Re-enchanting Paul?

Abstract

The Galatian community is disrupted with different notions of the gospel than Paul intended. Paul, surprised that this community is confused so easily, sets out in Gal 3 to explain what justification by faith entails. Paul and his letter to the Galatians are products of a first century CE context. The problem when faced with Galatians, particularly Gal 3:1–14, is that research on rhetoric abounds, but the curse language, which is an embedded in Paul’s context is often dismissed or ignored. My focus here is to trace Paul’s meaning, specifically focusing on curse language in the argument of Gal 3 in order to show that Paul is embedded in a apotropaic imaginary as befits his socio-cultural setting and Greco-Roman discursive reality.