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Romans 4

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Romans 4
Fragment c to h containing parts of the Epistle to the Romans in Papyrus 40, written about AD 250.
BookEpistle to the Romans
CategoryPauline epistles
Christian Bible partNew Testament
Order in the Christian part6

Romans 4 is the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD,[1] with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, who adds his own greeting in Romans 16:22.[2] The focus of this chapter is on Abraham, whose faith "was accounted (or imputed) to him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3). The Geneva Bible's chapter summary states that "ten times in the chapter [Paul] beateth upon this word, Imputation.[3]

Text

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The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 25 verses.

Textual witnesses

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Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

Old Testament references

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  • Romans 4:3 references Genesis 15:6
  • Romans 4:7–8 references Psalm 32:1–2[4]
  • Romans 4:17 references Genesis 17:5[5]
  • Romans 4:18 references Genesis 15:5 [6]
  • Romans 4:22 references Genesis 15:6

Abraham's faith

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Verse 1

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What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?[7]

The Jerusalem Bible (1966) sees Abraham's faith as an "example" or an "application" of the faith which Paul has described in chapter 3.[8] T F Lockyer calls it "a test case",[9] and Craig Hill treats this passage as an appeal, in a legal sense, to precedent.[10] While many translations link the Greek: κατα σαρκα (kata sarka, "according to the flesh") with the Jews' ancestral relationship with Abraham, an alternative reading is recognised, for example in the New King James Version, which reads "What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?"[11]

Verse 3

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For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."

— Romans 4:3, English Standard Version[12]

Heinrich Meyer explains that the citation from Genesis 15:6[13] ("he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness") is quoted according to the Septuagint (LXX), which renders the active וְיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ, wa-yaḥ-shə-ḇe-hā, 'and he counted it'[14][15] by the passive και ελογισθη, kai elogisthe, 'and it was accounted'.[16] The passage follows from an account of where God has taken Abraham (then known as Abram, and childless) outside to count the number of stars, and promised "so shall your descendants be".[17] Paul quotes the same verse in the same way in Galatians 3:6.

Meyer also disputes the charge from theologian Leopold Immanuel Rückert [de] that Paul "made an unwarrantable use of the passage for his purpose",[18] because here Paul definitely understood δικαιοσύνη[19] "in the dogmatic sense", justifiable in doing so, since "the imputation of faith as צְדָקָה, tsə-ḏā-qāh, 'for righteousness',[15] was essentially the same judicial act which takes place at the justification of Christians".[16]

Verse 18

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Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.[20]

Hope in nature (as far as nature could give hope) is contrasted with hope in God (that God could do what nature could not). The hope that Abraham might become the father of many nations is "most properly taken" as expressing the divine purpose in regard to Abraham and his destiny.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hill 2007, p. 1084.
  2. ^ Donaldson, Terence L. (2007). "63. Introduction to the Pauline Corpus". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 1077. ISBN 978-0199277186.
  3. ^ Geneva Bible, Romans 4, Introduction
  4. ^ Kirkpatrick, A. F. (1901). The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Vol. Book IV and V: Psalms XC-CL. Cambridge: At the University Press. p. 838. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  5. ^ "Biblical concordances of Romans 4 in the 1611 King James Bible".
  6. ^ a b Nicoll, W. R. (1897ff), Expositor's Greek Testament on Romans 4, accessed 9 June 2024
  7. ^ Romans 4:1: English Standard Version
  8. ^ Jerusalem Bible (1966), Romans 4:1 and section heading C at Romans 4
  9. ^ Lockyer, T. F., A Test Case, accessed on 3 October 2024
  10. ^ Hill 2007, p. 1093.
  11. ^ Romans 4:1: NKJV. A reading which links "the flesh" with Abraham's status as "forefather" is noted as an alternative translation
  12. ^ Romans 4:3: ESV
  13. ^ Genesis 15:6
  14. ^ Genesis 15:6 Mechon-Mamre version
  15. ^ a b Hebrew Text Analysis: Genesis 15:6. Biblehub
  16. ^ a b Meyer, Heinrich August Wilhelm (1880). Commentary on the New Testament. Romans 4. Translation by Peter Christie from Meyer's sixth edition. Accessed February 14, 2019.
  17. ^ Genesis 15:5
  18. ^ Rückert, L. I., Commentary on Romans, 1831, referred to by Meyer in his NT Commentary on Romans 4, accessed 10 September 2016
  19. ^ Greek Text Analysis: Romans 4:3. Biblehub
  20. ^ Romans 4:18: King James Version

Bibliography

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