Paul’s "Fullness of Time” (Gal 4:4) and "Fullness of Times” (Eph 1:10)
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Date
2020
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Wydawnictwo KUL
Abstract
The expression “the fullness of time/times” is problematic because it was used for the first time in all of Greek literature by Paul, the Apostle to the Nations. A similar expression can be found only in certain papyri, where “the completion of times” was the expression used to call, among others, the end of a loan period. The only key to understanding the connotation of “the fullness of time/times” is an in-depth analysis of the immediate textual contexts of both Galatians 4:4 and Ephesians 1:10, the two places where this novelty is found. This article is an attempt to interpret the “fullness of time/times” in Galatians 4:4 and Ephesians 1:10 (with the addition of Mark 1:15). Our conclusion is that in Galatians 4:4 “the fullness of time” should be considered as “the end of the domination of Law.” As for Ephesians 1:10, there are multiple valid proposals for explaining “the fullness of times”, and we have not limited ourselves to any one in particular.
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Keywords
fullness of time, time, πλήρωμα, καιρός, χρόνος, Letter to Galatians, Letter to Ephesians, fullness of times, pełnia czasu, czas, pełnia czasów, List do Galatów, List do Efezjan
Citation
"Verbum Vitae", 2020, T. 38, nr 1, s. 199-218