Romans 15.8-9a

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Andrew Chapman
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Romans 15.8-9a

Post by Andrew Chapman »

8 λέγω γὰρ Χριστὸν διάκονον γεγενῆσθαι περιτομῆς ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας θεοῦ, εἰς τὸ βεβαιῶσαι τὰς ἐπαγγελίας τῶν πατέρων, [9] τὰ δὲ ἔθνη ὑπὲρ ἐλέους δοξάσαι τὸν θεόν..

Main questions:

1) Has Christ become a minister to the circumcision (the Jews), or a minister of circumcision?

2) Is δοξάσαι coordinate with γεγενῆσθαι or βεβαιῶσαι?
Gregory Hartzler-Miller
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Joined: May 23rd, 2015, 10:09 pm

Re: Romans 15.8-9a

Post by Gregory Hartzler-Miller »

Andrew Chapman wrote: November 9th, 2023, 4:14 pm 8 λέγω γὰρ Χριστὸν διάκονον γεγενῆσθαι περιτομῆς ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας θεοῦ, εἰς τὸ βεβαιῶσαι τὰς ἐπαγγελίας τῶν πατέρων, [9] τὰ δὲ ἔθνη ὑπὲρ ἐλέους δοξάσαι τὸν θεόν..

Main questions:

1) Has Christ become a minister to the circumcision (the Jews), or a minister of circumcision?

2) Is δοξάσαι coordinate with γεγενῆσθαι or βεβαιῶσαι?
Re: "Is δοξάσαι coordinate with γεγενῆσθαι or βεβαιῶσαι?"

The pair of infinitives, "δοξάσαι" (to glorify) and "βεβαιῶσαι" (to confirm), are coordinated by the conjunction "ὑπὲρ" (for the sake of). This coordination highlights that both verbs serve the broader purpose of Christ's ministry. His mission is twofold: to glorify God's mercy among the Gentiles and to confirm the promises made to the fathers (ancestors).

Re: "Has Christ become a minister to the circumcision (the Jews), or a minister of circumcision?"

In Romans 15:8, "Χριστὸν διάκονον γεγενῆσθαι περιτομῆς" (Christ to become a minister of circumcision), the use of the genitive "περιτομῆς" suggests an association with circumcision. It could even be taken to imply that Christ's ministry is aligned with the adaptive practice of circumcision among the Jews to win the Jews (even of Titus in Galatians, as with Timothy also in Acts, if the western non-interpolation of Gal 2:5 is accepted, "we yielded in the subjection for an hour"). However, Paul continues by stating, "τὰ δὲ ἔθνη ὑπὲρ ἐλέους δοξάσαι τὸν θεόν."

An intriguing parallel can be found in Galatians 2:8-9, where Paul speaks of Christ's work through both Peter and himself: "ὁ γὰρ ἐνεργήσας Πέτρῳ εἰς ἀποστολὴν τῆς περιτομῆς ἐνήργησεν καὶ ἐμοὶ εἰς τὰ ἔθνη" (He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship of circumcision also worked effectively in me for the gentiles). What strikes me as noteworthy is the parallel shift from the genitive "τῆς περιτομῆς" to the accusative "τὰ ἔθνη." This shift in Galatians might be considered sloppy grammar, possibly in need of conjectural emendation: εἰς... τῆς περιτομῆς... εἰς τῶν ἔθνῶν.

On the other hand, if the seemingly sloppy grammar is accepted as authorial, I wonder whether this parallel might have implications for interpreting Paul's intended meaning not only in Romans but also in Galatians.
Gregory Hartzler-Miller
Posts: 122
Joined: May 23rd, 2015, 10:09 pm

Re: Romans 15.8-9a

Post by Gregory Hartzler-Miller »

Re: περιτομῆς... ἔθνη

Rom 15:8-9a
λέγω γὰρ Χριστὸν διάκονον γεγενῆσθαι περιτομῆς ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας Θεοῦ,
εἰς τὸ βεβαιῶσαι τὰς ἐπαγγελίας τῶν πατέρων,
τὰ δὲ ἔθνη ὑπὲρ ἐλέους δοξάσαι τὸν Θεόν…

Gal 2:8 and 9b
ὁ γὰρ ἐνεργήσας Πέτρῳ εἰς ἀποστολὴν τῆς περιτομῆς
ἐνήργησεν καὶ ἐμοὶ εἰς τὰ ἔθνη

Ἰάκωβος καὶ Κηφᾶς καὶ Ἰωάννης,
οἱ δοκοῦντες στῦλοι εἶναι,
δεξιὰς ἔδωκαν ἐμοὶ καὶ Βαρναβᾷ κοινωνίας,
ἵνα ἡμεῖς εἰς τὰ ἔθνη,
αὐτοὶ δὲ εἰς τὴν περιτομήν ·

Cf. Eph 2:11
Διὸ μνημονεύετε ὅτι ποτὲ ὑμεῖς τὰ ἔθνη ἐν σαρκί,
οἱ λεγόμενοι ἀκροβυστία ὑπὸ τῆς λεγομένης περιτομῆς ἐν σαρκὶ χειροποιήτου…
Andrew Chapman
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Re: Romans 15.8-9a

Post by Andrew Chapman »

Re: "Is δοξάσαι coordinate with γεγενῆσθαι or βεβαιῶσαι?"

The pair of infinitives, "δοξάσαι" (to glorify) and "βεβαιῶσαι" (to confirm), are coordinated by the conjunction "ὑπὲρ" (for the sake of). This coordination highlights that both verbs serve the broader purpose of Christ's ministry. His mission is twofold: to glorify God's mercy among the Gentiles and to confirm the promises made to the fathers (ancestors).
Thanks very much for the reply which I have just found, along with discovering that notification of replies to posts had somehow become turned off in my profile and apparently over-riding my ticking the box for notification of replies for the post.

To my mind, only ἀληθείας θεοῦ is dependent on ὑπέρ. I think δοξάσθαι is dependent either on λέγω γάρ, as in eg the NKJV:

Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, [9] and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy...

or on εἰς τό, as in eg the NASB:

For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision in behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises given to the fathers, [9] and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy...
Last edited by Andrew Chapman on December 12th, 2023, 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
Andrew Chapman
Posts: 265
Joined: February 5th, 2013, 5:04 am
Location: Oxford, England
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Re: Romans 15.8-9a

Post by Andrew Chapman »

What strikes me as noteworthy is the parallel shift from the genitive "τῆς περιτομῆς" to the accusative "τὰ ἔθνη." This shift in Galatians might be considered sloppy grammar, possibly in need of conjectural emendation: εἰς... τῆς περιτομῆς... εἰς τῶν ἔθνῶν.
ὁ γὰρ ἐνεργήσας Πέτρῳ εἰς ἀποστολὴν τῆς περιτομῆς ἐνήργησεν καὶ ἐμοὶ εἰς τὰ ἔθνη…

The grammar looks normal to me, since εἰς always takes the accusative, and does so here in both phrases. I am not sure (being non-expert) whether εἰς τῶν ἐθνῶν is even possible, though I can conceive that it could be if εἰς [ἀποστολήν] τῶν ἐθνῶν is to be understood.
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