The first part of this chapter will discuss the lexical meaning of inheritance in the Old Testament. Thus, the "inheritance of God" is the promised land and not God's people.
The use of the imperfect verbs qal and indicates that believers will receive their reward in the future. It is important to point out that Isaiah 57:13 claims that those who trust in the Lord are the heirs of the land, which seems to contradict the claim in Psalm 2 that the sole beneficiary of the land is God's son, the Davidic king . Then Isaiah 65:17-25 ( )47 describes the future land heritage as the "new heavens and a new earth", a place where "the former things shall not be remembered nor brought to mind" (v. 7) and where God's people will 'rejoice and rejoice forever in what [he] shall create' (v. 18).
This underlines that the legacy is an eschatological concept, which will only be realized in the future. In addition, Isaiah 66:22-23 further states that the new heavens and new earth will exist eternally before the Lord and that the descendants of Abraham will abide on them forever. Ezekiel's contribution to the concept of inheritance in the Prophets is that he solidifies the eschatological nature of this idea.
Hammer, "The Understanding of the Inheritance in the New Testament" (Th.D. thesis, The University of Heidelberg, 1958); James D. This observation reinforces the claim that the Similitudes present the future eschatological world as the inheritance of the righteous (cf. The prophecy of "inheriting, possessing" the land will now be fulfilled for the elect of the new Israel; cf. .
57George Nickelsburg, "The Bible Rewritten and Expanded," in Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, 97. One of the most characteristic aspects of the inheritance in the Psalms is that eternal destruction will be the sinner's future inheritance. This is consistent with the discussion of inheritance in the Second Temple texts that have been examined thus far.
93 According to Liv Ingeborg Lied, "the idea that the other, future world is also the inheritance of the righteous strengthens Israel's claim to that world."94. Such anticipation suggests that the territorial heritage in the War Scroll is directed towards the future restoration of the country.
Christ as the Heir of the World
Paul then confirms, as Isaiah, that the Spirit is the fulfillment of the promise of blessing to Abraham - a promise that extends to the nations (εἰς τὰ ἔθνη) in Christ Jesus (ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ 4,) and makes them: Abraham's sons and heirs of the land (Gal 4:6–7). 15Schreiner, Galatians, 228, citing Burton, asserts that the "promises" in Gal 3:6 "include the entirety of the promises made to Abraham." However, this claim is not valid, since Paul. 17In-Gyu Hong, The Law in Galatians, Journal for the Study of the New Testament,.
Abraham.25 Similarly, Psalm 2:6–8 narrows the heir of the land to one individual, the royal son of God. This function is evident in Gal 3:16, where the nominative expression ὅς ἐστιν Χριστός explains the identity of Abraham's descendant in the expression καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου. The reign of the Messiah will not be limited to the former borders of Canaan, for "the nations are his inheritance" and.
Fellow-Heirs of the World
Furthermore, the echo of Psalm 2:6-8 in Galatians 3:16 argues that the term κληρονομία points to a world heritage. Having pointed this out, it is now appropriate to determine whether Paul proved that the law does not contradict the promises. 51 Some scholars believe that the promise here includes the blessing of the spirit and righteousness (Fung, Galatians, 155; see also Betz, Galatians, 175; Bruce, Galatians, 180; Longenecker, Galatians, 144; Dunn, Galatians, 194).
Those who support the subjective interpretation generally maintain that the phrase πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ is a reference to Jesus' faithfulness in giving his life on the cross. Additionally, those who maintain an objective genitive reading claim that the participle τοῖς πιστεύουσιν—after Paul had already noted the necessity of faith in Christ in the phrase πίστεως Ἰησοτῦ obtained by emphasizing the promises faith in Christ, not by the performance of the Act. Given this effect on Paul's readers, and the fact that the exodus story fits the inheritance argument in Galatians 3:15–4:7, Scott's exodus reading of Galatians 4:1–2 is preferable to the standard Greco-Roman legal interpretation found in the comments.
The Original Exodus
The exodus tradition to which Paul alludes therefore extends beyond the Hexateuch to include a matrix of texts in the Psalms, Prophets, and Second Temple literature which assert that Israel's exodus from Egypt was intended to culminate in the inheritance of the world.72. Given that Jewish tradition said that Israel was the heir of the world, it is better to see ὁ κληρονόμος as a reference to Israel.73 However, Israel had not yet received its inheritance, and thus Paul understands that their status as heir has yet to be fulfilled.74 According to Rodrigo Morales, Israel's position as an unfulfilled heir “is the role that Jubilees and Sirach (and Paul) have in mind, from the time of their writing. Paul's language here is moving within the exodus tradition, and the text of Hosea 11 contributes to this matrix; Therefore, it would be more prudent to say that Paul's language here echoes a text that is part of a matrix of ideas related to the exodus event.”77 Keesmaat is correct in arguing that Hosea 11:1 is only one from the passages of the exodus story. which Paul is referring to, because there are a series of complex texts that contribute to this tradition.
Israel remained in such a state "until the appointed time of the Father" (ἄχρι τῆς δεμέθις τοῦ πατρός, gal 4: 2).80 This phrase probably reflects Genesis 15:13, in which God informs Abraham that his descendants will be. strangers in a strange land where "they will be oppressed for four hundred years" (430 years in Exodus 12:40–41). Scott notes that "after this follows the promise of the exodus (Gen 15:14-16) and the land (vv. 18-2 ) which... were associated with Israel's eschatological hope for world domination."81 The period of 400 years in Genesis years in Exodus 12:40–41) may therefore indicate a predetermined period in Israel's history, and thus "may be called a period". time that Israel was a slave in Egypt until the 400/430 years came to an end.83. After considering the entire illustration in Galatians 4:1–2, it is clear that Paul is echoing the series of Jewish texts that make up the exodus narrative, which present the Israelites as the rightful masters of the world enslaved under Egyptian rule (Gal 4 :1).
The New Exodus
While livestock fell in the plain, the Spirit of the Lord gave the people rest. Nehemiah mentions the giving of the Spirit (v. 20) after recounting the pillar of cloud and fire that led Israel through the desert (v. Wilder, Echoes of the Exodus Narrative, 134, argues that, in view of Exodus 33 : 4, "the restful working of the Spirit" implies that the Spirit accompanied God's people to the promised land.
With this in mind, it is clear that Galatians 4:6-7's discussion of Abraham's promises of blessing, seed, and inheritance falls within the story of a new exodus. Like the original exodus, the new exodus story demonstrates that the Spirit (the promise of blessing) leads the sons of God (the promise of posterity) out of slavery under the law and through the wilderness of the present sinful age (Acts 7:30-44). ; Heb Five until they inherit the world to come (promise of inheritance). Furthermore, the ongoing nature of the new exodus means that the promise of the inheritance to Abraham remains unfulfilled.
The Sarah and Hagar Story
112 See, for example, Moisés Silva, “Galatians,” in Commentary on the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament, ed. It is difficult to see how Hagar functions as a historical type of the Sinai covenant.114. Although Galatians 4:27 cites a prophecy that assures Sarah of many descendants, it is difficult to see how this single quotation confirms that Galatian Christians are citizens of the New Jerusalem.
Then the remainder of Isaiah 54 describes the gloriously restored nature of the inheritance (vv. 4–16) and assures the exile community that this is indeed so. However, it is doubtful that the context of the quote in Galatians 4:27 is limited to Isaiah 54. By implication, scriptural support for the Galatians as citizens of the New Jerusalem extends from Isaiah 54 to 51.
The True Heirs
Finally, 4:21–31, echoing Isaiah 54 through 51, confirms that the inheritance is the future world promised to Abraham's descendants. He presents a cohesive inheritance argument in these passages by claiming that the inheritance is κόσμος in 4:13-25 and then describing this concept eschatologically in 8:14-25. Together, these passages provide some of the clearest evidence of Paul's understanding of inheritance.
An examination of the inheritance in this passage will be an essential first step in confirming the cosmic, eschatological nature of this concept in Romans. Most commentators agree that this cosmic view of the promise is based on the Other. This not only establishes the view of future righteousness in this passage, but also the eschatological nature of the inheritance.
The Inheritance as the Recreated World
Rome. This idea is in line with Ephesians 4, where Paul declares that the Spirit is the "guarantee" of the future inheritance (cf. the future term κληρονομήσουσιν βασιλείαν also fulfills the premise of judgment. clearly that the boundaries of the kingdom have been expanded to accommodate this expansion (cf.
The temporary kingdom in Canaan (Samuel-Chronicles) serves as a type of kingdom in the world to come. Instead, they are being led by the Spirit through the wilderness of the present sinful age, desiring to inherit the kingdom of God (cf. Paul's use of the future phrase κληρονομήσουσιν βασιλείαν (Gal 5:21) indicates that the inheritance of the kingdom is close (cf. 1 Cor 6:9–10; Ephesians 5:5).