Romans 4 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

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451 452 453said, "In this way shall your descendant(s) be." 4.19 And not growing weak in the trust,451The phrase w`j oi` avste,rej tou/ ouvranou/ kai. to. av,mmon th/j qala,sshj, “like the stars ofthe heaven and the sand of the sea,” is interpolated into the text at this point by F, G and theOld Latin Manuscript a.This phrase has been taken (but not exactly) from the Greek translation, Genesis22:17, which reads w`j tou.j avste,raj tou/ ouvranou/ kai. w`j th.n a;mmon th.n para. to. cei/lojth/j qala,sshj. The interpolation does not change the meaning of Romans, but simplyexpands on Paul’s statement.The words ou[twj e;stai to. spe,rma sou, "...In this way will be the descendant(s) ofyours," are an exact quotation of the Greek text of Genesis 15:5b, ou[twj e;stai to.spe,rma sou, “in this way will be the descendant(s) of yours,” which is a very accuratetranslation of the Hebrew. "In this way" means "as numerous as" the stars in the heavens.Sometimes it is claimed that there is no such thing as "predictive prophecy"--that inactuality all so-called "predictions of the future" in the Bible were written after the events hadalready occurred, and were inserted into an earlier time by a later writer who knew what hadhappened, "after the event."But here is a predictive prophecy that cannot be explained away in this manner. At thelatest dating that can be given to this ancient story, the descendants of Abraham were at themost a tiny nation, with little promise for the future. But they held on to this ancient promise ashaving come from their God--that they would become a great nation, and that through them allthe families of the earth would receive divine blessing. Has that prediction come to pass?Through Abraham's descendants, the knowledge of God has come to the Jewishpeople, and has been taken throughout the world. Especially through the greatest descendantof Abraham, Jesus of Nazareth, the knowledge of God has been sent forth to "all the nations,"and today the Good News of God is proclaimed in over 2,000 languages, all across planetearth. These descendants of Abraham have gone into almost every nation, country, and townin all the world, healing the sick, teaching the ignorant, bringing the lost and dying into theworship and hope and security that comes with the knowledge of God. There is no honestway to deny the reality of this "predictive prophecy.”But for Abraham, it was only a hope--a hope that went against all human expectationsand possibilities. Nonetheless, he hoped--against hope, upon hope in God--because heplaced trust in the divine word that had come to him.452Moo comments that “Verses 19-20 detail the way in which Abraham believed ‘againsthope on the basis of hope’...’He did not weaken in faith when he observed his own body.’ The‘against hope’ aspect of Abraham’s faith is accentuated, as Paul stresses that Abrahamcontinued to believe God’s promise to him even as he observed the physical condition thatrendered the fulfillment of that promise so unlikely.243(continued...)
454 455he considered the body of himself, [already] having become dead, being some hundred452(...continued)“This physical evidence would certainly have given Abraham reason to doubt that hewould produce offspring through Sarah. His own body was ‘already dead,’ in the sense thathe was past the age when procreation was likely to occur–he was ‘about a hundred years old’(compare also Hebrews 11:12)...“Paul’s indication that Abraham was past the age of procreation creates difficulties forthe notice in Genesis 25:1-2 that Abraham later bore six sons to another wife, Keturah.Augustine, noting the difficulty, suggested that only Sarah’s barrenness stood in the way ofAbraham’s producing a child (City of God 16.28), but both this verse and Hebrews 11:12 areclear in attributing physical disability to Abraham as well as Sarah. The best solution is toassume that the procreative power granted by God to Abraham was not confined to the birthof Isaac alone, but remained with him afterward also (so, Bengel; Calvin).” (Pp. 283-84)The common assumption of biblical students is that the stories in Genesis are arrangedin chronological order, but this may well not be the case. If it is not, the story of Abraham andKeturah may be concerned with one of Abraham’s concubines at an earlier time in his life, asthe Jewish commentator, Nahum Sarna thinks is the case, stating that "Over forty years earlierthe patriarch had judged himself to be too old to sire children; it is hardly likely that he had sixsons after the age of one hundred and forty. Hence, the present report does not relate to atime subsequent to Sarah's death and Isaac's marriage, but to many years before. That iswhy verse 6, like 1 Chronicles 1:32, refers to Keturah as a 'concubine,' not a wife." (TheJewish Publication Society Torah Commentary, Genesis, P. 172)453The preposition evn, “in” is interpolated into the text at this point by the first writer ofBezae; and by F and G.The interpolation makes no difference for the meaning of Romans, because the dativearticle and noun following it imply the meaning “in.”454The negative ouv, “not,” is interpolated into the text at this point by Bezae, F, G, Psi,Minuscules 33, 1881, the “Majority Text,” a majority of the Old Latin witnesses, theClementine Vulgate, the Harclean Syriac, Methodius of Olympus (died after 250 A.D.) andAmbrosiaster (366-384 A.D.).It is not read by Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, Bezae, Psi,Minuscule 33, the “Majority Text,” the Old Latin Manuscript m, the Stuttgartiensis Vulgate,the Peshitta Syriac nor the Coptic tradition.This interpolation changes the meaning of Romans. Instead of stating that Abrahamconsidered the deadness of his own body, it says that he did not consider it. Even so, thishardly changes the overall meaning of Paul’s statement. Whether or not he considered thedeadness of his own body, he still hoped for the fulfilment of the divine promise.455The adverb hv ,dh is omitted by F, G and the entire Latin tradition. See footnote 439.244(continued...)
Page 1 and 2: ABRAHAM: RIGHT RELATIONSHIP THROUGH
Page 3 and 4: 385 386 387has found? 4.2 For if Ab
Page 5 and 6: 389(...continued)The Book of Jubile
Page 7 and 8: for a right-relationship." 393391(.
Page 9 and 10: 393(...continued)he adopted, accord
Page 11 and 12: 394 3954.4 Now then, to the one who
Page 13 and 14: 398 399 400 401placing trust in the
Page 15 and 16: person whom the God considers (as b
Page 17 and 18: 4074.9 This pronouncement of happin
Page 19 and 20: 411in Abraham as a right-relationsh
Page 21 and 22: 417(...continued)Romans 4:11 (here,
Page 23 and 24: 422father of (those who are) circum
Page 25 and 26: BECOMING STRONG IN TRUST -- AGAINST
Page 27 and 28: 427(...continued)though there is no
Page 29 and 30: 429(...continued)"And YHWH said to
Page 31 and 32: 431 432 433relationship of trust. 4
Page 33 and 34: 434 435has been made worthless, and
Page 35 and 36: 439 440 4414.16 For this reason (it
Page 37: 450hope, trusted, so that he became
Page 41 and 42: 457(...continued)express joyful sho
Page 43 and 44: 458(...continued)to die in the dese
Page 45 and 46: 461 462 463is able also to accompli
Page 47 and 48: 468but rather, also for us, to whom
Page 49 and 50: 470(...continued)and he will divide

Romans 4 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

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