verse by verse exposition of Galatians which is at once accessible to scholars, pastors, and students alike.

This commentary on Galatians seeks to provide an originalist understanding of the epistle by viewing Paul as a Torah-observant apostle of the Messiah who was arguing against compulsory proselyte conversion into Pharisaic Judaism and not the Old Testament law of God in general. As such, this commentary pays closer attention to the perpetuity of the Old Testament law of God, Paul's nuanced use of "law" (nomos), Jewish oral tradition, and the historical context of gentile proselyte conversion in Paul's time. The goal of this commentary is to combine the strengths of evangelical hermeneutics and recent advances in Pauline studies to arrive at a more accurate understanding of the original author's intended meaning within his own historical context.

A thorough and attractively written analysis of the issues in one of the most important of early Christian documents.

Intra-Jewish conflict in Paul's communities After taking on traditional interpretations of Romans in (The Mystery of Romans, Nanos now turns his attention to the Letter to the Galatians. A Primary voice in reclaiming Paul in his Jewish context. Nanos challenges the previously dominant views of Paul as rejecting his Jewish heritage and the Law. Where Paul's rhetoric has been interpreted to be its most anti-Jewish, Nanos instead demonstrates the implications of an intra-Jewish reading. He explores the issues of purity, insiders/outsiders; the charactor of "the gospel"; the relationship between groups of Christ-followers in Jerusalem, Antioch, and Galatia; and evil-eye accusations.