20 September 2024

Just like Abraham

I have been seeking to get published an article on Paul’s teaching on justification and his important use of the Jewish exegetical technique of gezerah shavah in Gal 3. It has taken three years so far, but hopefully the article might be out some time in 2025.

In the meantime, here is a short video explaining Paul’s basic teaching on justification, and in particular his use of gezerah shavah to compare and contrast Gen 15:6, Lev 18:5b, and Hab 2:4b: Just like Abraham - Short Version. For a more detailed explanation, here is the longer video: Just like Abraham - Full Version.

It is a brilliant use of Jewish exegetical logic once you understand what Paul was doing with those verses, but I have not come across any scholars so far who have noticed the full salvation-historical significance of Paul’s use of gezerah shavah in Gal 3. We fail to understand the genius of Paul’s argument in Gal 3 if we overlook his use of this form of Jewish exegetical logic.