The Referent of ‘The Elements of the World’ in Galatians 4:1–11

In Galatians 1:1-11, adherence to the Torah (v.3) as well as worship of pagan gods (v.8) are described by Paul as holding people ‘under the elements of the world’ (ὑπὸ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου). The challenge in interpretation of this passage is to identify a referent of Paul’s ‘elements’ which coherently applies to both these incompatible practices. I propose that Paul’s ‘elements of the world’ refer to the heavenly bodies – the sun, moon and stars. The pagan deities were identified with various heavenly bodies, while the Torah followed a calendar of feasts and worship based on the sun and moon, which Paul describes as “days, and months, and times, and years” (v.10 KJV). Paul’s characterization of both the Torah and pagan worship as subject to the heavenly bodies is a rhetorical tactic, by which the negative associations of pagan worship become attached to the Torah in the minds of the readers. Paul’s goal is to make the Galatians see that, now that the Messiah has come, returning to compulsory Torah observance equates to the abandonment of God’s plan. Based on this interpretation, I present a free translation in English which may be used as a model for translation into other languages.