G.K. Beale, «Peace and Mercy Upon the Israel of God. The Old Testament Background of Galatians 6,16b», Vol. 80 (1999) 204-223

This essay has contended that Paul’s reference to "new creation" and the pronouncement of "peace and mercy" on the readers in Gal 6,15-16 is best understood against the background of Isa 54,10 and the surrounding context of similar new creation themes elsewhere in Isa 32–66, which are echoed also earlier in Galatians, especially in 5,22-26. The analysis confirms those prior studies which have concluded that "the Israel of God" refers to all Christians in Galatia, whether Jewish or Christian. Lastly, the demonstration of an Isaianic background for the concept of new creation in Gal 6,15-16 falls in line with Paul’s other reference to "new creation" in 2 Cor 5,17 and John’s allusion to new creation in Rev 3,14, where Isa 43 and 65–66 stand behind both passages. Isa 54,10 was likely not the sole influence on Gal 6,16, but such texts as Psalm 84 (LXX), the Qumran Hymn Scroll (1QH 13,5), and Jub 22,9 may have formed a collective impression on Paul, with the Isaiah text most in focus; alternatively, the texts in Qumran and Jubilees may be mere examples of a similar use of Isaiah 54 on a parallel trajectory with that of Paul’s in Galatians 6.

about the proposed allusion to "peace and mercy" in Gal 6,16, but since it is an allusion and not an explicit citation as in Gal 4,27, it is more difficult to know if the readers would have understood it as such on a first reading or hearing⁴².

        In proposing a Targumic background linked to the Isaiah 54 quotation in Galatians 4, M. McNamara says that it is unlikely Paul’s readers would have understood the reference there. He concludes, however, that this fact would not weaken the force of his proposal "since, at times, particularly in moments of heightened tension, Paul seems to have written from the abundance of his own mind rather than from what his readers would be expected to know"⁴³. Longenecker adds that the Hagar-Sarah story may have been referred to by Paul as a polemic against the Judaizer’s understanding of the story with which the readers may have been familiar⁴⁴. If so, his quotation of Isaiah 54 in Galatians 4 may have been sparked off because that OT verse and context had also been part of the Judaizer’s hermeneutical arsenal.

        The cumulative effect of considering all five of the above criteria for validating allusions suggests the plausibility that the allusion to Isa 54,10 in Gal 6,16 may not have been understood by the Galatians on a first or second reading but that, at least, it may well have been in Paul’s mind.

III. Peace Benedictions

        Paul’s closing benedictions of peace elsewhere outside of Galatians follow a fairly standard form: "the God of peace be (or will be) with you (Rom 15,33; 2 Cor 13,11b; Phil 4,9b). 2 Thess 3,16 varies only slightly from this pattern, and Rom 16,20a and 1 Thess 5,23 vary even a bit more⁴⁵. The benediction of Gal 6,16