“Those of the Circumcision” (Gal 2:12) 151 this interpretation Peter either feared their power11 – and especially that of James - or he feared losing his reputation in his Jewish mission field.12 Often this interpretation is also grounded on Peter’s weak character.13 Against this widespread consensus some scholars point to the fact that Paul when using prepositional clause ἐκ περιτομῆς always means Jews and never Jewish Christians.14 They argue that the phrase therefore refers to Palestinian Jews who were putting pressure on the Jewish Christian churches in Judea. So Peter did not fear the people coming from James, but he feared that the situation in Judea could escalate.15 The religious identity of the church in Jerusalem was already questioned because of the rumours about a certain degree of liberty towards Torah observance. This liberality in the context of the growing Zealot movement could become dangerous for the Jewish Christian churches in Palestine.16 Peter did not want to push further the conflict between Judaism and Jewish Christianity. So he stopped table fellowship with Gentile Christians. In the sixties of the 20th century this view was held by Walter Schmithals and some others.17 It was renewed by Jürgen Becker a decade ago18, and so the question is open again. Because the interpretation of Peter’s motive - to be precise, Peter’s motive as depicted by Paul - fully depends on the understanding of οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς, we need to analyze the meaning of this phrase. 11 Cf. for instance J. D. G. Dunn, «The Incident at Antioch (Gal. 2:11-18)», JSNT 18 (1983) 35; Litaert Peerbolte, Paul the Missionary 194. 12 This is indirectly mentioned by Mußner, Galaterbrief 142. 13 Cf. among others Mußner, Galaterbrief 142. 14 W. Schmithals, Paulus und Jakobus (FRLANT 85, Göttingen 1963) 54 referring to B. Reicke, «Der geschichtliche Hintergrund des Apostelkonzils und der Antiochia-Episode, Gal 2,1-14», Studia Paulina in honorem J. d. Zwaan (Haarlem 1953) 176ff; G. Dix, Jew and Greek. A Study in he Primitive Church (London 1953) 42ff and J. Munck, Paulus und die Heilsgeschichte (AJut.T 6, Aarhus 1954) 98ff. This interpretation has later been revived by Becker, Galater 40. 15 Schmithals, Paulus und Jakobus 55, pointing to the fact that the Antiochian incident took place between the martyr’s death of James son of Zebedee (approx. 44 CE) and James the Lord’s brother (52 CE). Cf. also Dix, Jew and Greek 42. According to him Gal 2,12 does not show “an ultimatum from a suddenly overwhelming Jewish-Christian faction of extremists, but an urgent warning that the increasing rumours of Jewish-Christian frater- nising with uncircumcised Gentiles in Antioch and Galatia are now putting all the Jewish- Christian Churches in Judaea in considerable jeopardy from non-Christian Jews.“ 16 Cf. Becker, Galater 40 with reference also to the persecutions mentioned in 1Thes 2,14. 17 Cf. n. 14 above. 18 Becker, Galater 40-41.