Sharing in The Son’s Inheritance: Davidic Messianism and Paul’s Worldwide Interpretation of the Abrahamic Land Promise in Galatians

This book explores the link between Paul’s belief that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah, and his interpretation of the promise made to Abraham in Galatians. Countering claims that Paul replaces the Promised Land with the gift of the Spirit or salvation, Esau McCauley argues that Paul expands this inheritance to include the whole earth due to his belief that, as the seed of Abraham and David, Jesus is entitled to the entire earth as his inheritance and kingdom. McCauley argues that scholars neglect Paul’s expanded interpretation of the inheritance of the earth, rarely appreciate the role that messianism plays in Galatians, and fail to acknowledge that Second Temple authors often portrayed royal and messianic figures as God’s means of fulfilling the promises made to Abraham and Israel, via the establishment of kingdoms. Through examination of the Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the full text of Galatians, McCauley analyses Paul’s claim that Jesus’s death is a manifestation of Second Temple messianism; concluding that Paul’s interpretation of the Abrahamic inheritance is inseparable from his belief that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah.