The Spirit and the Restoration of Israel - New Exodus and New Creation Motifs in Galatians

When the Apostle Paul asks the Galatians, 'This alone I want to know from you: was it from works of the Law that you received the Spirit, or from the proclamation of faith?' he presumes a certain understanding of the significance of the Galatians' Spirit experience. In this book, Rodrigo J. Morales offers an examination of the themes of new exodus, new creation, and the restoration of Israel in the Old Testament Prophets and in Second Temple Jewish literature. In doing so he shows that Paul interpreted the outpouring of the Spirit as the sign of the fulfilment of God's promises to restore Israel. In addition, Paul identifies the gift of the Spirit with the extension of the blessing of Abraham to the Gentiles because Deutero-Isaiah bound the restoration of Israel to the blessing of Abraham, as well as to the inclusion of the Gentiles.

Born 1976; 2002 Master of Theological Studies degree in biblical studies from the University of Notre Dame; 2007 PhD in New Testament from Duke University; assistant professor of theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.