thinking bible.

You asked

what specific 'wall of partition' separated jews and gentiles in paul's time?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Ephesians 2:14

For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition of hostility,

The Apostle Paul is writing to believers in Ephesus, a major city in Asia Minor, likely in the early 60s CE, while he was imprisoned. In this letter, he's explaining how Jesus' work has brought together people from different backgrounds, specifically Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles), into one community.

What divisions in our present world are we called to see as already broken down by a shared humanity or spiritual connection?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Acts 10:28

    Peter's experience with Cornelius highlights the Jewish law prohibiting association with Gentiles.

  • Galatians 3:28

    Paul declares that in Christ, traditional social and religious distinctions like Jew/Gentile are overcome.

Ask your own follow-up