Jarvis J. Williams advances the argument that Paul borrowed from the martyr traditions represented in 2 and 4 Maccabees, and that he reconstructed them to fit his exegetical, theological, and polemical purposes in Gal 3:13 in order to persuade the Galatians not to embrace his opponents' Torah-observant, gentile-exclusive gospel.

There are several points of contact between the martyr traditions and Gal 3:13 which are arranged under the categories of exegetical points of contact, theological/conceptual points of contact, lexical/grammatical points of contact, and polemical/argumentative points of contact. An exposition of these categories is used to support the thesis that Jewish martyr traditions are the context in front of which Gal 3:13 should be read, and that a martyrological reading of Gal 3:13 grants further insight into Paul's attack against his opponents' "other gospel."