Were the Galatians returning to the weak and elemental Sabbath of the Jews?

Galatians 4:9-10 “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years.”

Before explaining why this passage is not referring to the Sabbath, new moons or feasts I have a couple questions. Who exactly were the Galatians? After all, Paul is writing to the Galatians when he writes this letter. Were the Galatians Jewish converts? No, they were not. They were Gentile converts. They were living in Galatia, a pagan nation. They were participating in pagan worship. They were observing pagan days, months and years. The Galatians had never been involved in anything Jewish prior to converting.  So let me ask you another question. What exactly are the weak and elemental things that the Gentile, pagan Galatians were turning back to? What were they practicing before knowing God? We can be positive it was not the 7^th day Sabbath, a Jewish observance. That would not even make any sense. I propose that the Galatians were returning to their pagan ways.

Another interesting point regarding this passage is the choice of words. When read in the Greek it is clear that the terms used for days, months and years are generic terms. For example, the word used for day here is hēmera, this word is a general term for day which could mean any day. In contrast, Colossians 2:16 uses the word sabbaton, which is directly related to the 7^th day Sabbath.

In conclusion, this passage does not teach that the believers were returning to the Jewish observance of Sabbath, which would be impossible as they never observed the Jewish Sabbath as Gentile pagans. Instead the Gentile converts were returning to their pagan traditions and participating in the pagan days, months and years of which they had been enslaved before coming to know God.

Shalom!