From: Eric Weiss (eweiss@acf.dhhs.gov)
Date: Wed Dec 06 1995 - 11:34:06 EST
Since Galatians 3:28 has been brought up in the discussion of Junia, I find
it interesting that Paul writes (excuse my less than standard
transliteration):
ouk eni Ioudaios OUDE Ellhn,
ouk eni doulos OUDE eleuqeros,
but
ouk eni arsen KAI qhlu
"there is not Jew OR Greek
"there is not slave OR free
"there is not male AND female"
(rather than "male OR female")
This appears to be a allusion to the creation in Genesis 1:27, as also quoted
by Jesus at Matthew 19:4. Is Paul thus further stressing something about the
New Creation (see Galatians 6:15); that is, while the old creation made
mankind "male and female," the new creation has no such distinction? Perhaps
it's stylistic, but in Colossians 3:11 Paul does join Ellhn and Ioudaios (and
peritomh and akrobustia) with KAI, so he appears to want to make a
distinction here in Galatians 3:28 between the relationship(s) of Ioudaios to
Ellhn and doulos to eleuqeros with that of arsen to qhlu. If Paul's use of
words here is significant, does that have any bearing on the role of females
in the body of Christ? (Maybe the "male and female" in the New Creation is
now Christ the New Man and the church (made up of human males and females) as
His bride?)
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