You asked

what was the 'middle wall of partition' paul was describing, practically and culturally?

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,”

The Apostle Paul, writing from prison to Christian communities in Ephesus (a major Roman city in Asia Minor), is explaining how Jesus Christ has brought together different groups of people who were previously separated by deep religious and cultural divides.

What practical divisions in our communities today might this passage challenge us to consider breaking down?

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Read alongside it

Acts 15:1-21
Describes the early church's struggle with integrating Jewish and Gentile believers, debating what cultural practices Gentiles needed to adopt.
Galatians 3:28
Paul's declaration that in Christ 'there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female,' highlighting the dissolution of social distinctions.

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