Tagged by Philip – Page 123

Tagged by Philip – Pick up the nearest book. Turn to p. 123. Skip the first 5 sentences and copy the next three. Tag five others.

This is from James Dunn, The Epistle to the Galatians in the Black’s New Testament Commentary Series with some commentary on Galatians 2:12:

In such circumstances, as in the Maccabean period two centuries earlier, a natural reflex was for loyalists to attempt to mark out and maintain the boundary markers which distinguished their nation. Such pressure could very well lie behind Paul’s criticism of Peter that he acted ‘out of fear of those of the circumcision’; whether the criticism was justified or not, Peter’s action might well appear to be stimulated by fear of those who, like Paul before (see on i.13), had been prepared to use violence to maintain Jewish ethnic and religious distinctiveness (cf. Jewett, ‘Agitators’ 204-6; for Peter’s own attitude see on ii.13). ‘Those of the circumcision’ (cf. Rom iv.12; Col iv.11; Tit. i.10) signifies a group whose self-identity was bound up with circumcision, that is, here at least, with maintaining the distinctive markers of Jewish identity which circumcision itself most clearly expressed (see on ii.3); Peter could well have shown some trepidation at confronting such zealous Jews, believers included (cf. Acts xi.2;2 Cor xi.26; Rom. xv.31).

Can you believe all that is just three sentences?