Romans 2 Explained

Romans 2 is the second 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, with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, who adds his own greeting in .[1] Although "the main theme of the Epistle [is] the doctrine of justification by faith", in verse 6 Paul "lays down with unmistakable definiteness and precision the doctrine that works, what a man has done, the moral tenor of his life, will be the standard by which he will be judged at the last day".[2]

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 29 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

Old Testament references

New Testament references

Analysis

Paul's rhetoric style here and other parts of the epistle (cf. Romans 3:1-9;3:27–4:25; 9:19–21; 10:14–21; 11:17–24; 14:4–12) resembles the diatribe, a form of argumentation by 'debating' an imaginary opponent (as common among Cynic or Stoic philosophers), such as responding to objections using the expression "by no means!" (Latin: me genoito; cf. Romans 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2,15; 7:7,13; 9:14; 11:1, 11) to 'pull' the reader into the 'conversation' on Paul's side. Unlike in Romans 2:17–3:20 where Paul plainly addresses a Jewish interlocutor, the dialogue partner in verses 1–16 is not explicitly identified, but the whole section of Romans 2:1–3:20 "speaks to perceived Jewish attitudes".

No partiality with God

Verse 11

Circumcision

Paul refers to circumcision as a physical mark of Jewish identity, but for a Jew who breaks the law it becomes a sign of contradiction: "your circumcision has become uncircumcision" (Romans 2:25).[6] The prophet Jeremiah had spoken of those who were "circumcised yet uncircumcised" (Jeremiah 9:25).[7] Paul reiterates the teaching of Moses that:

Drawing on Moses' words in Deuteronomy 30:6:

See also

Sources

. Michael D. Coogan . The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 . Coogan . Michael David . Marc Zvi . Brettler . Carol Ann . Newsom . Pheme . Perkins. Augmented 3rd . Oxford University Press . 2007 . 9780195288810 .

. Douglas J. Moo . Romans . Carson . D. A. . New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. D. A. Carson. France . R. T. . R. T. France . J. A. . Motyer . J. Alec Motyer. G. J. . Wenham . Gordon Wenham. 4, illustrated, reprint, revised. Inter-Varsity Press . 1994. 9780851106489 . 1115–1160.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Donaldson, Terence L. . 63. Introduction to the Pauline Corpus . The Oxford Bible Commentary . John. Barton . John. Muddiman . Oxford University Press . first (paperback) . 2007 . 1077 . 978-0199277186.
  2. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/romans/2.htm Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers
  3. Web site: Biblical concordances of Romans 2 in the 1611 King James Bible.
  4. 10:17
  5. 10:34
  6. 2:25 NKJV
  7. 9:25 HCSB