Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 75:1 (NA 2024)
Article: Paul’s Economic Relationship With The Galatians: Burdensome Imposer Or Welcomed Guest?
Author: Jason Borges

TynBull 75:1 (2024) p. 79

Paul’s Economic Relationship With The Galatians: Burdensome Imposer Or Welcomed Guest?

Jason Borges

Associate Director
Asia Minor Research Center (Antalya, Türkiye)
[email protected]

Abstract

How did Paul subsist during his travels in Galatia? This article contests Nasrallah’s claim that Paul placed burdens and imposed upon the local communities in Galatia in a manner akin to the Roman practice of requisitioning supplies and argues that the Galatians non-coercively welcomed Paul as a host and developed mutual relations with him. We first consider the social practices of Roman requisitions and ancient hospitality as suitable comparanda for interpreting Paul’s travel in Galatia. Then we examine two types of evidence clarifying the socio-economic aspects of Paul’s initial relationship with the Galatians – i.e., Paul’s recollections of his initial encounter with the Galatians (Gal 4:12–20) and subsequent traditions regarding the Galatians’ response to Paul. The evidence suggests that Paul’s relationship with the Galatians was, most probably, welcomed and mutual, not imposing or burdensome. This historical reconstruction contextualises Paul’s subsequent letter and bears upon interpretations of Galatians.

1. Introduction

When the apostle Paul and his ministry colleagues travelled, they faced ‘the question of subsistence’.1 Separated from their primary social networks for material provision, they had to cultivate new social ties to subsist. Considering that Paul relied, to some measure, upon fellow Christ-believers for social

TynBull 75:1 (2024) p. 80

protection and material resources,2 we might enquire about the nature of Paul’s socio-economic relationship with those communities. Scholars have analysed Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians,3 but what about his interactions with the Galatians? This article considers the financial arrangements and power dynamics at play in Paul’s relationship with the churches in Galatia when he travelled through the region.

In Archaeology and the Letters of Paul, Nasrallah offers a post-colonial approach to the material context of Pauline communities.4 Chapter three, titled ‘On Travel and Hospitality: The Letter of Galatians and an Inscription from Galatia’, considers Paul’s economic relationship with the Galatians.5 The chapter discus...