Word of God Has Not Failed

Aaron Sherwood

Description

Debates rage over Paul's understanding of election in Romans 9-11. But is election really what Paul had in mind? Aaron Sherwood argues that this debate is foreign to Paul's purpose here. Paul primarily intended these passages to be a defense of God's covenantal faithfulness.In The Word of God Has Not Failed, Sherwood examines the first major passage of this section, Romans 9:6-20, giving special attention to the Old Testament Scriptures Paul used. It is vital to understand Paul's interpretation of these texts in order to understand the thrust of Paul's message. Sherwood shows how Paul viewed the rejection of the gospel by unbelieving Jews as idolatry, and the inclusion of believing Gentiles as a fulfillment of God's promises to Israel.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lexham Press
• Date de parution: 17 novembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781577996835
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

The Word of God Has Not Failed
Paul’s Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9
AARON SHERWOOD
STUDIES IN SCRIPTURE & BIBLICAL THEOLOGY
The Word of God Has Not Failed: Paul’s Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9
Studies in Scripture & Biblical Theology
Copyright 2015 Aaron Sherwood
Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225
LexhamPress.com
All rights reserved. You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at [e-mail] .
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are the author’s translation.
Scripture quotations marked ( NRSV ) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Print ISBN 9781577996620
Digital ISBN 9781577996835
Lexham Editorial Team: Elliot Ritzema, Lynnea Fraser
Cover Design: Christine Gerhart
Back Cover Design: Brittany VanErem
Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Figures
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Previous Studies on Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans 9:6–29
Orientation of the Present Study
1. The Context and Structure of Romans 9:6–29
The Historical Context and Occasion of Romans
The Literary Placement, Theme, and Structure of Romans 9–11
The Structure of Romans 9:6–29
2. Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans 9:6–13
Introduction to Romans 9:6–13
Genesis 18:14 and 21:12 in Romans 9:6–9
Genesis 25:23 and Malachi 1:2–3 in Romans 9:10–13
Summary of Romans 9:6–13 in Light of Paul’s Use of Scripture
3. Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans 9:14–18
Introduction to Romans 9:14–18
Exodus 9:16 and 33:19 in Romans 9:14–18
Summary of Romans 9:14–18 in Light of Paul’s Use of Scripture
4. Paul’s Use of Scripture in Romans 9:19–29
Introduction to Romans 9:19–21
Isaiah 29:16 in Romans 9:19–21
Introduction to Romans 9:22–29
The Use of Hosea and Isaiah in Romans 9:22–29
Summary of Romans 9:19–29 in Light of Paul’s Use of Scripture
5. Conclusions
Paul’s Argument in Romans 9–11 in Light of 9:6–29
Implications of the Study
Bibliography
Index of Subjects and Authors
Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Literature
Acknowledgments
I would like to recognize two of my mentors, Gordon D. Fee and Rikki E. Watts . The best ideas in this work should all be credited to them, and I am grateful for their investment into my training and their sufferance to bring their wisdom to bear on such a modest passage. I also want to thank the publishing staff at Lexham Press and particularly Brannon Ellis for bringing this work to publication.
List of Figures
1. Structural Analysis of Romans 9:6–13
2. Literary Structure of Genesis 25:19–26
3. Occurrence of Hardening Terminology in Exodus 3–14
4. Structure of the Plague Narrative
5. Structural Analysis of Romans 9:14–18
6. Structural Analysis of Romans 9:19–29
7. Literary Structure of Isaiah 1–39
8. Thematic Structure of Romans 9:22–29
List of Abbreviations
AB
Anchor Bible
ANE
Ancient Near East(ern)
ANTC
Abingdon New Testament Commentary
BBR
Bulletin for Biblical Research
BECNT
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
Bib
Biblica
BibInterp
Biblical Interpretation
BSac
Bibliotheca Sacra
BT
The Bible Translator
BTB
Biblical Theology Bulletin
BZ
Biblische Zeitschrift
CBQ
Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CBQM
Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series
ETL
Ephemerides theologicae louvanienses
EvQ
Evangelical Quarterly
ExAud
Ex Auditu
FOTL
Forms of the Old Testament Literature
HBT
Horizons in Biblical Theology
IBC
Interpretation Bible Commentary
ICC
International Critical Commentary
JANES
Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society
JBL
Journal of Biblical Literature
JBQ
Jewish Bible Quarterly
JETS
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
JNSL
Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages
JPS
Jewish Publication Society
JSNTSup
Journal for the Study of the New Testament: Supplement Series
JSOT
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
JSOTSup
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament: Supplement Series
JTS
Journal of Theological Studies
LNTSSup
Library of New Testament Studies Supplement Series
LXX
Septuagint
NAC
New American Commentary
MNTC
Moffatt New Testament Commentary
mss
manuscripts
MT
Masoretic Text
NIB
New Interpreter’s Bible
NICNT
New International Commentary on the New Testament
NICOT
New International Commentary on the Old Testament
NovT
Novum Testamentum
OTE
Old Testament Essays
OTS
Old Testament Studies
PRSt
Perspectives in Religious Studies
RevEx
Review and Expositor
RTR
Reformed Theological Review
SBLDS
Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series
SBLSP
Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers
SBLSymS
Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series
SP
Sacra Pagina
ST
Studia Theologica
SwJT
Southwestern Journal of Theology
TDOT
Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament . Edited by G. Johannes Botterweck, Hene Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry
TJ
Trinity Journal
TNTC
Tyndale New Testament Commentaries
TynBul
Tyndale Bulletin
VE
Vox Evangelica
VT
Vetus Testamentum
VTSup
Supplement to Vetus Testamentum
WBC
Word Biblical Commentary
WCJS
World Congress of Jewish Studies
WUNT
Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen zum Neuen Testament
ZAW
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
ANCIENT SOURCES
1 En.
1 Enoch
‘Abod. Zar.
Avodah Zarah
Abraham
Philo, On the Life of Abraham
Alleg. Interp.
Philo, Allegorical Interpretation
b.
Babylonian Talmud
Eccl. Rab.
Ecclesiastes Rabbah
Exod. Rab.
Exodus Rabbah
Gen. Rab.
Genesis Rabbah
Jub.
Jubilees
L.A.B.
Liber antiquitatum biblicarum (Pseudo-Philo)
Lev. Rab.
Leviticus Rabbah
Meg.
Megillah
Mek. Isa.
Mekilta Isaiah
Midr. Prov.
Midrash Proverbs
Midr. Pss.
Midrash Psalms
Migration
Philo, On the Migration of Abraham
Names
Philo, On the Change of Names
Ned.
Nedarim
Num. Rab.
Numbers Rabbah
Pesiq. Rab.
Pesiqta Rabbati
Pesiq. Rab Kah.
Pesiqta of Rab Kahana
Pirqe R. El.
Pirqe Rabbi Eliezer
QG
Philo, Questions and Answers on Genesis
S. Eli. Rab.
Seder Eliyahu Rabbah
S. Eli. Zut.
Seder Eliyahu Zuta
Sanh.
Sanhedrin
Song Rab.
Song of Songs Rabbah
t.
Tosefta
T. Ab.
Testament of Abraham
T. Job
Testament of Job
T. Naph.
Testament of Naphtali
Tan ḥ Gen.
Tan ḥ uma Genesis
Tan ḥ . Lev.
Tan ḥ uma Leviticus
Tg. Hos.
Targum Hosea
Tg. Neof.
Targum Neofiti
Tg. Onq.
Targum Onqelos
Tg. Ps.-J.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
y.
Jerusalem Talmud
Introduction
It has become routine—almost trivial—to observe that Paul’s letter to the Romans is not a theological treatise. Current wisdom is that of course Romans is occasional: it is a particular letter addressed to a particular audience in a particular situation, even if some of those particulars remain debated. Still, even recent Romans scholarship sometimes gives the impression the most secure manner in which to decipher Paul’s response to the Israelfrage (“Israel question”) is continued reliance upon traditional, theoretical approaches to the crux interpretum of Romans 9–11 . 1 This is in the face of not just increased awareness of the occasional nature of Romans but also the multiplication of analyses of ancient Jewish authors’ use of Scripture, which has raised scholars’ awareness of the use of Scripture in Romans generally and chapters 9–11 in particular. 2 This is only fitting, since Romans contains the highest frequency of scriptural citations of all the Pauline documents. Chapters 9–11 contain over half of the citations for the entire letter, at a frequency of nearly one every three verses. 3
Despite all this, there are comparatively few studies on Paul’s use of Scripture in Romans 9–11 , especially ones that take full account of the historical context of Romans and therefore Paul’s communicative strategy in these chapters. This trend holds true for the first stage of Paul’s argument, Romans 9:6–29 , wherein he quotes the Bible in (at least) twelve of twenty-four verses. 4 Romans 9:6–29 thus contains one of the highest concentrations of scriptural quotations in Paul’s letters. Along with its lead position in Romans 9–11 , this entails that Paul’s answer to the Israelfrage in these chapters depends on Paul’s use of Scripture. Most interpreters try to determine what Paul means—including how he understands and means to use the Scriptures of which he avails himself—by looking at what he says in 9:6–29 . But this text resists such a straightforward approach because it is so crowded with citations that, comparatively, Paul says very little of his own—not enough for him to be properly understood by focusing just upon the discourse of 9:6–29 .
Romans 9:6–29 has also for centuries been a theological battleground, which creates its own interpretive momentum. For instance, much classical (and patristic) scholarship generally saw these verses as a treatise on divine sovereignty and human free will. 5 Modern scholarship almost completely follows this agenda while also discussing the related issues of, among other things, whether the passage (and chapters 9–11 generally) is occasional or abstract; the structure and coherence of the passage (and of chapters 9–11 generally); the degree to which the passage is a treatise on election; and whether Paul’s main focus is salvation (whether of individuals or groups), Israel’s composition, or God’s faithfulness. Much the same can be said of how almost all major commentaries for more than a century approach the passage. This is understandable, since the history of interpretation makes it necessary for commentators to address 1) whether Romans 9–11 is a syst