Texts in Conversation
Leviticus 18 promises life to those who keep its commands. Paul in Galatians interprets this with Habakkuk 2:4 prioritize faith over following the Torah for Gentile believers in Jesus.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Leviticus 18:5
Hebrew Bible
4 You must observe my regulations, and you must be sure to walk in my statutes. I am the Lord your God. 5 So you must keep my statutes and my regulations; anyone who does so will live by keeping them. I am the Lord. 6 “‘No man is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations with her. I am the Lord.
Galatians 3:12
New Testament
11 Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law because the righteous one will live by faith. 12 But the law is not based on faith, but the one who does the works of the law will live by them. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)
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Notes and References
“... Leviticus 18:5 resonates with Habakkuk 2:4. Paul does not cite Habakkuk 2:4 near Romans 10:5, but he echoes its key phrase three times in the immediate context and speaks repeatedly of its subject matter–the act of God in Christ that gifts life to the world (i.e., δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ). He does juxtapose these texts explicitly in Galatians 3:11–12, where he has sculpted them into a parallel stylistic form (an arthrous substantive, an identical verb, and a key instrumental prepositional phrase). And that juxtaposition is antithetical. Moreover, Paul negates a scriptural endorsement of “doing the law” in Galatians 3 not once but twice (and this total does not include his other negations of “works of law”). These considerations point to an important exegetical judgment. The citation of Leviticus 18:5 in Romans 10:5 is a programmatic summary of Israel’s own righteousness that she “seeks to establish” over against the righteous saving act by God in Christ ...”
Campbell, Douglas A.
The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul
(p. 1106) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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