This is a revised version of the author's Durham PhD. In his own words, “This book joins in the ongoing discussion about the configuration of Paul's theological vision and logic in Galatians by claiming that an unparalleled vantage point for the task is found in Gal 4:21–5:1, where key aspects of Paul's hermeneutic are made visible, the development of important themes is brought together, and the move is prepared toward the final section of the letter that exhorts the Galatians to live in accordance with the ‘truth of the gospel’” (2). Regardless of whether the vantage point that Tedder provides is “unparalleled,” he certainly establishes a viable and, in many respects, compelling case for his approach to Gal 4:21–5:1.
Many interpreters of Galatians treat Gal 4:21–5:1, the so-called allegory of Sarah/Isaac and Ishmael/Hagar, as a sort of ornament to Paul's argument. In contrast, Tedder argues that this passage provides a superior vantage point for unpacking the logic and vision of the argument of Galatians.
Chapter 1 presents a wide variety of approaches to Paul and particularly to Galatians, offering a clear and insightful analysis of the scholarly options on display. Chapter 2 examines the structure of Galatians in order to argue for the centrality of 4:21–5:1 for understanding Paul's argument. Because 4:21–5:1 offers ample examples of the uses, allusions, and inferences of other texts, Tedder devotes chapters 3 and 4 to exploring the potential for understanding Gal 4:21–5:1 through deep intertextual analyses of both the account of Abraham in Genesis and Isaiah 54:1, where Tedder often ranges far and wide across themes in Isaiah. Chapter 5 offers a sophisticated account of different approaches to allegorical reading and how Paul's allegorizing fits in to these approaches. This culminates in a rich intertextual reading of Gal 4:21–5:1 in the light of the larger movement of Galatians. A final chapter summarizes these findings.
In many respects this volume still reads like a dissertation, and I believe further editing could have streamlined the argument. Nevertheless, Tedder also helpfully summarizes his arguments at regular intervals and offers clear transitions when the argument moves on. Moreover, Tedder's analysis of others’ work is fair and charitable.
This book offers several clear advances in scholarship on Galatians. First, I believe Tedder convincingly shows that Gal 4:21–5:1 is far more than a rhetorical ornament in the argument of the epistle. He is able to offer a deep reading of this text that shows its centrality to the argument of the whole letter. I am less clear that it offers a superior “vantage point” for understanding Paul's “vision and logic.” This is mostly because phrases like “vantage point” and “vision and logic” are left rather vague. It seems one could equally well argue that 3:1–5 contains within it one of the central claims of Paul's argument in Galatians and that 3:6–5:1 unpacks that argument beginning with claims about Abraham and culminating in 4:21–5:1. Each of the subsequent sections following from 3:6 builds on and develops the argument. If “vantage point” means that if we imagined these arguments (which themselves build on prior assertions in Galatians) were piled on top of one another, then 4:21–5:1 would indeed represent the top of the hill on which one could stand and view things. It seems equally plausible that one could argue that from the key assertions of 3:1–5, the argument has all the momentum it needs to move steadily downhill, each step down following from the one before. Regardless of whether “vantage point” can really do much conceptual work, Tedder has made a strong case for integrating 4:21–5:1 into the central part of Paul's argument in Galatians.
The second and extremely welcome contribution of this book is the compelling and thoughtful way Tedder incorporates the importance of both Genesis and Isaiah as crucial texts for Paul's argument in Galatians. Treatments of 4:21–5:1 (including my own) tend to focus on either Genesis or Isaiah at the expense of the other. Tedder argues for the importance of seeing both together as essential elements in a Pauline account of God's promises to Israel and the Gentiles’ inclusion in those promises in the light of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The arguments of this book are important for all who want to grapple with Galatians. The scholarly community is in Tedder's debt.
