Stoicheia as metonymy

In a 2007 article in NTS , Martinus de Boer carefully examines Paul’s argument in Galatians 4, armed with the assumption that stoicheia somehow retains its original meaning, referring to the four elements of ancient Greek physics.

His conclusion is: “the phrase ta stoicheia tou kosmou in 4.3, a technical expression referring specifically to the four constituent elements of the physical universe, is being used by Paul as a summary designation for a complex of Galatian religious beliefs and practices at the center of whichwere the four elements of the physical cosmos to which the phrase concretely refers. In Paul’s usage, then, the phrase is an instance of metonymy whereby a trait or characteristic stands for a larger whole of which it is a part. In this case ta stoicheia tou kosmou – the four elements of physical reality – stand for the religion ofthe Galatians prior to them becoming believers in Christ. Calendrical observancesand the physical phenomena associated with such observances – the movements of the sun, moon, planets, and stars – were an integral part of these religious beliefs and practices. The gods the Galatians worshiped were closely linked to the four stoicheia so that worship of these gods could be regarded as tantamount tothe worship of ta stoicheia themselves.”

De Boer also suggests that the use of this phrase plays a strong rhetorical role in Paul’s argument, associating embrace of Torah with a reversion to the paganism from which the Galatians had so recently converted.  Conversely, liberation from ta stoicheia is, Paul argues, liberation from Torah.  He emphasizes, though, that the only practical point of contact between paganism and Torah in Galatians 4 his that both are bound up with calendrical observances.  As J. Louis Martyn puts it, the central question in Galatians is What time is it? Paul’s answer is that “God’s own (apocalyptic) ‘time-keeping scheme’ as revealed in Christ . . . has brought an end to the ‘time-keeping schemes’ associated with ta stoicheia tou kosmou , whether by Jews or by Gentiles.”