Paul’s “Fullness of Time” (Gal 4:4) and “Fullness of Times” (Eph 1:10)

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.