The Slave Metaphor and Gendered Enslavement in Early Christian Discourse by Marianne Bjelland Kartzow

Author:Marianne Bjelland Kartzow
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)
Published: 2018-03-28T00:00:00+00:00

What kind of slaves were the brothers before?

Saying “you are no longer a slave” does not reveal what slave means. Were they manumitted in real life? Were they metaphorical slaves under some different powers? Longenecker does not discuss the metaphorical character of slavery here, but is still open for a variety of options: “With Christ’s coming, ‘no longer’ are believers in Jesus under slavery to whatever was preparatory in their religious lives, whether to the Mosaic law (so 3:23–25) or to pagan ideas and practices as Gentiles” (anticipating 4:8–9).39 This “whatever” is connected to “religion” here – that is, they were slaves in the sense that they served other gods, laws, or spirits.40

But now you are a son of God! For real! It seems more obvious here than in John 15:15 that there is a movement going from one hierarchical relationship to another. Going from slave to friend, as in John, means moving from an ultimate subordinate to a more or less equal standing. It is indeed more radical and constitutive for a relationship. It is different from the no longer slave event in Galatians 4:7. Here the change goes from one position at the bottom of a relationship pair to another.41 Theoretically, friendship, as mentioned in John, could also be open to women, though they could never become sons [υἱός], something male slaves could dream of. Within the ancient household rhetoric, as expressed, for example, in the household codes, master-slave and father (parent)-child, together with husband-wife, represent the basic relationships.42 To move from household slave to household son and heir means moving from one subordinate relation to another within the household hierarchy, with the Kyros and father still on top. To become sons by the father meant that they also became heirs [εἰ δὲ υἱός, καὶ κληρονόμος διὰ θεοῦ], thereby moving from being domestic enemies into relationships with reproductive and generational associations.43 Becoming an heir nevertheless represented a radical shift: It gave the slave a very different outlook on the future, although the timeline was still set by the father/master. As will be discussed in Chapter 5 of this book concerning The Shepherd of Hermas, moving from slave to heir would normally be a complicated process.

But again, is this change in Galatians 4 metaphorical or for real? They were enslaved before under other spirits; accordingly, they were not real slaves. So they go from being metaphorical slaves of spirits and gods to real children and heirs in God’s metaphorical household. This change indicates that they get a new master, or rather a new father. They get a new position in the household of God, as heirs side by side with all other legal sons or children.44 They are now adopted, corresponding to the social practice where owners could adopt their slaves and make them sons and heirs.45

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