The Rhetoric of Curse in Galatians

Book excerpt: The volumes in this series investigate early Christian literature in the context of Mediterranean literature, religion, society, and culture. The authors use interdisciplinary methods informed by social, rhetorical, and literary approaches to move beyond the limits of traditional literary historical investigations. The studies presuppose that Christianity began as a Jewish movement in various geographical, political, economic, and social locations in the Greco-Roman world.This work examines the meaning and rhetorical function of curses in Paul's confrontation with his opponents in the churches of Galatia. Morland's detailed exegeses of Galatians 1:6-12 and 2:15-3:14 offer new insights into the interpretation of Hebrew Bible citations in the New Testament.