“Once upon a Time”: Galatians as an Apocalyptic Story

Abstract

Is it possible to combine narratival and apocalyptic readings of Paul in general and Galatians in particular? The answer offered in this essay is a nuanced yes. I will follow trails blazed by J. Louis Martyn and Richard B. Hays in examining aspects of both “historical continuity”/“horizontal linearity” and “apocalyptic discontinuity”/“vertical disruption” in the apostle's fiery communiqué ταĩϛ ἐκκλησίαιϛ τῆϛ Γαλατίαϛ. I begin by scouring the letter along temporal lines before turning to consider, with the aid of French semiotician A. J. Greimas as mediated by Hays, the timely/timeless story set forth in the letter's weighty lines.