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| − | [[The New Testament]] > [[The Epistle to the Romans]] > [[The Epistle to the Romans 1|Chapter 1]]
| + | #REDIRECT [[Rom 1:1-17]] |
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| − | | [[Acts 28:26-31|Previous (Acts 28:26-31)]] || || [[Rom 1:6-10|Next (Rom 1:6-10)]]
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| − | == Questions ==
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| − | * ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''
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| − | == Lexical notes ==
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| − | * ''Verse 1'':
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| − | Paul had two names, but it is almost certainly ''not'' true that he changed his name from "Saul" to "Paul" when he was converted. Notice that he is called "Saul" after his conversion (see Acts 13:1). Roman citizens (Paul was a Roman citizen) usually had three names, a personal name, a clan name, and a family name. Sometimes they also had a nickname. "Paulus" (Paul in English) was a common Roman family name. "Saul" was a relatively common Jewish personal name and could also be a nickname. So "Paul" and "Saul" are just two different ways of identifying the same person, much as we might refer to a person sometimes by his last name--"Smith"--and sometimes by his first name--"John."
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| − | The Greek for "servant" is perhaps better translated "slave." There were few if any of what we would think of as servants in Roman or Hebrew culture of Paul's time. Servants were owned by someone and owed that person work, receiving no compensation for their work. Household slaves, however, were usually treated much like members of the family. Sometimes they were adopted (a fact that Paul uses to make his argument in chapter 8).
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| − | "Called to be" is a misleading translation. "Called" would be more accurate.
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| − | The word "apostle" literally means "one sent out," "a messenger." So Paul is "a called messenger" or "a called apostle." In other words, he is not self-appointed.
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| − | "Separated" means much the same as our phrase "set apart."
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| − | "Everyone knows" that the word "gospel" means "good news" or "pleasing message. Less known is that it was the common way of describing the announcement of a military victory or of an arriving king. In the Septuagint, the Greek word translates the Hebrew word, ''basar.'' We see that word in 1 Samuel 31:9, 1 Kings 1:42, and Jeremiah 20:15, among other places. In the King James translation it is translated "good tidings," "tidings," and "publish."
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| − | ''Verse 2'':
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| − | The Greek word translated "promised" is etymologically related to the word translated "gospel" in verse 1. They share a root that means "to announce" (a root that is also the origin of our word "angel").
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| − | The first meaning of the Greek word "prophaetes," the origin of our word "prophet," is "one who declares openly, who speaks publicly." Initially it has nothing to do with one who tells the future. The prophet is the one who makes public what God has to say.
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| − | This is the only place in the New Testament where the phrase translated "holy scriptures" can be found. The holy scriptures for Paul would have included what we call the Old Testament (the Law, the Writings, the Prophets). Since Paul refers to other books as well, such as the Wisdom of Solomon, we can assume that he considered those other books also to be scripture.
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| − | ''Verse 3'':
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| − | By using the word "Lord," (meaning "Yahweh"), Paul explicitly identifies Jesus with Yahweh.
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| − | Sometimes Paul uses "flesh" as a negative term (though he never uses it to mean simply "body"), but here he uses it positively.
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| − | Modern editors believe that the phrase "Jesus Christ our Lord" belongs at the end of verse 4 rather than in verse 3.
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| − | ''Verse 4'':
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| − | The Greek word translated "declared" means "to mark out" or "to set bounds." It is used in the New Testament to mean "to define, determine, or appoint."
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| − | "Powerfully" is probably a better translation of the Greek than "with power."
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| − | The Greek is ambiguous as to whether "Spirit of holiness" refers to the Holy Spirit or whether it means something more general, the spirit that we see in any holy person.
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| − | ''Verses 3 and 4'':
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| − | If we accept the judgment that "Jesus Christ our Lord" belongs at the end of verse 4, these verses form a chiasmus:
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| − | A. his Son,
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| − | B. from the seed of David,
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| − | C. according to the flesh,
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| − | X. but who was declared/defined/appointed to be the Son of God in power
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| − | C'. according to the spirit
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| − | B'. from the resurrection of the dead,
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| − | A'. namely Jesus Christ our Lord.
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| − | == Exegesis ==
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| − | Most Roman letters began "So-and-so to so-and-so, greeting." Jewish letters began "So-and-so to so-and-so, peace be multiplied." Paul begins his letters with variations of these standard greetings, but he often expands those greetings. In this letter, for example, he tells us who he is in verse 1 and who the letter is addressed to in verse 7, with a five verse parenthesis between.
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| − | == Related links ==
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| − | * ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''
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| − | ----
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| − | {|
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| − | | [[Acts 28:26-31|Previous (Acts 28:26-31)]] || || [[Rom 1:6-10|Next (Rom 1:6-10)]]
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| − | |}
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