Read The Jewish Annotated New Testament Online
Authors: Amy-Jill Levine
1
–2
:
An apostle
, lit., “one sent”; i.e., herald;
gospel
, lit., “message of good news”; Paul is
set apart
to declare God’s victory, cf. Isa 6.8; 49.1; 52.7–10; 61.1–9; Jer 1.5;
Pss. Sol
. 11.1; 1QH 18.14.
3
:
Son
, Jesus is defined as Christ and Lord/Master; sonship involves an obligation to reign righteously or be disciplined. Cf. 2 Sam 7.8–16; Ps 2.7 of the Davidic king; Israel is also the son of God (Ex 4.22–23; Hos 11.1) as are angels (Gen 6.2,4; Deut 32.8 [LXX]). This royal claim has political implications for the Jewish people (Ps 2.8; Acts 2.36; 13.33;
Pss. Sol
. 17.3,21), and involves an implicit challenge to a Roman emperor being the “son of a god” (e.g., Claudius, Nero), as well as to his client kings in Judea (e.g., Herod Agrippa II).
4
:
Son of God
is a Judaic notion of royal as well as priestly authority, here appealed to in order to demonstrate Jesus Christ as their Lord and Son of God with power as set apart by the spirit (or Spirit) of holiness. This stands in direct contrast to the apotheosis of the caesars to demonstrate their claims to be gods upon death, and thus, their heirs to the throne thereafter to be known as “sons of god.” That Jesus is the anointed one (as “mashia
ḥ
” = anointed one) is witnessed by both heaven (spirit = divine empowerment) and earth (flesh = human, Davidic descent, v. 3). Resurrection bears witness to God’s action in a way that defies the nature of the present age, declaring thereby that the age to come has begun in the present age, the dawning of the awaited age of the Creator God’s reign on earth over all the nations, through Israel’s king.
5
:
Grace
(Gk “charis” = lovingkindness; or benefaction/favor; Heb “
ḥ
esed”);
obedience of faith
(or faithful obedience); both words overlap in meaning: “hypakoē” translates the Heb “shema” (“to hear/listen,” in the sense of “to obey”). Greek “ethnē,” often translated
Gentiles
, literally refers to “peoples/nations,” usually to the groups of people or nations (Heb “goyim”) other than Israel, although the word can refer to Israel, which is a people/nation as well. Hence, when being contrasted with Israel/Israelites/Jews, the reference is to “the people of the other nations.”
7
:
Saints
(Gk “hagioi,” those set apart [to God]/holy ones). Note that Paul does not use “Christians” here, an indication that the term was not in use yet, and neither was there a separate institutional identity of Christianity.
7
:
Father
, cf. Ps 103.13.
8
:
Faith
, or “faithfulness.”
11
:
To strengthen
, lit., “to establish, settle.” The
spiritual gift
Paul longs to impart is likely his apostolic proclamation of the gospel to the Jew first and then the Greek, making plain to them how they fit into God’s plan for the nations as a part of God’s plan for Israel. Lack of this understanding is a root cause of the problems he perceives among them that the letter seeks to address until he can arrive.
13
–15
: Cf. 15.28.
13
:
Brothers and sisters
, Gk “adelphoi” can extend beyond masculine referents.
14
:
Barbarians
, i.e., those who do not speak Greek.
1.16
–32: The evil of humankind.
Paul begins to explain the gospel and his commitment to its success in spite of obstacles, especially the failure of humankind to obey God. God’s faithfulness is demonstrated in the faithfulness of Christ, which rescues everyone. Paul refers to Hab 2.4 to declare that “the righteous (or just) live by their faith.” In Habakkuk, this likely refers to Israelites standing together loyally in the face of adversity. The wicked behavior described may represent stereotypes of Roman rulers, who undermine the values they claim to represent. From this point through ch 3, the obligation of non-Jews to do what is right/just and their culpability for failing to do so, even though they do not have the Torah, are central aspects of Paul’s argument.
16
: Paul claims he is
not ashamed
of the gospel’s power to save (rescue) everyone who is faithful to this message,
the Jew first and also … the Greek
; this suggests that he is engaged in apologetics, in resolving a theodicy. His audience may have been wavering about whether the gospel’s proposition had failed to accomplish its claims, or they were perhaps being pressed to answer the suspicions of others. Paul hereafter would seem to be (re)asserting the gospel proposition that the tiny subject-nation of Israel has produced the Lord of the world instead of Rome. The theme of Jews first and then the rest of the peoples/nations continues throughout the letter and can communicate both chronological developments and prioritization, but also that, ultimately, everyone will answer to the gospel proposition.
Salvation
, (or rescue/restoration) from oppressive forces of the present evil age, and the appearance that the judgments of the Roman regime represent justice according to the gods.
Who has faith
, or who is being faithful.
17
: Hab 2.4, which can also be translated “But the righteous/just one out of faithfulness will live,” could refer to believers living faithfully, or to Christ as the “righteous one who lives out faithfulness.” To this faithfulness Jews and Gentiles are obliged to respond in faithful obedience. Cf. Isa 51.4–5; 52.10; Ps 98.2–3; Rom 5.18–19.
Righteousness
, or justice; i.e., one who keeps covenant faithfulness; Heb “tzedek.”
18
–19
: The alternative to living faithfully is suppressing the truth about God being and doing what is right. The
wrath of God
is revealed by the ones who live unjustly, mirroring how the justice of God is revealed by the ones who live faithfully.
20
–32
: The plain truth about the
Creator
has been subverted by the worship of created beings. Cf. Wis 13.1–9. The likely contrast is to the Roman regime; cf. 1QpHab 3–7, for a similar Qumran community indictment of Rome, also appealing to Habakkuk. Many of the specific elements may signify behavior associated with recent emperors as representatives of stereotypes of non-Jewish cultural norms; see Suetonius,
Gaius
22–58;
Nero
26–35; Philo,
Leg. Gai
. 14–15; 89–90; 97; 107; 118.
21
:
Honor
, lit., “glorify”; cf. Heb “kavod.”
They became
, lit., “they were made.”
24
:
Gave them up
, lit., “handed them over.”
26
–27
: Paul’s discourse apparently reflects contemporary Greco-Roman as well as Jewish moralists’ cultural ideals for the male’s domination of the female. A man was not to take the passive (soft) role of the subordinate or a woman to take the penetrating role of the superior, an arrangement that was undermined in same-sex relations, but equally of concern in heterosexual relations; cf. Diod. Sic. 32.10.4.9; 32.10.9.3; Cicero,
Verr
. 2.1.140;
Philipp
. 6.4;
Cael
. 32, 67;
Clu
. 18; Dio Chrys.,
Or
. (
Euboicus)
7.133–52; Philo,
Spec. Laws
1.50; 3.37–42;
T. Abr
. 135–37; Pseudo-Phocylides,
Sent
. 190–93.; Wis 14.16; see Lev 18.22; 20.13. Alternatively, Paul could be appealing to the command in Gen 1.28 to procreate as that which is natural, and thus censoring uncontrolled sexual desire in marriage, noncoital relations in marriage, or same-sex relations, because in each of these cases the “proper-natural” desire to procreate is subverted.
26
–32
: Thus God handed over idolaters (including those making rival claims to be sons of the gods) to unrighteous lifestyles, such as are listed, making manifest their foolishness and weakness instead of ostensible wisdom and power. That things will not turn out as they presently might appear to be is witnessed even in the unrighteous behavior to which the just God has handed them over. For indictments of this kind of depraved behavior, including insatiable sexual lust by Gaius Caligula, see Suetonius,
Gaius
22–58 (for a Roman report), and Philo,
Leg. Gai
. 14–15; 89–90; 97; 107; 118 (for a Jewish report); for Nero, see Suetonius,
Nero
26–35.
2.1
–16: Human responsibility and divine judgment.
This ch is framed as dialogues with a hypothetical Gentile’s response and a Jewish teacher of Gentiles’ reponse to the gospel’s condemnation of unrighteous intentions and behavior; it claims that judging the unrighteous is not the congregation’s place. That they themselves recognize a standard to which all should be held is itself a demonstration of their culpability, not their superiority. Those who know that God is just should be concerned with their own intention to do what is right rather than seeking to justify their behavior by the failures of others to live rightly. This difference may not always be evident in comparative social terms, but those who use legal means to subvert what is right, as well as those who outright reject doing right, will be judged by the Righteous One, just as will be those who seek to do right in all things. There is no reason to question whether God’s righteousness is demonstrated by the unfaithful as well as the faithful: God is benevolent and holds everyone accountable. The ch as a whole undermines any notion that Paul separates responsibility to behave faithfully from the act of faith itself.
2
:
You say
, not in Gk.
4
:
Kindness … lead you to repentance
, see e.g., Num 14.18; Prov 3.11–12.
5
:
Day of wrath
, see Isa 2.12; 13.9,13; Zeph 1.15.
6
: Ps 62.12 [Heb 13], which brings up the topic of “deeds.”
6
–8
: Cf. Hab 2.3; 3.16–19.
7
:
Eternal life
, or an end-of-ages way of life lived in the present age.
8
:
Self-seeking
, or promoting strife/judging;
but wickedness
, or persuading to unrighteousness.
9
:
Who does evil
, lit., “for every soul of a human who oppresses the wronged.”
11
: Cf. Deut 10.17.
12
: Or as many as sinned (erred) lawlessly (Gk “anomōs,” lawbreakers), will perish lawlessly, and as many as sinned by law (Gk “en nomos,” law manipulators, those who use a law in ways that violate the ideals of that law), will be judged through law.