Paul cites Deuteronomy 27:26 in Galatians 3. The passage in Deuteronomy says, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things written in the book of the law to do them.” Paul applies this to “those who are of the works of the law” (hosoi ex ergon nomou eisin, Galatians 3:10).
Commentators are puzzled. Deuteronomy pronounces a curse on those who don’t do the law; Paul, in the reading of many, says that the curse comes on those who do the works of the law. Not only does Paul invert the meaning of Deuteronomy, but he seems to attribute a blatant injustice to God: God says, “Do this and live”; people do this; but then they’re cursed. Hardly seems fair.
As Caneday points out, the dilemma only arises if one takes the phrase “those who are of the works of the law” to mean “those who do the works of the law.” Caneday suggests that the phrase actually refers to “nomists,” that is, those who “identify with the old covenant” (194).
That might work. It is certainly preferable to the contradictions and tangles introduced by saying that doers of the law are cursed. But perhaps we can stress the force of ek, as Caneday does elsewhere, and say this: “Those who have their origin in what the law does are cursed.” Or even, considering the surrounding concerns with sonship, lineage, and birth (cf. 4:21-31), this: “those who come from the labors of the law are cursed.”
(Caneday, “‘Redeemed from the Curse of the Law’: The Use of Deut 21:22-23 in Gal 3:13,” Trinity Journal 10 (1989) 185-209.)
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
