JBL 105/3 (1986) 481-498

"THE LAW WAS OUR PEDAGOGUE": A STUDY IN GALATIANS 3:19-25

DAVID J. LULL
The Divinity School, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510

I. Introduction In Gal 3:15-18 Paul employs an analogy of the "testament" to demon strate that the Law does not annul Cod's promise to bless the Gentiles in Abraham and his "offspring" through faith. Paul's argument that the promise is given "through faith to faith" (cf. 3:22b and 3:6-14) and that the Law does not annul the promise, raises a question about why then the Law was given. This question, to which Paul has given an implicit answer in 3:6-18, namely, to place everyone, Jew and Gentile alike,1 "under a curse," is raised and addressed explicitly in 3:19-25. The purpose of this article is to examine the metaphor of the "peda gogue" in Paul's description of the Law's temporality and its function in history. The now-dominant view, namely, that Paul attributes to the Law only a negative function in the history of salvation,2 misunderstands Galatians 3, in part because it is heavily influenced by Paul's statements in Rom 3:20; 4:15; 5:13, 20; 7:5, 7-24; and 1 Cor 15:56.3Even without this influence,
Cf. the first person plural in 3:13 ("Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us"), which includes the Gentile addressees of the letter to the Galatians (cf. 3:14; also 4:3-6). 2 See R. Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament (2 vols.; New York: Scribner, 1951, 1955) 1. 266; J. Schneider, "," TDNT5. 740; V. P. Furnish, Theology and Ethics in Paul (Nashville and New York: Abingdon, 1968) 143, 159-60; H. Conzelmann, An Outline of the Theology of the New Testament (New York: Harper & Row, 1969) 227; G. Bornkamm, Paul (New York: Harper & Row, 1971) 120-29; R Bonnard, L'eptre de Saint Paul aux Galates (CNT 9; 2d ed.; Neuchtel: Delachaux & Niestl, 1972) 152-53 (who expresses agreement with Bultmann, Conzelmann, and Bornkamm); H. Schlier, Der Brief an die Galater (MeyerK 7; 5th ed.; Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1971) 152-54; H. D. Bete, Galatians (Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979) 145-46, 163-67,175, 178; J. C. Beker, Paul the Apostle: The THumph of God in Life and Thought (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980) 55, 243; T. Callan, "Pauline Midrash: The Exegetical Background of Gal 3:19b," JBL 99 (1980) 549, 563-64, 565, 567; G. Ebeling, Die Wahrheit des Evangelium: Eine Lesehilfe zum Galaterhrief (Tbingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1981) 261, 266 (reflecting the influence of Betz's commentary); and E. P. Sanders, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983) 66-67. Of course there are real differences between each of these, but they are "family" differences. 3 For the interpretation of the Law in Galatians with the aid of these texts, see Beker, Paul
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it is claimed that the metaphors of the "pedagogue" and the other household slaves, which Paul uses in 3:19-4:7, support the view that Galatians presents the Jewish Law as a Stimulation to transgressions.4 But the thrust of these metaphors is in another direction. Paul's primary metaphor for the function of the Law in the period of history before the coming of Jesus as Abraham's "offspring," namely, that of the "pedagogue" (3:23-25; see also 4:1-2), implies that the Law was intended to restrain or control transgressions (see 3:19). Paul argues that the period "under a pedagogue" came to an end with the "revelation" of "the [promised] faith" in the coming of Jesus as "the offspring" of Abraham (see 3:23-25), who brought "a new creation" into being (6:15). With the arrival of "the offspring" of Abraham, the blessing was given to those who "believed" (see 3:6-14): that is, they were liberated from "the present evil age" (see 1:4), and they were given the Spirit to guide their lives (see 3:2, 3, 5, 14; 4:6, 29; 5:16-18, 22-23, 25; 6:1, 8).5 AU of this is best understood within the ethos expressed by Paul's metaphor of the "pedagogue," which can be reconstructed from references to the figure of the pedagogue in a wide assortment of Greco-Roman literature. This essay begins with the first part of Paul's answer to the question about the place of the Law in history in 3:19-25, namely, 3:19. Then we turn our attention to the metaphor Paul uses for the function of the Jewish Law in the period of history before the Messiah came, that of the "pedagogue." In the conclusion, I distinguish my interpretation from the view held in the earliest commentaries and by some modern interpreters that the Law prepared for the "moral education" that was to come from the Messiah, conceived of as a "teacher," a view whose exegetical decisions are similar to mina II. "The Law was added because of the transgressions" Paul begins his explanation of the purpose of the Law by placing temporal limitations on the Law, thereby differing from the majority view within the various forms of Judaism of his day.6 In Paul's view the Law was

the Apostle, 55,243; Betz, Galatians, 165; Ebeling, Wahrheit, 264; J. Eckert, Die urchristliche Verkndigung im Streit zwischen Paulus und seinen Gegnern nach dem Galaterhrief (Biblische Untersuchungen, 6; Regensburg: Pustet, 1971) 82; J. A. Fitzmyer, "The Letter to the Galatians," JBC 2. 243; Furnish, Theology and Ethics, 143, 159; and M. J. Lagrange, Saint Paul epxtre aux Galates (EBib; 2d ed.; Paris: Cabalda, 1950) 82, 90-91. 4 See Sanders, Paul, the Law, 66-67. 5 I have discussed the soteriological, christological, and eschatological dimensions of Paul's concept of the Spirit in Galatians more fully in The Spirit in Galatia: Paul's Interpretation of PNEUMA as Divine Power (SBLDS 49; Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1980). For a discussion of the Jewish concept of the Law as "eternal," see G. F. Moore, Judaism in the First Centuries of the Christian Era, the Age of the Tannaim (2 vols.; New York: Schocken Books, 1927) 1. 263-80.

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not "eternal" but "was added" (3:19b), a reference to the 430 years (3:17) that had elapsed from the time God made the promise to Abraham and the Law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai through angels and a mediator 7 (3:19d). Since this "covenant" with Abraham was brought to fulfillment with the coming of Jesus as "the offspring" of Abraham, Paul also denies that the Law superseded the promise to bless all who have faith like Abraham (cf. 3:15-18 and 3:19-22). The temporality of the Law includes an end as well as a beginning in history, a point made five times in 3:19-25 ( w 19c, 23a and c, 24a, 25). 8 For Paul says that the Law "was added until the offspring should come, to whom the promise was made," which refers to the identification of "Christ" with "the offspring" of Abraham (3:16). The view that the Law was not to continue on into perpetuity but had come to an end in history with the arrival of Jesus as the Messiah is bound up with Paul's understanding of the proper function of the Law in history. The description of that role, played before Christ ("the offspring") came, begins with a prepositional phrase in 3:19b, . The current consensus is that this phrase expresses the result or goal of the Law: the Law "was added for the sake of the transgressions," which is to say, to produce, generate, or provoke them.9 But the preposition in 3:19b can also be understood in a causal sense as introducing the prior con dition that caused God to "add" the Law: the Law "was added because of transgressions," that is, in order to deal with the transgressions that had occurred.10 Although one can support the first interpretation (i.e., that "the Law was added to provoke transgressions") by appealing to Rom 3:20; 4:15; 5:13, 20; 7:5, 7-24; and 1 Cor 15:56, it does not fit well the context of Paul's statements in the rest of Gal 3:19-25.u It is better to interpret 3:19 with this context in view rather than statements in other Pauline letters, even if they appear to be less ambiguous. In fact, however, those texts are just as prob lematic. In Romans, Paul holds that there was no Law until Moses (5:12-14)
For the view that Paul's depiction of the angelic origin of the Law is pejorative, see Callan, "Pauline Midi-ash," 549. 8 See also 5:6 and 6:15, where Paul declares that "in Christ" circumcision and uncircumcision are no longer "valid" or no longer "exist." 9 See Beker, Paul the Apostle, 55, 243; Betz, Galatians, 163-67 (see also 145-46, 175, 178); Bonnard, Galates, 72-73; F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians (New International Creek Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982) 181-82; Ebeling, Wahrheit, 261, 266; Fitzmyer, "Galatians," JBC 2. 243; Furnish, Theology and Ethics, 143, 159; Lagrange, Galates, 82, 90-91; and H. J. Schoeps, Paul: The Theology of the Apostle in the Light of Jewish Religious History (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961) 174. 10 The view that the Law was given "to curtail transgressions" is found among the earliest commentaries (see Bonnard, Galates, 76; Fitzmyer, "Galatians," JBC 2. 243; and F. SiefFert, Der Brief an die Galater [MeyerK 7; 8th ed.; Gttingen: Vandehoeck & Ruprecht, 1894] 223 [who lists them]). For the use of in a causal sense similar to Paul's in 3:19, see Plato Leg. 7.808E (which is discussed in section 3 below). 11 See above, p. 481.
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and that a transgression () presupposes the existence of a Law (4:15), which evidently means that, although sin existed before "the Law was given" (5:13a), no account of sinful deeds was kept where there was no Law (5:13b). In short, the term "transgression" seems to imply a preexisting Law and judicial process. And yet Paul speaks of Adam's "sinful deed" as a "transgression" (5:14, ; cf. "trespass" [] in 5:15-18). Rom 5:20 ("the Law entered in to increase the trespass") could be inter preted in view of Paul's usage of the terms "transgression" and "trespass" in 5:14 and 15-18 to mean that now, under this Law, transgressions would be "counted" and thereby "increased";12 it could, therefore, lend support to the view that Gal 3:19 means that the Mosaic Law was given to deal with "the transgressions which had occurred before this Law existed."13 Paul's statements in Rom 4:15; 5:13, 14, and 15-18, however, seem to reflect either an inconsistent use of the terms and or incoherent views of the Law: so why must Gal 3:19 be read so that it is consistent with these inconsistent texts, whatever that means? Furthermore, the view that the Law aroused "the sinful passions" (see Rom 7:5, 7-24)14 does not square with that of Rom 5:13, according to which "before the Law existed sin was in the world."15 In a similar vein, Rom 3:20 ("knowledge of sin comes through the Law") can be interpreted to mean that the Law "arouses the sinful passions";16 but it can also be interpreted along the lines of 4:15; 5:13, 20 to mean that the Law identifies sin for what it is, imputes sinful deeds to those who do them, and, in that sense, "increases the trespass."17 In other words, these passages in Romans are no less ambiguous than Gal 3:19 and, therefore, cannot be expected to aid in the interpretation of the latter.18 The effort to make Paul's view of the Law in Gal 3:19 consistent with his view
12 See Lagrange, Saint Paul epttre aux Romains (EBib; 4th ed.; Paris: Gabalda, 1950) 113; and C. E. B. Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (2 vols.; ICC; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1975, 1979) 1. 292-93. On the other hand, for the view that 5:20 should be interpreted in the light of 7:7-24 to mean that the Law "increases the trespass" because it arouses "the sinful passions," following M. Luther, see O. Michel, Der Brief an die Rmer (MeyerK 4; 10th ed.; Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1955) 127; and E. Ksemann, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980) 158; for Luther's interpretation, see Michel, Rmer, 127 . 2. 13 See also U. Wckens, Der Brief an die Rmer (2 vols.; EKKNT 6; Cologne: Benziger; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1978, 1980) 1. 177, 329. 14 Cf. 1 Cor 15:56, "the power of sin is the Law." 15 Cf. Rom 2:12, "All who have sinned without the Law. . . ." 16 See Bultmann (Theology, 1. 264) and Ksemann (Romans, 89, with a reference to Rom 7:7-24), who seem to be following Luther (see the note about Luther's interpretation in Michel, Rmer, 88 . 1). See also Lagrange, Galates, 72. 17 See F. Hahn, "Das Gesetzesverstndnis im Rmer- und Galaterbrief," ZNW 67 (1976-77) 41-47; and Cranfield, Romans, 1. 199. 18 Consultation with representative commentaries on Romans, including the most recent (see my notes for a sampling), shows that no consensus has developed in the interpretation of these passages.

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in Romans hardly commends itself when even in Romans one can find various views of the Law that do not add up to a single, coherent view.19 We should, therefore, stick to the Calatian context for the interpreta tion of Gal 3:19. Here Paul argues that the Law "was added because of transgressions" until the coming of "the offspring," so that the promises righteousness and new lifemight be given from faith, not from the Law, to those who have faith in Jesus Christ (3:22b). Redemption from bondage under sin was reserved for the event of the coming of Jesus Christ (1:4), "the offspring" whose coming would conclude the period of the Law (see 3:13, 19, 23-25; 4:4-5) and bringrighteousnessand new life (see 2:15-16, 19-21; 3:6-14,18, 21-22, 24; and 5:2-6). The function of the Law before (or until) the coming of "the offspring" was merely to punish and prevent transgres sions, but everyone would remain "under a curse" during the period of the Law in history (see 3:10).20 The expression "the scripture" in 3:22 has been identified with specific passages,21 the Law of Moses,22 or with the whole of Jewish scripture itself.23 Because the principal verb of this verse, ("imprisoned, locked up, or enclosed together"),24 is repeated in 3:23 () in conjunction with the statement that "before the [promised] faith came we were locked up [] under the Law," it is understandable that 3:22-23 has been interpreted to mean that the divine purpose of the Law was "to enclose everything together under sin."25 However, this interpretation
For an emphasis on incoherence in Paul's views of the Law, see especially H. Risnen, "Paul's Theological Difficulties with the Law," in Studia Bblica 1978. Vol. 3, Papers on Paul and Other New Testament Authors (ed. E. A. Livingstone; JSNTSup 3; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1980) 307, 314; idem, Paul and the Law (WUNT 29; Tbingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1983). For these references I am indebted to Sanders (Paul, the Law, 88-89 n. 25, 91 n. 58, 163 n. 14), whose own views (144-49) should be compared with Risnen's. 20 I cannot give a full argument for this interpretation of Gal 3:10 here. 21 See J. B. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians (rpt. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1957) 147; and E. de W. Burton, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (ICC; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1921) 195. 22 See Lagrange, Galates, 88; and A. Oepke, Der Brief des Paulus an die Galater (rev. by J. Rohde; THKNT 9; 3d ed.; Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 1973) 119 (whose view is rejected by Bonnard, Galates, 75). See also Fitzmyer ("Galatians," JBC 2. 243), who takes "scripture" to mean "especially the Law" but also the texts quoted in Rom 3:8-10. 23 See my review of Betz's commentary in Perkins School of Theology Journal 34 (1981) 44-46, although Sanders (Paul, the Law, 87 n. 6) disagrees with my criticism of Betz on this point (175; see also 176). See also Ebeling, Wahrheit, 263; E. E. Ellis, Paul's Use of the OT (Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1957) 21 n. 13; and Schlier, Galater, 164-65. Bonnard interprets "the scripture" to mean "the whole Old Testament characterized as law" (Galates, 75). 24 The prepositional prefix - ("with") refers to the object of the verb, "everything" ( ). See also Rom 11:32, "God enclosed everything together for disobedience. . . ." 25 See G. Bertram, "," TDNT 5. 621; Callan, "Pauline Midrash," 564; Furnish, Theology and Ethics, 160; and F. Mussner, Der Galaterbrief (HTKNT 9; Freiburg: Herder, 1974) 255. See the discussion of 3:23 below.
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overlooks the fact that up through 3:22 the Law is not portrayed as an active agent,26 the only exception being the question about whether "the Law was against the promises (of God)" (3:21a), which is answered emphatically in the negative (3:21b),27 so that Paul portrays the Law as an active agent for the first time in 3:24 with the metaphor of the "pedagogue."28 At issue in 29 3:19-25 is what God's purpose was in adding/giving the Law. Paul makes it clear that it was not to annul the promises nor to add a codicil to the previously ratified "testament," as if righteousness and new life, that is, "the promises," would now come from the Law rather than from faith (see 3:21a; 3:15-18), which would be contrary to what "the scripture" had proclaimed from the beginning (see 3:8). In other words, "the scripture" has become a personified, active agent,30 depicting God's redemptive purpose in history, according to which the Law was given during the period when "the scrip ture [i.e. God] enclosed everything together under sin," in order that the promises, namely, righteousness and new life, might be given through faith (cf. 3:6-14, 18, 22b, 23b, 24b with 2:15-16, 19-21; 5:4-6). III. "The Law was our pedagogue" As Paul's argument continues in 3:23-25 the Law becomes an active figure, a "pedagogue." The interpretation of 3:23 encounters at least two difficulties: (1) the ambiguity of the main verb, , and (2) the logical function of the present participle .31 To begin with the latter: one interpretation takes as a participle of "identical action," indicating the purpose, result, or manner of the main verb.32
26 Notice the use of passive verbs in 3:19 (the Law "was added"), in 3:22 (". . . a Law had been given . . ."), and in 3:23 ("we were kept under the Law"). 27 See also 3:22, where Paul denies that the Law "was able to create life." 28 In ancient rhetoric, this "personification" of the Law would be called , the description of a character or personal figure (for this suggestion I am indebted to R. F. Hock). See also 4:1-2, in which Paul depicts the Law as household slaves who act as masters over children, a metaphor applied also to the universe in 4:3, 9, in which the "elementary powers of the universe" are portrayed as "weak and beggarly" slaves in the cosmic "household." For discussions of the concept of the , see the literature cited by Betz, Galatians, 204-5 n. 30. 29 For a discussion of 3:19-20, see Callan, "Pauline Midrash," 549-67. For the view that although God intended the Law for Israel's salvation angelic powers who were enemies of Israel actually introduced the Law in order to lure them into transgressions so that they might be destroyed, see H. Hbner, Das Gesetz bei Paulus (FRLANT 119; Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1978); this view, in addition to other weaknesses, fails to understand Paul's use of the metaphor of the "pedagogue" for the function of the Law during the period prior to the coming of Jesus Christ as "the offspring" of Abraham. 30 Gal 3:8, 22 are also instances of . 31 The manuscript evidence for the perfect participle is in the minority and late. 32 See Burton, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in NT Greek (rpt. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1976) 120-21. See also Bertram, "," TDNT 5. 621; Callan, "Pauline Midrash," 564; Furnish, Theology and Ethics, 160; and Mussner, Galaterbrief 255.

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According to this interpretation, the purpose of the Law was to keep "every thing imprisoned [under sin] until the coming faith was revealed."33 It is also possible to take the present participle as a substitute for the imperfect, indicating "continued action antecedent to that of the principal verb":34" . . having been enclosed [with everything under sin]. . . "Notice that 3:23 is connected to 3:22 by means of , which introduces a slightly adversative note,35 so that 3:22-23 could be interpreted to mean that the Law mitigates the condition of being "enclosed with everything under sin"which is not to say, however, that the Law brings deliverance from this pre-eschatological condition. In other words, we might interpret the present participle in 3:23 causally" . . because we were enclosed [with everything under sin] . . ."or concessively* . . although we were en closed [with everything under sin]. . . ." This interpretation of the present participle supports, and is supported by, taking in 3:19 as a causal preposition"because of the transgressions [that had occurred]." Also, according to this interpretation Paul would maintain the common Jewish view that God had not abandoned God's people to the evil powers of the world but had provided a "fence" around them.36 The principal verb, , means "to keep or guard someone," either to prevent someone from exiting,37 or to protect someone38 When the former sense ("to prevent from escaping") is taken, the present participle () is usually understood to indicate the manner, purpose, or result of the principal verb (), so that 3:23 is interpreted to mean that the divine purpose of the Law was to keep every one from escap ing from imprisonment under sin, based on the equation of "the scripture" in 3:22 with "the Law" in 3:23.3e This verse would then be taken to mean
33 Compare "the scripture enclosed [] everything together under sin" in 3:22, taking "the scripture" in 3:22 as a reference to the Law of Moses (see p. 485 above). See also those who interpret 3:19 to mean that the Law was intended to "produce" transgressions (taking in 3:19 in a telic sense): Beker, Paul the Apostle, 55, 243; Betz, Galatians, 165-66, 175 (cf. 145-46); Bonnard, Galates, 72-73; Burton, Galatians, 188, 199; Furnish, Theology and Ethics, 143, 159; Lagrange, Galates, 82, 90-91; Schlier, Galater, 152-54, 167; and Schoeps, Paul, 174. 34 See Burton, Syntax, 127. The perfect participle in the manuscript tradition would lend support to this reading. 35 Betz (Galatians, 175 n. 118, with a reference to the grammars and to Schlier, Galater, 166 n. 1), however, thinks that the , which stands in third place, points to "the next step of the argument." 38 For the concept of the Law as a "fence," see the reference to Jewish literature in Betz, Galatians, 165 nn. 29-31; Betz, however, thinks that Paul "gives a very negative interpreta tion" of this Jewish concept of the Law (176; see also Mussner, Galaterbrief, 256; and Ebeling, Wahrheit, 265-66). 37 See 2 Cor 11:32 in a literal sense, and Wis 17:15 in a figurative sense. 38 See Phil 4:7 and 1 Pet 1:5. 38 See Betz, Galatians, 175-76; Bonnard, Galates, 75; Burton, Galatians, 199; Lagrange, Galates, 89-90; Mussner, Galaterbrief, 255; and Schlier, Galater,l&7 n. 1, 169-70.

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that "before the promised faith came, we were locked up under the Law in order to keep us imprisoned under sin until the coming faith was re vealed." However, even if the phrase means "we were locked up under the Law in order to keep us from escaping," it does not follow that must be purposive; on the contrary, the simplest reading is "we were put in prison under the Law, because we were enclosed with everything under sin" (that is, "because we were sinners"). When the present participle is understood in a causal sense ("since" or "because"), the principal verb can be taken in either thefirstsense ("to prevent from escap ing") or the second ("to protect someone"), and 3:23 can be interpreted to mean that the divine purpose of the Law was to put everyone in prison under it, to punish them for their transgressions40 and to provide them with protective custody41 during the period when they were "enclosed [with everything under sin], until the coming faith was revealed." This interpreta tion of 3:23 is consistent with reading 3:19 to mean that the Law "was added because of the transgressions that had occurred" and with the ethos expressed by the metaphor of the "pedagogue" in 3:24-25 (as we shall see), and it explains the temporary character of the institution of the Law, expressed by a prepositional phrase, here introduced by (cf. the temporal clauses in w 19c, 24a, 25);42 it is, therefore, the most adequate one. In other words, the Law was intended to serve as a "pedagogue" during the period when everything was in bondage to sin, a period which the Law did not create and which Jesus Christ, "the offspring" of Abraham, brought to an end. Paul also compares the function of the Law during the period before Jesus Christ came as Abraham's "offspring" to that of the household slaves who were responsible for supervising minors and their inherited estates until they reached the age of maturity (see 4:1-2). Their function was to keep the minors and the estate from harm and to prevent them from making moral and economic mistakes within the household during their childhoodit was not to provoke or lure them into transgressions! By analogy, in 3:23-25 we should interpret the metaphor of the "pedagogue,"

See Alciphron Ep. 3.7.3-5, where a tale is told of a pedagogue who puts a misbehaving youth in a prison (see below). See also Plutarch's statement in Mor. 554D that the evildoer () is "locked up in his life as in a prison with no possibility of escape" ( Iv ), which emphasizes the impos sibility of escaping divine punishment. For the suggestion that Gal 3:23 and Plutarch Mor. 554D be compared, see Betz, with P. A. Dirkse and E. W. Smith, Jr., "De sera numinis vindicta (Moralia 548A-568A)," in Plutarch's Theological Writings and Early Christian Lit erature (d. H. D. Betz; SCHNT 3; Leiden: Brill, 1975) 205-6. 41 See also Oepke, Galater, 120. 42 For the various interpretations given of the phrase "up to Christ" ( ) in 3:24, see Betz, Galatians, 178 n. 143; and Schlier, Galater, 169 nn. 2-5.

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another household slave charged with responsibility for children, in the same way: Paul's portrayal of the Law as a "pedagogue" implies that the function of the Law was to curb or prevent transgressions until the period of bondage to sin came to an end with the arrival of Abraham's "offspring," 43 Jesus Christ. The difficulty of Paul's treatment of the function of the Law in the period of history before the coming of "the offspring" of Abraham is in part due to his use of a metaphor more familiar to his contemporaries than to us, namely, that of the "pedagogue," which reflects widely held views of this figure in Greco-Roman literature.44 The pedagogue was a household slave responsible for accompanying children from six to sixteen on their journeys away from home.45 On trips to and from school, they carried their charges' book-boxes.46 For this role, the pedagogue was included among menial laborers, whose occupations were considered lowly but still honorable.47 Because the role of pedagogues included protecting minors from all sorts of dangers, moral as well as physical,48 they were ridiculed as harsh disciplinarians. In Alciphron Ep. 3.7.3-5, for example, a pedagogue named Smicrines is described as a "fierce and mean old man," because accom panied by "a gang of menials," he brought a party of youth that had gotten out of hand to an end by physically subduing the youth, roughly dragging off his ward, Charicles, "like the lowest slave" ( ) and putting the rest of the youth in the stockade ( ),49

See J. . Tyson, "'Works of Lav/ in Galatians," JBL 92 (1973) 429: "Existence under the law is a custodial kind of existence, and the law kept us under restraint/* See also R. N. Longenecker, "The Pedagogical Nature of the Law in Galatians 3:19-4:7," JETS 25 (1982) 53-61 (which, unfortunately, came to my attention after my own article had been accepted for publication). 44 For a general discussion of the pedagogue in antiquity, see E. Schuppe, "Paidagogos," PW 18/2. 2375-85; H. I. Marrou, History of Education in Antiquity (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1956) 220-22; and S. Bonner, Education in Ancient Rome: From the Elder Cato to the Younger Pliny (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1977) 34-46. For a discussion of Paul's use of the pedagogue metaphor in Galatians, see Bertram, "," TDNT 5. 620-21; Betz, Galatians, 177-78; Bonnard, Galates, 76; Bruce, Galatians, 182-83; Mussner, Galaterbrief, 156-57; Oepke, Galater, 120-22; W. M. Ramsay, A Historical Com mentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1900) 381-85; and Schlier, Galater, 168-70. 45 See Epictetus Diss. 3.19.5; and Plutarch Demosth. 5.2 (see Bonner, Education, 37-39, 44). 46 See Xenophon Resp. Lac. 2.1.; Plato Lysis 208C, Symp. 183C; Cicero Amie. 20.74; Juvenal 10.117; Horace Serm. 1.6.78ff.;. and ps.-Lucian Amores, 44. According to Bonner (Education, 37), in early Rome this chore was usually given to a younger slave (a pedisequus), who at an older age became a custos, the Roman equivalent of the Greek . 47 See Dio Chrysostom Orat. 7.114; and Plutarch Mor. 830B. 48 See Bonner, Education, 38. 49 Cf. the image of being locked up () in Gal 3:23 and Plutarch Mor. 554D, which are discussed in n. 40 above.

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intending to have them sent off to "the public executioner"!50 Philo refers to "the rod," the tool of pedagogues, as the symbol of "education" or "disci pline" (), because no one takes to heart rebuke () and chastise ment () unless for some offenses one is put to shame and pun ished,51 so that Philo can describe the role of the pedagogue as one of educating by means of reproach, punishment, reviling, and accusation.52 In a similar vein, Plutarch portrays Stoic philosophers as pedagogues who seek to correct their charges with admonitions as well as compliments.53 Despite cases of suspicion, pedagogues were usually defended and even held in affection.54Philo, for example, defends the pedagogue's harsh disci pline as that of a friend, not an enemy, since by reproaches and punish ments a pedagogue improves the souls of those who are being disciplined ().55 Affection for pedagogues was justified by tales about slave attendants who were loyal to their charges, even to the point of dying trying to defend them from attack in the streets.56 In Rhetorica ad Herennium 4.52.65, to illustrate the use of speech appropriate to the character of some person ("dialogue"), a story is told of a wealthy mafter of a household who, when his house was under siege, entrusted his children*s safety to their pedagogues, who was to hide and defend them and to see that they were raised safely up to young adulthood. Another example of apt "dialogue" is found in Xenophon Eph. 1.14, a poignant scene in which Habrocomes' pedagogue, by now an old man and so left by pirates with the slaves they deemed useless to go down with their burning ship, could not bear to see pirates cart Habrocomes off without him to be sold as a slave, threw himself into the ocean and began swimming toward the pirate's vessel, despairing of not seeing him ever again and crying for some time as he went: "Where are you going, Habrocomes? Kill me yourself, wretch that I am, and bury me. How can I live without you?"57 Following the pedagogue's desperate attempt to join him, Habrocomes displays his affection for his dear old 58 pedagogue, on whose behalf he pleaded with his captors to no avail.

For this reference I am indebted to R. F. Hock. Philo Post. 97; see also Cong. 94, where the expression "under the rod" ( jbaSov) is a metaphor for "under discipline" ( ; cf. the expression "under a pedagogue," , in ps.-Plutarch Mor. 4A and Cal 3:25), and Mut. 135, where divine provi dence is symbolized by Cod's possession of, among other things, "a rod," which stands for "rebuke" (), "chastisement" (), and "discipline" (). For the harsh discipline of pedagogues, see also Philo Place. 14-15; and Plutarch Mor. 37D and 73A-B. 52 See especially Philo Mig. 115-16. 53 Plutarch Mor. 452C. 54 For references, some of which are mentioned below, see Bonner, Education, 38, 41. 55 Philo Mig. 116 (see p. 492 below). 56 See Appian B.C. 4.30. 57 For the pedagogues' love for their charges, see also Epictetus Diss. 1.11.22-23. 58 For this reference I am indebted to R. F. Hock.
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These pedagogues, thought of as moral disciplinarians, were asso 60 ciated with "teaching self-restraint" (). According to Diogenes, the Cynic philosopher, "education" () supplied the young () with 61 "self-restraint" (), a reference to the responsibility of peda 62 gogues. That the role of the pedagogue was to keep children from mis behaving by being an instrument of moral restraint is well illustrated by Plutarch, who tells an "anecdote" () about Diogenes, who, when he saw "a child eating delicacies, struck the child's pedagogue, showing that the fault () belonged not to the one who had not learned but to the one who had not taught."63 Behind this view is Plato's requirement that any free person, on seeing a child doing something wrong, punish both the child and the pedagogue or teacher.64 Because of the pedagogues' role as teachers of "self-restraint," they belonged to the institutions of "education toward virtue" ( ).65 The Spartan pedagogue's remark that his task was to make his
59 For the inclusion of pedagogues among the "moral disciplinarians" ( ), see Philo Sacr. 51; Mig. 115-16; Place. 15; Leg. ad Gaium, 26-27; Mut. 217; and Det. 141-45 (see also Post. 97; Mut. 135; and Cong. 94). eo For a general discussion of "self-restraint," see H. North, Sophrosyne: Self-Knowledge and Self-Restraint in Greek Literature (Cornell Studies in Classical Philology 35; Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1966). And for a collection of the relevant texts, see Stobaeus Flor. 3.5 (C. Wachsmuth and O. Hense, eds., Ioannis Stobaei Anthologium [Berlin: Weidmann, 1958] 3. 255-80). 61 See Diogenes Laertius 6.68. See also ps.-Plato AL. 1.121E, 122A. 62 See the association of pedagogues with the teaching of "self-restraint" in the manuals of "preliminary exercises in rhetoric" (): Nicholaus Progym. 3 (C. Walz, ed., Rhetores Graeci [Stuttgart: Cottae, 1832] 1. 272, 20-274, 6), and Libanius Chriae 2 (R. Foerster, ed., Libanti Opera [Leipzig: Teubner, 1915] 8. 74-82). I am indebted to R. F. Hock for these references. Some of these discussions of the chreia have now appeared in The Chreia in Ancient Rhetoric, vol. 1, The Progymnasmata (ed. Ronald F. Hock and Edward N. OT^eil; SBLTT 27, Graeco-Roman Religion Series, 9; Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1986); others will appear in vol. 2, which is still in preparation. 63 Plutarch Mor. 439E. 4 See Plato Leg. 7.808E. In the "Preliminary Exercises of Rhetoric," this view is put in the form of "anecdotes" () attributed to Diogenes and Crates: for Diogenes, see Herrnogenes Progym. 3 (H. Rabe, ed., Hermogenis Opera [Leipzig: Teubner, 1913] 6, lines 19-22), and Priscian Praeex. 3 (H. Keil, ed., Grammatici Latini [rpt. Hildesheim: Olms, 1961] 3. 431, 35-432, 1); and compare Aphthonius Progym. 3 (H. Rabe, ed., Aphthonii Progymnasmata [Leipzig: Teubner, 1926] 4, lines 9-11), Theon Progym. 5 (1. 205, 22-24 and 211, 24-26 Walz), Nicholaus Progym. 3 (1. 272, 20-274, 6 Walz), and Libanius Chriae 2 (8. 74-82 Foerster); and for Crates, see Quintilian Inst. 1.9.5. 65 For general studies on education in antiquity, see Marrou, History of Education; and Bonner, Education (see also Bertram, "," TDNT 5. 596-603); and see the classic work by W. Jaeger, Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture (3 vols.; London: Oxford University Press, 1939-45). In the New Testament period, discussions of the concept of "education toward virtue" can be found especially in Philo Cong.; Seneca Ep. 88; and Plutarch Mor. 439Aff. (see also ps.-Plutarch Mor. lAff.); and for the earlier period, see Plato Leg. 7 (see also 1.643BF. and 2.653Aff.).

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ward take pleasure in the noble and to be offended by the shameful66 reflects the view of Plato that education for the very young should make children excel in virtue, that from earliest childhood on they should be taught and admonished, and that their nurses, mothers, fathers, and peda gogues strive hard toward teaching children to excel in doing what is just, noble, and holy, and to refrain from doing the opposite 67 Similarly, Aris totle says that pedagogues must screen the tales and stories told to children and supervise their pastimes; states should banish all indecent talk, art works, poetry, and comedy, since children learn from what they see and hear; and for the same reason, children are not allowed to attend banquets, until their education makes them immune to the harmful effects of such events: in short, all base things, especially those that involve depravity or malignity, should be made unfamiliar to the young.68 In antiquity attitudes toward the pedagogue as an institution of educa tion toward virtue were, nevertheless, ambivalent. Plutarch, for example, contrasts giving admonition in the manner of a friend () to that of a pedagogue (): the latter consists of a relendess and ineffective stream of petty accusations, whereas the former is reserved for matters of greatest importance.69 And, after stating that "pedagogues, by their habits, shape the child's character and start the child on the path of virtue," he asks: "And yet, what do the pedagogues teach?" The answer is that they teach "petty and childish duties."70 However, Plutarch also attributes to peda gogues the more noble task of restraining a child's desires () and compares them as "rulers" () to "reason" (), "the divine guide of life" ( ), which was exchanged for the pedagogue after childhood.71 A similar ambivalence is displayed by Philo, who, on the one hand, includes pedagogues among the countless "teachers of sin" ( ),72 because they "foster" and "join in increasing" ( and ) the passions ( ).73 And yet, on the other hand, he defends the methods of pedagogues as improving the souls of those under their discipline,74 so that those who are rebuked by their pedagogues are better than those who have no pedagogues.75 And he can compare the presence of the pedagogue, which is able to keep a child from going astray, to the
Plutarch Mor. 452D (cf. 439F). Plato Prot. 324D-325D (see also Leg. 2.653B-C). 68 Aristotle Pol. 7.15.5-10 (p. 1336a, 31-1336b, 36). 69 Plutarch Mor. 73A. 70 Plutarch Mor. 439F (see also 99D). For the role of the pedagogue in the teaching of "manners" to children, see Bonner, Education, 42. 71 Plutarch Mor. 37C-E. 72 Philo Rer. 295. 73 Philo Sacr. 15 (cf. Virt. 178). See Paul's statements about the Law in Rom 5:20; 7:5. 74 Philo Mig. 116 (see p. 490 above). 75 Philo Det. 141-45.
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watchful eye of God. Philo, therefore, admonishes "really foolish" children for hating their teachers and pedagogues "and every form of reason that would bring rebuke and chastisement" ( 77 ). And he proudly describes the Jews as a people who were trained, "from the age of swaddling-clothes," by parents, pedagogues, instructors, and by "the higher authority of the sacred laws as well as the unwritten customs," to recognize only one God as the creator of the world.78 One reason for this ambivalence is that, during the period of the early Roman Empire, the ideal of Greek "paideia" was admired, but the practice of its institutions, including the household pedagogues, fell far below that envisioned in the ideal.79 A Greek author, in an essay entitled "Concerning the Education of Children," written during the period of the early Roman Empire, deplores the "common practice" of appointing the best slaves to manage the financial affairs of the estate, while giving responsibility for the children of the household to the least desirable slaves, namely, those acquired in war who were alcoholics and gluttons and, therefore, useless for any "important" duties.80 And Seneca, to illustrate that teachers and peda gogues should be chosen carefully since children will imitate those around them, tells a story about a boy whot, when he returned home after being raised in Plato's house and saw his father in a rage, remarked: "I never saw anything like that in Plato's house!" Praising the boy's pedagogue, Seneca adds that he would soon copy his father rather than Plato.81 Corresponding to the role of the pedagogue, and antiquity's attitudes toward it, is the view of those who were "under a pedagogue" 82 The opinion that a child's pedagogue should be punished together with the child 83 implies that the child is not to be held fully responsible for going astray,84 because during childhood "reason" ( ) is not yet disciplined85 and, therefore, children tend to satisfy "bodily desires" ( )and of these especially "sensual pleasures" ( ), over which they lack self-control ().86 Children, upon leaving the care of their nurses and mothers, were first placed under a pedagogue and then sent to teachers, to restrain them because of their
Philo Mut. 217. Philo Sacr. 51 (see also Place. 13-15, where Philo describes the positive role that Macro played in curbing Gaius's passions). 78 Philo Leg. ad Gaium 26-27. 79 See also Ramsay, Galatians, 383. 80 Ps.-Plutarch Mor. 4A-B. See Ramsay, Galatians, 383; and Bonner, Education, 110. 81 Seneca Ira 2.21.9-10. 82 For the expression "under a pedagogue" ( ), see n. 51 above. 83 See p. 491 above. 84 This view is rejected by Epictetus (see Diss. 3.19.4). 85 See Plato Leg. 7.808D-E (cf. 2.653B-C). 88 See Aristotle Rhet. 2.12.3 (p. 1389a, 5-8) and 2.14.3 (p. 1390b, 5-9). See also Plutarch Mor. 990F, who speaks of human beings in general.
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childish ignorance. It was said that people do not think that children were orderly and restrained so much because of themselves as because of those who were in charge of them, an obvious reference to nurses, parents, 88 pedagogues, and teachers. In other words, children were considered no different from slaves, not 89 only socially, but also anthropologically, to the extent that they were characterized by unbridled passions.90 Some adults, for the same reason, were said to need a pedagogue to teach them restraint, because they too were slaves to their passions; to them, philosophers offered their services as their masters or pedagogues. Seneca, for example, calls the philosopher "the pedagogue of the human race."91 According to Epictetus, the Cynic philos opher played the role of a "pedagogue," ruling over those who needed a "master."92 Finally, part of the picture of those who were "under a peda gogue" is the view that they exchanged, or should exchange;, their ped agogues for reason as the divine guide of their lives when they passed from immaturity to maturity.93 These are widespread views of the role of the pedagogue in GrecoRoman society and their correlative pictures of those "under a pedagogue"; therefore, when Paul depicts the Law as a "pedagogue" in the period of history before Jesus Christ came as "the offspring" of Abraham, and those "under the Law" as children "under a pedagogue," he introduces a concep tual field behind which there is a wealth of virtually universal experience in antiquity.94 From this experience, what Paul was saying would have been understood by the Galatians, namely, that as long as they were "under sin,"
See Plato Leg. 7.808E, who uses in a causal sense (cf. Gal 3:19 and p. 483 above). See ps.-Aristotle Rhet. ad Alex. 35 (p. 1441a, 17ff.); and Philo Mut. 217. 89 See Plato (Leg. 7.808E), who says that, although children are treated asfreeborn insofar as they are sent to teachers, they are treated as slaves when they are disciplined by pedagogues. 90 See the "doctrine" of the stages of life in Plato Leg. 7.808D-E (cf. 2.653B-C); Aristotle Rhet. 2.14.2 (p. 1390b, 5-9); and Philo Sacr. 15-16; Rer. 293-99. 91 Seneca Ep. 89.13 (cf. Ep. 94.8-9, 72, which refer to the concept of the "adviser" or monitor). See Bonner, Education, 44. 92 Epictetus Diss. 3.22.17 (see also Diogenes Laertius 6.75, where it is noted that Cleo ni enes includes Diogenes, the Cynic philosopher, in his book Concerning Pedagogues). Com pare the statement in ps.-Diogenes Ep. 29 (The Cynic Epistles [ed. A. J. Malherbe; SBLSBS 12; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1977] 126, 4-5) that "the man in a sleeveless vest," a Cynic philosopher (cf. ps.-Diogenes Ep. 29 [126, 19 Malherbe] and Lucian Vit. auct. 7), was one of the pedagogues engaged by Diogenes in Athens. See also Diogenes Laertius 6.27, 74 (cf. Lucian Vit. auct. 7-11; ps.-Crates Ep. 34 [86, 6-10 Malherbe], and ps.-Diogenes Ep. 29, 40 [126-29 and 168-71 Malherbe]). 93 See Plutarch Mor. 37D-E (cf. 645B and Seneca Ira 2.21.9); and Philo Rer. 297; Sacr. 51. This view is found already in Plato Leg. 2.653B-C; Prot. 325C-D; and Aristotle Pol. 7.15.5-9 (pp. 1336a, 31-1336b, 24); 3.11.4 (p. 1287a, 25); and EN 3.12.8 (p. 1119b, 13). 94 Notice the historical range of the citations in the notes above; moreover, they include both philosophical sources (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Plutarch, and Seneca) and nonphilosophical sources (eg., the "Preliminary Exercises of Rhetoric," Xenophon's "love story," and Alciphron).
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they needed a "pedagogue" to bridle the passions and desires of their flesh (see 5:16-24) and that the Law had been their "pedagogue" until the coming faith was revealed" in Jesus, the crucified Messiah and "the off spring" of Abraham (see 3:19-25). In Paul's view, therefore, the Law had been given "because of the transgressions [that had occurred]" during the period when everything was "under sin" (see 3:19-22). Because existence during that period was "under sin," it was also "under a curse" (see 3:10) and "under the Law" (see 3:23). The metaphor of the pedagogue would also identify the experience of those "under the Law" as no different from that of slaves; for, as their "pedagogue," the Law would be master over them, keeping them in its custody as long as they were in bondage to sin (see 3:23-25; 4:1-11, 21-31; 5:1). But the metaphor of the pedagogue would also remind the Galatians that the period "under the Law," like the period of child care "under a pedagogue," would come to an end. For Paul, that period had already come to an end with the death of Jesus, because he had delivered them "from the present evil age" (see 1:4), so that "the flesh with its passions and desires" had been "crucified" for those who "belonged to Christ Jesus" (5:24). Those who once "were kept in custody under the Law" now had the Spirit as the divine guide of their lives (see 3:3; 5:16, 18, 25). 9 5 Because of their faith in Jesus Christ, "the offspring" of Abraham, they had become "heirs" of the promised "life" and "righteousness" (see 2:16, 20-21; 3:19c, 21, 22, 24; 6:8), and their lives were already showing evidence of "the fruit of the Spirit . . . against which there is no law" (see 3:2, 3, 5, 14; 4:6, 29; 5:16-18; 22-23). 9 e They had received a blessing and, therefore, were no longer "under a curse" (see 3:6-14). That is why they were "no longer under a pedagogue" (3:25), that is, no longer "under the Law" (5:18). It is this ethos, which Paul's metaphor of the pedagogue expresses, that the present consensus concerning Paul's view of the Law in Gal 3:19-25 fails to reflect. Although E. P. Sanders, for example, regards "the simplest reading of 3:19b" to be that "the law deals with transgressions until the coming of Christ ('the seed'),"97 and considers it "possible to understand the law as pedagogue in 3:24 as a temporary schoolmaster which constrains,"98 he still agrees with the current consensus:99 The image of the custodian is worked out in 4:1-7, and here the import of the image becomes clearer. Those who are under guardians are "no
95 The Creek word for "pedagogue" consists of two words, ("child") and ("leader" or "guide"), the verb form of which is used in 5:18"If you are led [] by the Spirit, you are not under the Law." 96 Cf. 6:1, in which Paul calls the Galatians "Spirit-filled" (). 97 Sanders, Paul, the Law, 66, with a reference to L. E. Keck, Paul and His Letters, (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979) 74. 98 Sanders, Paul, the Law, 66, with a reference to my review of Betz's commentary in Perkins School of Theology Journal 34 (1981) 44-46; see also p. 67, where Sanders allows that the Law had a "constraining" force as well as an "enslaving" one 99 Sanders, Paul, the Law, 66-67.

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Journal of Biblical Literature better than slaves." The law as pedagogue, then, is more an enslaver than a protector. Thus it is understandable that many scholars view the phrase "on account of transgressions" in 3:19 as meaning "for the sake of produc ing transgressions." This reading . . . can be derived from the enslaving character of the pedagogue (as interpreted by Gal. 4:2) and from the phrase "imprisoned under sin" in 3:22.

Sanders overlooks that, although Paul compares those "under a pedagogue" to children "under guardians and trustees" as "no better than slaves" (4:1-2), the role of these household slaves was to keep their wards from harm and to prevent them from making a shambles of the estate, which someday they will inherit; therefore, the purpose of the "enslaving character" of their roles is precisely one of "protection," not only of the household but also of the child. Although the agent in 3:22 and in 3:23 is the same, namely, God,100 the two acts "the enclosing of everything together under sin" and "keeping us under the Law"are not the same, and their logical relation ship is defined by the metaphor of the household slaves (pedagogues, guardians, and trustees) appointed as masters over children to govern their actions (see 3:23-25 and 4:1-2). IV. Conclusion In conclusion, it is necessary to explain why I do not share the view held in the earliest commentaries and by some modern interpreters that the Law prepared for the "moral education" that was to come from the Messiah, conceived of as a "teacher," even though some of its exegetical decisions are similar to mine 101 To distinguish my view from theirs, I would make the following four points: 1. In Paul's view, "our Lord Jesus Christ" came not primarily as a "teacher" but as one "who gave himself for our sins, so that he might deliver us from the present evil age" (1:4). m "Scripture proclaimed beforehand" that deliverance would come to all the nations not through "works of the Law" but through "faith" (see 3:6-9); in this respect, "scripture," which contains "the book of the Law" (see 3:10), played the role of "preacher/ teacher." But the primary purpose for which the Law acted as a "peda gogue" was not to guide people to a "teacher."
100 See the personification of "scripture" in 3:22, which is a locution for God (cf. Rom 11:32), and the main verb in 3:23, which is an imperfect passive, another locution for God. 101 See Bertram, "," TDNT 5. 620; Fitzmyer, "Paul and the Law," in To Advance the Gospel: New Testament Studies (New York: Crossroad, 1981) 191-92; and Lightfoot, Galatians, 148-49. For the earliest commentaries, see Sieffert, Galater, 223. This view is rejected by Betz, Galatians, 177; Bonnard, Galates, 76; R. Bring, Commentary on Galatians (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg, 1961) 177-78; Burton, Galatians, 201; Hbner, Gesetz, 142 . 69; Lagrange, Galates, 90; Mussner, Galaterbrief, 257; and Schlier, Galater, 169 n. 1. 102 See also 2:20; 3:1, 13; 4:4-6 (which, however, lacks explicit mention of Jesus' death); 6:14.

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2. When Jesus Christ came, he did not bring "moral education,99 as if he were the "teacher" to whom the Law, acting as a "pedagogue," led the people of God. Paul does not portray Jesus as a "teacher" who brought "moral instruction." What Jesus did bring, as the crucified Messiah, was "a new creation99 (cf. 6:15 with 1:4; 5:1, 13-24). 3. The Law, acting as a "pedagogue," had a temporary function, which defined the situation of those "under the Law" as a period of "childhood," in which persons did not have lives of their own because they were treated like slaves.103 As a "pedagogues," the Law was limited to the task of curbing "the desires of the flesh" of those who were kept in its custody (see 3:19, 23; 4:1-2; 5:13-24). The Law's task, however, was not to produce righteousness and new life104 any more than it was the duty of the pedagogue to create in a child the stage of life in which "virtue" might be achieved. Paul's view of "th stages of human life" is more "mythological," if you will, than that of the classical philosophers. For them, the period of "childhood," when it was understood metaphorically to include adults, came to an end for individuals through the instruction of teachers and the practice of a disciplined life of reasonof course, childhood, in a literal sense, came to an end when in the course of nature a child reached the age of sixteen.105 But for Paul that period came to an end as a period of history through a historical event, the sacrificial death of Jesus. Individuals who took part in the benefit of that event through faith106 were liberated from the period of "childhood," understood as an "evil age." For Paul, "the desires of the flesh" were restrained by the Law, acting as a "pedagogue," during the period before Jesus Christ came as Abraham's "offspring"; but now that he has brought this deliverance, "those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires," are being "led by the Spirit" (5:18) and, therefore, are "no longer under a pedagogue"107 This freedom is not simply given with "nature," nor with "education"; it is something for which one must be "set
See 4:1-3 and the term ("child"). See references to righteousness and life in 2:16, 21; 3:21; 6:8; references to "the blessing" or "the promise(s)" in 3:6-9, 14, 15-18, 19; and references to "the heir(s)" or "the inheritance" in 3:29; 4:1-7, 21-31. 105 See the discussion above of the figure of the pedagogue in the ancient Greco-Roman world. 106 In the first instance, the expression "the coming of the faith" (see 3:23, 25) describes a historical event (see "the revelation of the coming faith" in 3:23b), to which an individual's act of believing is a participatory response. See Betz, Galatians, 176 n. 120 (who cites other literature; see also 175 n. 119); Burton, Galatians, 202; C. B. Cousar, Galatians (Interpreta tion; Atlanta: John Knox, 1982) 79; G. Klein, "Individualgeschichte und Weltgeschichte bei Paulus: Eine Interpretation ihres Verhltnisses im Galaterbrief," EvT 24 (1964) 126-65 (now in Rekonstruktion und Interpretation [BEvT 50; Munich: Kaiser, 1969] 180-224); Mussner, Galaterbrief, 254; Oepke, Galater, 123; and Schlier, Galater, 168. For the developmental view of history unanimously rejected today, see Ramsay, Galatians, 384-85. 107 See 1:4; 2:19-20; 3:1-5; 3:23-4:7; 4:21-31; 5:1, 13=246145.
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free" (see 5:1 and 13) by a historical event, through which God's creative 108 and redemptive power was at work. 4. Finally, the Law's task was limited to the period "before the [prom ised] faith came," just as that of the pedagogue was limited to the period of childhood. Therefore, just as those who had exchanged their pedagogues for reason when they left childhood no longer had anything to do with their former pedagogues,109 so those who had been delivered from "the present evil age" (1:4), who were "led by the Spirit" (5:18), who had "crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (5:24), and who belonged to "a new crea tion" (6:14-15), no longer needed the Law to act as their "pedagogue" (see 3:23-25; 5:18, 23b).110
See 6:14-15 and the references to God's "will" (1:4) and to the act of "sending" God's Son, whose Spirit was "sent" into their "hearts, crying Abba, Father'" (4:4, 6; see also 1:1, 11, 15-16). See also Betz (Galatians, 255-58), who contrasts the anthropological basis of Paul's ethics and "the general Hellenistic concept of ethics as the improvement of raw human nature by i.e., by the training and gradual acquisition of virtues ()." See also Betz, "Paul's Concept of Freedom in the Context of Hellenistic Discussions About Possibilities of Human Freedom," in Protocol Series of the Colloquies of the Center for Hermeneutical Studies in Hellenistic and Modern Culture 26 (ed. W. Wuellner; Berkeley: The Graduate Theological Union and the University of California, 1977) 1-13; and Ebeling, Wahrheit, 267. 109 See p. 494 above 110 Earlier versions of this article were presented at the 1980 AAR/SBL meeting, the 1982 Northeast SBL regional meeting, and the 1982 Biblical Studies Colloquium at The Divinity School, Yale University. I wish to thank all who offered suggestions for its improvement, especially Beverly R. Gaventa, Associate Professor of New Testament at Colgate Rochester Divinity School/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminary, Richard B. Hays, Associate Pro fessor of New Testament at The Divinity School/Yale University, and Ronald F. Hock, Asso ciate Professor of New Testament at the University of Southern California.
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