"The Gentile and The Jew and The Grace Of God."

A. The Pre-eminence of the Epistle: its Difficulty.
B. The Theme of the Epistle: Analysis of it.
C. Its Authenticity and Canonicity.
D. The Background of the Epistle.

i. The Jews in Rome.
ii. The Early Christians in Rome.
iii. How St. Paul came to write this Epistle.
iv. Peculiar Characteristics of the Epistle.
v. Its Precise Theme.

E. When and Where the Epistle was Written.
F. SS. Peter and Paul and the Church at Rome.
G. The Vocabulary of the Epistle.
H. Its Theological Teaching. Bibliography.

A. Its Pre-eminence: its Difficulty.

The Epistle to the Romans stands first in order in the collection of St. Paul's Epistles. Not that it was the first in order of time,[1] for, as we shall see, it was written after the Epistles to the Thessalonians, the Galatians, and the Corinthians. It is commonly said that this Epistle owes its position to the profundity of the doctrine of which it treats, but St. Jerome repeatedly claims for the Epistle to the Ephesians that it is the most profound of all the Apostle's Letters. Thus he says: "To none of the Churches did the Apostle write things so full of mystical teaching, to none other did he so reveal the mysteries hidden from the ages!"[2] It is, however, quite consonant with facts to say that the Epistle to the Romans owes its primacy of position to the dignity of the Church to which it was addressed, and on which St. Ignatius of Antioch passes so magnificent a eulogy:

"The Church beloved of God and illumined by His will . . . the Church, too, which holds the Presidency in the Roman district,[3] worthy of God, worthy of honor, worthy to be called blessed, worthy of praise, worthy as having attained the mark, worthy to be called chaste, presiding over (the assemblage of) charity. . ."[4]

But however this may be, we can unhesitatingly assign to this Epistle the primacy of difficulty:

"The whole Epistle to the Romans," says St. Jerome, "calls for interpretation; it is involved in such obscurity that to understand it we need the assistance of the same Holy Spirit Who dictated it through the Apostle. . . . Nothing, however (in the way of interpretation), appeals to me save what is ecclesiastical and what we are not afraid to declare in the Church. . . . It is much better simply to confess one's ignorance and, amongst the many other things which we do not know, to take refuge in the obscurity of this passage (he is discussing Romans 9:14-29) than, in our anxiety to prove the justice of God, fall into (various) heresies."[5]

This difficulty is due partly to an unquestionable remissness in style; "many things," says St. Jerome, "are to be found in the Epistle to the Romans as well as in those to the other Churches, especially to the Corinthians, which are said in remiss fashion and almost in conversational style."[6] It arises also from the speed at which the Apostle composed, and is probably largely due to the fact that he dictated, with the result that his thoughts and words outran his scribe's pen. Moreover, St. Paul was not a Greek: "He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews," remarks St. Jerome, and most skilled in his own vernacular; consequently he was unable to express in a foreign tongue his own most profound thoughts. Indeed, he recked little for the words provided he was clear about his meaning!"[7] St. Jerome even goes so far as to maintain that the Apostle's grief at not finding Titus was due, at least in part, to the fact that he could not explain himself in Greek without the assistance of Titus![8] The Apostle had, moreover, to coin terms wherewith to express ideas which up to that time had no equivalent in Greek, much as the scholastic theologians of a later date had to mint a Latin which was unknown to Cicero.[9]

Origen is never weary of pointing out that we must read this Epistle "carefully."[10] The thought, he says, is confused;[11] it is not always easy to see who precisely is addressed whether the believer or the unbeliever, the circumcised or the convert from heathenism;[12] the argument seems at times to lack consecutiveness;[13] appeal is made to the "Law," and the "Law" stands now for the law of nature, now for the positive Mosaic Law,[14] and all this involves apparent contradiction.[15] Small wonder, then, that Origen should characterize this Epistle as the happy hunting-ground of "those who would split up the Church's unique doctrine into the various teachings of the sects, and who look only at those passages of Holy Scripture which favor their own tenets, while they refuse to extend even a finger-tip to those passages which make against them."[16]

B. The Theme of the Epistle.

The theme of the Epistle may be conveniently expressed in the words "The Gentile and the Jew," or the true meaning of the Gospel in theory, chapters 1-11, in practice, chapters 12-16.

1. Overview of the Epistle.

A brief analysis will show us the lines along which the Apostle proceeds:

A. Chapters 1-11. The true meaning of the Gospel in theory.

(a) The Gentiles are capable of knowing God's truth; hence their culpability and due punishment, 1:16-32.
(b) This does not mean, however, that the Jews have any ground for boasting, since neither their possession of the Law, nor their descent from Abraham, nor the fact of their being circumcised, renders them just in the sight of God. Both the Gentile and the Jew, then, need the grace of God, chapters 2-4.
(c) The glories of this divine grace: it has given us much, and it has freed us from the servitude of sin, from the servitude of the Law, and from condemnation, chapters 5-8.
(d) Of the origin of this grace: is it due to free election or to merits? An examination of the status of the Gentile and the Jew respectively, chapters 9-11.

B. Chapters 12-16. The doctrine of the Gospel in practice.

(a) Moral instruction as the outcome of the foregoing, viz., how and when, by using this free gift of grace, we are to show charity to all, 12:15-15:23.
(b) Familiar and personal notes, 15:24-to-16.

2. A Fuller Analysis of the Epistle.

A. 1:1-17. INTRODUCTION.

(a) 1:1-7. The Apostle’s address to them; he strikes the keynote of the Epistle at once: We have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith in all nations.
(b) 1:8-15. His thanksgiving to God: that their faith is spoken of in the whole world. His prayers for them, and his longing desire to see them. This leads him to
(c) 1:16-17. The theme of the whole subsequent Epistle: The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and to the Greek. Hence:

B. 1:18-11:36. THE DOGMATIC PORTION OF THE EPISTLE.

I. Sections 1:18-4:25. The universal need of the Gospel. (

a) 1:18-32. Those under the natural law need it: Because that when they knew God, they have not glorified Him as God.
(b) 2:1-29. Those, too, who are under the Law of Moses need it, for tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
(c) 3:1-8. Not that the Jews have not their advantages; for the oracles of God were committed to them, and the unbelief of some among them does not render the divinely-pledged word of no effect.
(d) 3:9-31. Yet neither does it follow that the Jews excel the Greeks: For we have charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. The Old Testament shows that the justice which is according to God is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe in Him. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, And through this faith we destroy not the Law, but we establish the Law.
(e) 4:1-12. Nor in saying this do we derogate from the glory due to Abraham. For his circumcision, in which we glory, was but the seal of the faith which he had before he was circumcised.
(f) 4:13-22. Nor was the promise made to him through the Law, but through the justice of faith.
(g) 4:23-25. And the same applies to us as to Abraham, and on the same condition, viz. If we believe in Him that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead.

II. Chapters 5-8. Of the life according to faith.

(a) 5:1-21. An exhortation to embrace the life according to faith through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we have access through faith into this grace wherein we stand, and glory in the hope of the sons of God. For the obedience of Christ has outweighed the disobedience of Adam.
(b) 6:1-14. And let no one argue that, since grace abounded by reason of our sin which had abounded, it is therefore good to continue in sin that grace may abound. For Christ has delivered us from sin by His death, into which we are baptized.
(c) 6:15-to-7:6. Neither let any argue that, since we are no longer under the Law but under grace, we may therefore continue to sin; for though Christ has delivered us from the Law of Moses, He has put us under His own Law—that of grace: We are loosed from the law of death . . . that we may serve in newness of spirit.
(d) 7:7-25. Neither does it follow that the Law itself is sin; it is we who are sinful: The Law is spiritual, but I am carnal. The Apostle then describes the perpetual inward conflict between the flesh and the spirit, a conflict from which naught can deliver us save the grace of God by Christ Jesus Our Lord. This leads him to speak:
(e) 8:1-30. Of the life of grace, according to the indwelling of the Spirit of God.

i. By the law of grace we walk not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of Christ dwell in us, 8:1-11.
ii. And from this indwelling of the Spirit comes the adoption of sonship with all its promises, 8:12-25.
iii. Whence, too, comes the inward assistance of the Holy Spirit, Who asketh for us with unspeakable groanings, 8:26-30.

III. Chapters 9-11. An answer to the tacit objection: How, then, are we to explain the apparent rejection of the Chosen People?

(a) 9:1-6a. The Apostle expresses his grief for the Jews "according to the flesh"; for to them belongeth the adoption of children, the Glory, the Testament, the Giving of the Law, the Service of God, and the Promises. The Father is theirs; even Christ is theirs according to the flesh.
(b) 9:6b-29. But mere birth according to the flesh confers no right to salvation, for

i. All are not Israelites that are of Israel, and it is not the word of God that hath miscarried; for of Abraham's seed the promise was but to Isaac, and of Isaac's seed was it said: Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, 9:7-18.
ii. Neither does this mean that God is unjust; for He is free to show mercy to whom He will and justice to whom He will, as He said to Moses: I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy, and as He said to Pharao: I raised thee that I may show My power in thee, 9:14-18.
iii. Neither can we complain if He finds fault for with Him is perfect liberty of choice, as the Prophets Osee and Isaias have insisted. 9:19-29.
iv. In conclusion, then, the Gentiles, though not following after justice, have attained to the justice of faith; Israel, by following after justice according to the Law, is not come unto the law of justice, because they sought it by works and not by faith, 9:30-33.

(c) 10:1-21. This last thought is developed:

i. They have indeed a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge; for, seeking to establish justice after their own ideals, they have missed the justice that is according to God, 10:1-3.
ii. For the end of the Law is Christ to all that believe, and this doctrine, that namely of justification by faith, was taught by Moses as well as by the Prophets, 10:4-13.
iii. Thus Joel had said: Whosoever shall call upon Him shall be saved. But to "call" demands faith, and faith demands "hearing," and "hearing" demands a preacher, and a preacher must be "sent"; yea, and all this Israel has had, for they have "heard" and they have "known," but they have not obeyed. Hence the conclusion—foretold indeed by the Prophets—that the Gentiles that sought Him not have found Him, while Israel has rejected Him, 10:14-21.

(d) 11:1-32. But this rejection of Israel is not final; the Gentiles must not boast as though they were superior to Israel; for

i. God hath not cast away His people, namely the elect according to grace, though Israel has indeed been blinded, 11:1-10.
ii. Their "stumbling" was but intended to provoke them to emulation of the Gentiles, who profited by it. Their fall and their loss have proved the world's gain; how much more, then, will their restoration prove the world's gain! For Israel is still the "firstfruits," still the "root," and the Gentiles will always remain the "wild olive" that has been ingrafted. Hence: Blindness in part has happened in Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in. . . . As concerning the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake . . . but as touching the election, they are most dear for the sake of the Fathers, 11:11-32.
iii. In presence of this mystery the Apostle breaks out into exclamations of wonderment at the incomprehensible ways of God: Who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor? 11:33-36.

C. Chapters 12-15:13. The Moral Teaching of the Epistle.

I. Chapters 12-13. Of the general principles of the Christian life.

(a) 12:1-2. The basis of Christian perfection: Approve what is the perfect will of God.
(b) 12:3-21. Of unity, despite the diversity of gifts.
(c) 13:1-7. Of subjection to princes: For they are God's ministers, serving unto this purpose.
(d) 13:8-14. Of brotherly love, for the judgement is at hand.

II. Chapters 14-15:13. Of certain particular points.

(a) 14:1-23. Of individual liberty of conscience. The principle is laid down: All that is not of faith (i.e., of conscience) is sin.
(b) 15:1-7. Yet the strong must bear with the infirmities of the weak: The God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of one mind one towards another according to Jesus Christ; hence
(c) 15:8-12. Of the relative positions of the Jewish Christian and the Gentile Christian; the former can glory in Christ as a minister of the circumcision; the latter must glorify God for His mercy.

D. 15:14-16:27. The Personal Portion of the Epistle.

(a) 15:14-22. The Apostle's own position; how and where he has preached: Not upon another man's foundation; and this serves to explain his reason for not coming to them before.
(b) 15:23-33. His plans for the future: at present he is about to go to Jerusalem with alms from Macedonia, but later he will take his journey into Spain and will then visit them on his way.
(c) 16:1-2. He commends to them Phoebe, the bearer of this letter.
(d) 16:3-16a. Various salutations to members of the Church at Rome.
(e) 16:16b-20. Warnings against sundry dangers from heretics.
(f) 16:21-24. Salutations from those who are with him: from Timothy, and from Tertius who penned the Epistle.
(g) 16:25-27. Concluding doxology, with special reference to the Mystery of Faith, which has now in these days been made manifest.

C. The Authenticity and Canonicity of the Epistle.

The authenticity and canonicity of the Epistle have never been called into question. Thus, so early as about year A.D. 98 we find St. Clement of Rome recalling Romans 1:29-32, though he does not say that he is quoting St. Paul.[17] St. Ignatius, too, has a distinct reminiscence of Romans 1:3-4.[18] Tatian also refers to the words "for the invisible things of Him . . . are clearly seen . . .,” Romans 1:20.[19] Marcion, c. A.D. 140, removed, as is well known, the closing chapters from the Epistle, thus making it end with 14:23. Origen is quite explicit on this, though he points out that in certain copies to which he had access the doxology, 16:25-27, occurs at the close of our present chapter 14.[20] Now there is absolutely no MSS. authority for omitting these two chapters,[21] but the idea that they formed no part of the original Epistle has always had a certain vogue since Renan started the hypothesis that the salutations, viz. chapter 16, really belonged to the Epistle to the Ephesians. His main argument was that St. Paul could not possibly have had so many acquaintances in Rome as these salutations imply. But this is a purely negative argument, and in view of all the circumstances there is no reason why he should not have had this large circle of acquaintances. Moreover, there is the obstinate fact that the names of Pudens[22] and Prisca or Priscilla[23] are indissolubly associated with two Roman Churches. While the earliest catacombs have furnished us with examples of all the names enshrined in chapter 16, some of them being rare ones, this does not mean that we have the tombs of these very men and women, but it does show that Christians with such names did live in early Christian Rome.[24]

D. The Background of the Epistle.

To whom was it addressed?

The preliminary to any real understanding of this Epistle—as indeed of any other—is a clear grasp of the character of the Church to which it is addressed. This is not so simple an affair as it might appear. Such passages as 4:1-3, "Abraham our father," chapter 14 on the niceties of the observance of the Law, 15:7-12, the copious citations from the Old Testament, might lead us to think that it was penned for converts from Judaism. But then 1:5-6 and 1:13, "as among other Gentiles," and especially 11:13, "I say to you Gentiles," and 15:15-16, "a minister among the Gentiles," would seem just as precisely to point to converts from heathenism as being addressed. Then, again, in 11:3 he speaks expressly "to all that are among you." Does this mean to both parties—converts from both Judaism and heathenism?[25] It is clear that this question can only be solved by a combination of evidence intrinsic and extrinsic to the Epistle. The Acts, Josephus, and pagan writers such as Tacitus and Suetonius, help us to form an idea of the background of the Epistle. And it is incumbent on us to study this background if we would answer the question how St. Paul came to write this Epistle.

i. The Jews in Rome.—Jewish residents in Rome had long played a considerable part in the life of the city. In Maccabean times a species of federation had been established between Jerusalem and Rome;[26] towards the close of that period Pompey had led captive to Rome some of the royal family, and doubtless many others in their train.[27] These latter apparently returned to Palestine after obtaining their freedom, and took their place among those known as the "Libertini" or "freedmen" of Acts 6:9. The fact that no fewer than 8,000 Jews of Rome supported the impeachment of Archelaus [28] affords striking proof of their numbers and influence as early as A.D. 6. Josephus tells us that Claudius treated the Jews in his dominions very favorably, since he enacted decrees in favor of those at Alexandria and Jerusalem,[29] but we also learn from Suetonius [30] as well as from St. Luke [31] that Claudius was compelled to drive them out of Rome owing to their turbulence.

ii. Early Christians in Rome.—This expulsion of the Jews by Claudius is distinctly referred by Suetonius to riots arising from the presence of Christians in the Eternal City; no other interpretation of the well-known words "Judaeos, impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantes, expulit" is possible. The spelling Chresto is quite natural in the mouth of a Roman who would naturally connect it with the Greek Χρηστός; thus we find Tertullian actually telling the Romans that they did not know that the name "Christ" was derived from "unction," and not from "benignus."[32] That the "strangers of Rome" who were present at the first Pentecost would have carried home with them a vivid recollection of the scenes they had witnessed goes without saying, and it may well be that many of them were converted to the faith and thus formed the nucleus of the later Roman Church.[33] At the same time we are not to suppose that the Church in that city was entirely or even in great part composed of converts from Judaism; the whole tenor of St. Paul's Epistle to them runs counter to this view, while it is a legitimate inference from Acts 28:14-15 that these Christians did not pass "through the synagogue."

Nor is it sufficient to say that St. Paul has in view simply a collection of converts, whether from Judaism or from heathenism. For the Jewish Christians fell into two distinct classes: those who had tacitly discarded their Jewish sympathies on their entrance into the fold, and those who, while accepting Jesus as the Messiah, were yet loath to surrender the peculiar privileges of Judaism, and who therefore insisted on the lasting pre-eminence of the "Chosen People." These—known as "Judaizers"—were the Apostle's enemies who played so important a part in the summoning of the Council of Jerusalem, and who had succeeded, at least for a time, in perverting the Galatian converts. Nor, again, is the Apostle's view limited to those already in the fold. He has in mind the enormous mass of Jews who—as Acts 28 shows us—persisted in ignoring the claims of Christianity; he further has in mind the unregenerate heathen as yet unaffected by the new religion. Hence the constant change of persons who are addressed, a change which—as Origen complained—is so baffling to the superficial reader. The Apostle speaks to the Church in general, 1:1-16; to the heathen, 1:17-to-2:16; to the Jew who prided himself on his ancestry, 2:17-to-4:25; to "them that know the Law," 7:1 ff.; to unbelieving Israel, 9:1 ff.; to the Gentiles, 11:13 ff.

iii. They were, then, a mixed congregation drawn in part from the Jewish residents, in part from the heathen. This fact enables us to answer the oft-repeated question: What led St. Paul to write to the Romans at all? That the Church at Rome was no foundation of St. Paul's is evident from his whole history as given in Acts, as well as from various passages in this very Epistle wherein he shows that it is not the presence of difficulties in their midst which has led him to write to them, as was the case with the Thessalonians, the Corinthians, and the Galatians; on the contrary, the faith of the Romans was well known,[34] as also their charity and their knowledge,[35] moreover, they were "another man's foundation."[36] He writes, therefore, merely to prepare the way for the visit he hopes to pay at no distant date;[37] and this visit itself is to be but a "passing" one; it is not even meant for their "confirmation" in the faith, but "that I may be comforted together in you by that which is common to us both, your faith and mine.[38] As converts, whether from Judaism or from heathenism, they had a claim upon him. For as converts from Judaism they had gone through the same experience as he had done and had felt the same difficulties; as converts from heathenism they might be called his peculiar portion, the "gospel of the uncircumcision."[39] Moreover, and this is the most important point of all, many of them were already personally known to Paul, as is evident from the terms in which he addresses individuals in his "salutations" at the close.

We may endeavor, then, to reconstruct the events which led to the composition of this Epistle somewhat as follows: St. Paul had long known of the Roman Church, for the faith and obedience of its members were spoken of everywhere,[40] and he would be quick to realize the importance of such a Church geographically and politically. During his stay at Corinth he had lived with Aquila and Priscilla who had been expelled from Rome by Claudius.[41] On leaving Corinth he went with the same Aquila and Priscilla to Ephesus,[42] and was lodging with them when he wrote thence to the Corinthians.[43] From these apostolic people he would learn much about the Roman Church. Nor should it be forgotten that Corinth stood on the highway from East to West. Few have any idea of the amount of traveling which was done in those days; a study of the movements of Aquila and Priscilla as referred to in the New Testament would prove instructive in this respect. Among these travelers would be many who had listened to the Apostle, as well as many of his personal friends. All this caused his thoughts to turn to the great Church of the West; when, then, he found that his work in the East was done [44] and that the West was calling him, he planned to preach in Spain [45] and to visit Rome in passing. But with what kind of reception would he meet? He stood for a great doctrine: justification by faith as opposed to carnal descent from Abraham. This had brought him into disrepute and had made him "anathema" to many. His doctrine had apparently been discussed, and of course misrepresented, at Rome as elsewhere.[46] Hence he decided to prepare the way for his visit by sending them a treatise on what he regarded as the fundamental doctrines of Justification by Faith and Predestination. These facts explain the distinctly "apologetic" tone of the Letter. He had not founded their Church; many among them were opposed to him; they had no need of his assistance or guidance.[47] At the same time he is an Apostle in a very special sense, and he must needs fulfill his ministry.[48] Thus the Epistle to the Romans was meant to prepare the way for the Apostle's visit; that it did not altogether succeed in removing opposition is clear from Philippians 1:15, which was written from Rome; for there we find the Apostle still confronted by "some who speak the word of God out of envy and contention," while the attitude of the orthodox Jew at Rome could not be more forcibly portrayed than in Acts 28:17-29.

iv. Character of the Epistle.—An appreciation of the facts just given will enable us to understand the peculiar character of the Epistle. For it is "peculiar" in that it is a theological treatise only comparable in this respect with the Epistle to the Hebrews. Yet this treatise is cast in the form of a Letter. Why did the Apostle treat of these particular subjects, viz. of Justification by Faith and of Predestination, and why in this precise form? The subjects discussed in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, in those to the Thessalonians and Galatians, were decided for him by the questions those Churches had put to him, or by difficulties which he had learnt were rife amongst them. But we know nothing of any Letter from the Romans to the Apostle, neither do we know that they had particular difficulties about the doctrine of predestination. Yet this question—always a burning one—must have been ever present in a "mixed" congregation made up of those who had been wont to call themselves exclusively "the Chosen People" and those who had been "grafted in." Apart, too, from its actuality, the question had to be treated sooner or later; the Apostle, who combined in his own person Jewish prejudice, Hellenic culture, and Roman liberalism, was the fitting instrument for the work. He could hardly have had a stronger confirmation of the necessity of such teaching than that afforded him in the interview between himself and his Jewish auditors in his Roman prison.[49]

v. The theme of the Epistle, then, can hardly be better expressed than in the Apostle's own words towards the close: Christ Jesus was minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the Fathers. But the Gentiles are to glorify God for His mercy, 15:8-9. Or, as St. Augustine expresses it:

"The question he sets out to answer is: Whether the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ came to the Jews alone by reason of merits arising from the works of the Law, or whether, without any preceding merits arising from works, justification by faith which is in Christ Jesus came to all the Gentiles, so that men did not believe because they were just, but, being justified by believing, they thenceforth began to lead just lives?"[50]

The same question forms the theme of the Epistle to the Galatians, but with this difference that, as St. Jerome puts it, in the latter he blames and corrects, in the former he teaches; in the former he uses profound arguments, in the latter he rather appeals to authority;[51] he writes to the Romans to convince them that neither Jews nor Gentiles are to insist upon their privileges, upon "circumcision" or "uncircumcision," but to the Galatians to show them that they have no choice, they never have belonged to the "circumcision"; to embrace it, then, is tantamount to apostasy in their case.[52]

For the relation between the doctrine set forth in the Epistle of St. James see the Introduction to that Epistle. That St. Peter betrays an acquaintance with St. Paul's Epistle written to the Romans, and also with at least one of those written by him from Rome, viz. Ephesians, seems beyond doubt. The following parallels should be worked out, of course in the Greek text:

Rom. 9:25 and 1 Pet. 2:10;
Rom. 9:32-33 and 1 Pet. 2:6-8.

In this latter passage it should be especially noted that the same quotation from the LXX occurs both in St. Peter and St. Paul and with the same variants; too,

Romans 12:1 and 1 Peter 2:5;
Romans 12:2 and 1 Peter 1:14.[53]

As regards the similarity existing between 1 Peter and Ephesians, it is rather that of thought and structure than of actual words; St. Peter would seem to have assimilated St. Paul's thought and expressed it in his own words, cp. Ephesians 1:3, 12, 13, 18, and 1 Peter 1:3-12. Some twenty parallels between 1 Peter 1-3 and Ephesians can be established without difficulty from a Variorum Bible.[54]

Nor should we lose sight of the fact that the same parallelism is to be discovered between Romans and 2 Peter; thus compare:

Romans 1:12 and 2 Peter 1:1;
Romans 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:15;
Romans 6:16 and 2 Peter 2:19;
Romans 8:21 and 2 Peter 2:19;
Romans 11:21 and 2 Peter 2:5

This proves nothing, of course, for the authenticity of 2 Peter, but it shows us how well known the Epistle to the Romans was to those who wrote from Rome. The same feature emerges from a study of Hebrews and Romans.

One interesting feature in Romans is the appeal St. Paul tacitly makes to the Book of Wisdom; thus compare:

Romans 9:21-23 and Wisdom 12:12 and 15:7;
Romans 1:20 and Wisdom 13:1;
Romans 2:4 and Wisdom 11:23

The Jews of the Dispersion as well as converts from heathenism would be well acquainted with the Greek Bible and its peculiar books.[55]

When, then, it is asked: Why did St. Paul write to the Romans at all? the answer must be

(a) Because that Church numbered among its members many who were converts of his own;
(b) many, too, who, though not converts of his, were yet well known to him, e.g. Aquila and Priscilla:[56]
(c) because he realized the immense importance, even humanly speaking, of this Church;
(d) because, while fully realizing that this Church was already famous and flourishing, and consequently needing nothing from him, he was yet in a position to strengthen it in the faith.[57]

E. Where and When was the Epistle written?

(a) 1 Cor. xvi. shows us the Apostle inaugurating the collection of alms for the poor at Jerusalem, cp. 2 Cor. viii-ix.

(b) That the visit to Corinth promised in Acts xix. 21, 1 Cor. xvi. 5, 2 Cor. i, 15-17, ii. 1, xii. 14, xiii. 1, has been carried out is shown by Acts xx. 2-3.

(c) The last stage of this journey is described in Acts 24:17, where we find the collection of alms completed.

(d) Romans 15:25-28 shows us the Apostle on his way to Jerusalem with this same collection. All these points, then, indicate Corinth, where he stayed three months, Acts 20:3, as the place whence our Epistle was written.

And this is confirmed by the intrinsic evidence of the Epistle. For:

(a) its bearer was Phoebe of Cenchre, the port of Corinth, Romans 16:1.
(b) Caius was his host, 16:23, and Paul baptized a Caius at Corinth, 1 Corinthians 1:14.
(c) Timothy and Sosipater, who salute the Romans, 16:21, were with him at Corinth, Acts 20:4.
(d) Erastus is called "the treasurer of the city," 16:23, and 2 Timothy 4:20 shows us that this city was presumably Corinth.

The Epistle, then, must have been written on the last stage of the third missionary journey, when the Apostle was resting at Corinth before going on to Jerusalem, where he was arrested about Pentecost, A.D 55,[58] Acts 20:17.

F. St. Peter and St. Paul and the Church at Rome.

The fact, however, that St. Paul did think fit to write to the Roman Church, and that when so doing he did not so much as mention St. Peter, has been so constantly urged [59] as a proof that St. Peter either never came to Rome at all or that, at any rate, he was in no sense founder of the Church there, that it may be as well to set forth the facts on this point as clearly as possible.

Now, it is nowhere explicitly stated in the New Testament that St. Peter ever went to Rome; but tradition on this point is unshakable, and in its light certain passages of the New Testament seem to confirm it. Thus, it is possible that when St. Luke merely states, Acts 12:17, that Peter "went into another place" after his miraculous release from prison, he is referring to Rome. And when we remember that Luke was writing for a Roman we can understand his reticence as to the precise place whither Peter went: his readers would know. Moreover, there was no necessity for informing the world at large as to the whereabouts of the prince of the Apostles and the Head of the Church on earth; indeed, if Acts was compiled at Rome itself, as is most probable, there would be still less need for precision. An attentive study of the Epistle to the Romans will show that:

{a} St. Paul regards the Roman Church as flourishing and as having evidently been founded by some notable person, e.g. 1:8-12, 15:14, 20-22;
(b) as standing in no need of instruction, but solely of confirmation, e.g. 1:8, 15:14-16; for this reason he only proposes "to pass by," 15:24, 28.

The Epistle does not show us who this notable founder was, but when St. Peter himself, 1 Peter 5:13, says that he writes from Babylon, which we are compelled to understand as Rome;[60] when, again, we find a remarkable resemblance between Romans 12-13 and 1 Peter, and also between 1 Peter and Ephesians,[61] we can well believe that St. Peter had read both the Epistle sent to Rome as well as one at least of those written by St. Paul from the Eternal City. So much for the testimony of the New Testament. Further, tradition on the point is singularly explicit and well defined. St. Clement of Rome writes to the Corinthians, 1 Cor. v-vi, "Let us take the noble examples of our own days. Through jealousy and envy the greatest and most righteous columns [62] were persecuted and came to death"; he then goes on to speak of the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul. Of the latter he expressly says that "he came to the West and underwent martyrdom at the hands of the Prefects." And he concludes: "To these men who lived so holily there was gathered a great crowd of the elect who through envy suffered many punishments and tortures, and thus became a most fair example in our midst." St. Clement does not mention Rome as the seat of their martyrdom, but he is writing from Rome and is speaking of the example given to the Romans by Peter and Paul. That the Corinthian Church so understood him we learn from Denis of Corinth, who in A.D. 171 wrote to Pope Soter,[63] saying, "You have thus bound together the planting of Peter and of Paul at Rome and at Corinth. For both of them planted and also taught in our Corinth. And they taught together in like manner in Italy, and suffered martyrdom at the same time."[64] St. Ignatius' testimony is to the same effect; he writes to the Romans:[65] "I do not command you, as did Peter and Paul." Again, that St. Mark was St. Peter's amanuensis at Rome is indubitable.[66] And the tradition grows in clearness and precision; thus, Tertullian tells us of Peter's death at Rome under Nero;[67] Origen expressly tells us how he was at his own request crucified with his head downwards.[68] Lastly, archaeological evidence fully substantiates the written tradition; pictures of St. Peter are well known to Roman archaeologists, for they are found in the earliest catacombs.[69]

But while the tradition of St. Peter's coming to Rome is thus maintained, it is by no means necessary to suppose that he was the first to preach Christianity there. The salutations at the end of the Epistle to the Romans show that many of the Roman Christians were well known to Paul, some were even his converts, e.g. Epenetus.[70] But especially noteworthy are Andronicus and Junias, who are termed "my kinsmen and fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the Apostles, who also were before me in the Lord."[71] It is possible that these were numbered among those Romans who were present at the first Christian Pentecost.[72] At any rate, the whole tone of these lists of salutations shows us that the Christians of Rome were no strangers to St. Paul when he indited his Epistle to them. Nor is tradition silent as to the time St. Peter came to Rome. Eusebius in his Chronicle, as translated for us by St. Jerome, has, under the second year of Claudius, i.e. A.D. 42, the heading: "Peter the Apostle, by nationality a Galilean, the first Pontiff of the Christians, having first established the Church of Antioch, goes to Rome, where he remains for twenty-five years preaching the Gospel, and Bishop of that city."[73]

A difficulty arises, however, from the tradition that the Apostles were bidden to remain in Jerusalem for twelve years after the Ascension. If this tradition holds, it seems impossible to find place for an Antiochian Episcopate of St. Peter previous to A.D. 42, i.e. the second year of Claudius. It must, however, be confessed that the tradition is a vague one. Eusebius gives it on the authority of Apollonius, "an ecclesiastical writer" of apparently the early portion of the third century; but Eusebius uses a guarded expression: "He (Apollonius) speaks, moreover, of a tradition that the Savior commanded His Apostles not to depart from Jerusalem for twelve years."[74] It is possible that Clement of Alexandria has preserved the same tradition for us in a quotation from the Preaching of Peter, "After twelve years go forth into the world"; but some editors put a full stop after "twelve years," thus making it a part of the previous sentence.[75] It is clear, however, that if this command was given it admitted of very wide interpretation, cf. Acts 8, where Peter and John go down to Samaria. A further difficulty arises from the opening words of 1 Peter, which St. Jerome certainly understands to mean that St. Peter had actually evangelized those portions of Asia Minor there mentioned.[76]

It was necessary to enter into these details because of certain difficulties presented in the Epistle to the Romans. For it has been urged that:

(a) St. Paul's silence about St. Peter, both in the Epistle he addressed to the Romans and in those he wrote from Rome during his first and second captivity there, show that St. Peter cannot have been there at the time.
(b) That had Peter been there, the Epistle to the Romans could hardly have been written at all.[77]
(c) That if Peter had preached much at Rome, it is inconceivable that the Jews of Rome could have shown themselves so ignorant of Christianity as they professed to be.[78]

But, as already pointed out, the whole tone of Romans indicates that:

(a) the Roman Church was founded by some notable person;
(b) that the foundation of the Church at Antioch by St. Peter, as well as his missionary work in Asia Minor—if the opening words of 1 Peter justify the conclusion that he had actually worked there—demand a great deal of moving about on St. Peter's part.
(c) The same must be said of his stay at Corinth, witnessed to by 1 Corinthians 1:12, 3:22, 9:5, and by Denis, see above.
(d) The Edict of Claudius, whereby the Jews were expelled, would not affect the Gentile-born Christians, but would have had the result of dislocating the purely Jewish world at Rome.

Hence we can understand the ignorance of the Jews regarding Christianity—unless, indeed, it was assumed. It has been urged that when St. Paul declares, Romans 15:20-23, that he had often been hindered in his desire to come to Rome because he was unwilling to build upon another man’s foundation, he is referring to St. Peter's presence there, and was only waiting till he should be absent. But this seems idle. St. Paul merely means that as long as there was original work for him to do in the East he did not feel justified in coming to the West.

The Roman Church, then, we may well believe, was founded by early converts, was established by St. Peter, built up and consolidated by St. Paul, and fructified by both Apostles, especially by their glorious martyrdom there.

G. The Vocabulary of the Epistle.

The profound theological teaching of the Epistle necessarily involves the use of many terms which have passed into the theologian’s armory, and which, whether derived from the Greek translations of the Bible or from classical usage, have taken on a peculiar Christian significance. Thus we note ἁμαρτάνω and ἁμαρτία, etc.,[79] ἀπάρχη [80] δίκαιος with its derivatives,[81] ἐγκεντρίζω,[82] λεϊμμα,[83] λογίζομαι, [84] παράπτωμα,[85] πταίω,[86] ὑστερέω,[87] and χαρίζομαι.[88] We also have unusual terms such as ἀναλογία,[89] ἀνοχή,[90] and ἀποτομία;[91] also some peculiarly Pauline compound forms such as προαιπάομαι,[92] προγράφω,[93] συναντιλαμβάνομαι,[94] συναπάγω,[95] συνωδίνω,[96] and συστενάζω.[97]

H. Theological Teaching of the Epistle.

God and the Father, His Divinity, 1:20; His incorruptibility, 1:23; His eternal power, 1:20, 9:22; the Creator, 1:25, 11:36; is blessed for ever, 1:25 ; our Father, 1:7; predestined His Son, 1:4; made Him propitiation for us, 3:25; sent His Son, 8:3; raised Him from the dead, 6:4, 8:11, 10:9; spared not His Son, 8:32; Who now sits at His right hand, 8:34; He promised the Gospel by His Prophets, 1:2; the "Gospel of God," 1:1, 9, 16, 15:16; His "words," 3:2, 9:6; the will of God, 1:10, 12:2, 15:32; the truth of God, 1:18, 25, 3:4, 6:7, 15:8; the wisdom of God, 11:33; the "only wise," 16:27; the goodness of God, 2:4, 11:22; His gifts, 12:3; are without repentance, 11:29; His patience, 2:4, 9:22; His forbearance, 3:26; He is the God of patience and comfort, 15:5; is long-suffering, 2:4; His benignity, 2:4; has no respect of persons, 2:11; takes away sins, 11:27 will crush Satan, 16:20; has condemned sin in the flesh of His Son, 8:3; His justice, 3:5, 21, 22, 9:14-23, 10:3; is God of all, 3:29; the purpose of His grace, 4:5, 9:11; His promise, 4:20; He is able to perform it, 4:21; His grace, 5:15, 6:23, 7:25, 15:15; His charity, 5:5; He commends the charity of Christ, 5:8; is the God of hope, 15:13; of peace, 15:33, 16:20; His kingdom, 14:17; He justifies them that do the Law, 2:13, 23, 29, 3:6; He justifies us, 8:33; by faith, 3:24-30, 4:1-25, 9:30, 32, 10:3-21, 11:30-32; the "faith of God," 3:3; He takes believers to Himself, 14:3; and can make them stand, 14:4; we must be reconciled to Him, 5:10; He will quicken us, 8:11; the elect of God, 8:33, 9:11, 11:4-5; His foreknowledge of His elect, 11:2; the Jews make their boast of God, 2:17; He did not spare them, 11:21 ; He can re-ingrait them, 11:23; has not cast them away finally, 11:1-2; His severity towards them, 11:22; He hardens whom He will, 11:7-10, 25; His wrath, 9:22; His mercy, 9:15-18, 23, 12:1; there is no reply to be made to His actions, 9:20, 11:33-35; His judgements, 2:2-9, 16, 11:33; we have to give an account to Him, 14:12; sinners are hateful to Him, 1:30; they have fallen short of His glory, 3:23; the wisdom of the flesh is an enemy to Him, 8:7-8; He gave them up to a reprobate sense, 1:24, 26, 28; fear of God, 3:18; belief in Him, 4:24; divine sonship of men, 5:2, 8:14-23, 9:8; peace with Him, 5:1; glory in Him, 5:11; we must seek Him, 3:11; must be subject to Him, 3:19; love for Him, 8:28, 39; we live to Him, 6:11, 13; our members must be instruments of justice to Him, 6:13; must produce fruit to Him, 7:4; our bodies must be a living sacrifice to Him, 12:1; we must provide good in His sight, 12:7, 14:22; must have true zeal for Him, 10:2; must glorify Him, 4:20, 15:6-9, 17, 16:27; must serve Him, 1:9, 6:22; we owe Him thanks, 1:8, 21, 6:17, 14:6; prayer to Him, 10:3, 15:30; must be pleasing to Him, 14:18; all power is from Him, 13:1-2; princes are His ministers, 12:4-6; His law as opposed to the "law" in our members, 7:22, 25, 8:7; He is with us, 8:31; some blaspheme His name, 2:24.

The Christology, Christ is the Son, 1:3, 4, 9, 5:10, 8:3, 29, 32; the Gospel of His Son, 1:9, cp. 15:6; He is "God, blessed for ever," 9:5; was predestined by the Father, 1:4; is the second Adam, 5:15; was man, 5:15, 8:3, 9:5; we are justified by faith in Him, 3:22, 25, 26. 4:24-25, 5:16-21, 10:4-21; He is the end of the Law, 10:4; He is the Christ, 5:6, 9, 8:9, 9:1, 3, 5, 10:4, 17, 14:10, 15, 18, 15:3, 7, 19, 20; is "Jesus," 8:10; is "Jesus Christ," 1:1, 6, 8, 2:16, 3:22, 24, 5:15, 17, 6:3, 8:9, 34, 9:9, 15:5, 8, 16, 17, 16:3; is "the Lord Jesus Christ," 1:4, 4:24, 5:1, 11, 21, 6:23, 8:39, 13:14, 15:6, 30; is the "Lord Jesus," 14:14; is Lord of all, 10:12, 14:8-10; is over all, 9:5; Lord of the living and the dead, 14:9; of the seed of David, 1:3; is of the Jews "according to the flesh," 9:5; we are redeemed through Him, 3:24, 25; He is our propitiation, 3:25; through faith in His Blood, 3:25, 5:9; He came in the likeness of sin, 8:3; through Him is the remission of sins, 3:25, 4:25; He delivered us from our sins, 4:25, 8:32; died for the ungodly, 5:6, 9, 10, 8:34, 14:15; we are saved from wrath through Him, 5:9; is minister of the circumcision, 15:8; did not please Himself, 15:3; His obedience, 5:19; God spared not His Son, 8:32; the love of God which is in Him, 8:39; He loved us, 8:37; nought shall separate us from His love, 8:35; we have peace through Him. 5:1; and access to grace, 5:2; we glory in God through Him, 5:11; He rose the dead, 1:4, 4:24, 6:4, 9, 7:4, 8:11, 34, 9:9; rose by the glory of the Father, 6:4, 8:11, 9:9; shall die no more, 6:9-10; we shall be judged by Him, 2:16, 14:10; He is at the right hand of the Father, 8:34; where He intercedes for us, 8:34; Paul is His servant, 1:1, 15:16; is an Apostle through Christ, 1:5; for His name’s sake, 1:5; he glories in Him, 15:17; he has replenished the Gospel of Christ, 15:19, 29; he gives thanks through Him, 1:8; we are baptized into Christ, into His death, 6:3-6, 8, 11; are dead to the Law by Christ, 7:4; we shall rise with Him, 6:5; and shall live with Him, 6:8, 23; there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ, 8:1; the law of the spirit of life in Christ, 8:2; we are co-heirs with Christ, 8:17; we must suffer with Him if we would be glorified with Him, 8:17; we are to be made conformable to the image of the Son of God, 8:29; with His Son God has given us all, 8:32; Paul would, for the sake of his brethren, be anathema from Christ, 9:3; the grace of Christ, 5:17, 21, 6:11, 7:25; the spirit of Christ, 8:9; Christ is in us, 8:10; we are in Him, 8:1-2, 16:7-13; we are one body in Him, 12:5; we must put on Christ, 13:14; we are His, 14:8; we must have one mind according to Christ, 15:5; Christ has received us, 15:7; Paul speaks the truth in Christ, 9:1.

The Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of God, 8:9, 11, 14; and of Christ, 8:9; of sanctification, 1:4; is given to us, 5:4, 8:9, 11; we must be led by Him, 8:14; we are the firstfruits of the Spirit, 8:23; by the Spirit we become the sons of God, 5:4; He testifies to our spirit, 8:13; He helps us, 8:26; asks for us, 8:26-27; Paul's conscience witnesses to him in the Holy Spirit, 9:1; joy in the Spirit, 14:17; in the power of the Spirit, 15:13. Paul beseeches them by the charity of the Holy Spirit, 15:30; the oblations of the Gentiles are to be sanctified by the Spirit, 15:16.

Faith, its nature, it is by hearing, 10:14, 17; hence the "word of faith," 10:8; and the Apostle is sent for obedience to the faith, 1:5, cf. 16:26; the heart believes, 10:10; the lips profess, 10:11; it is gift of God, 11:3; is the revelation of justification which grows from faith to faith, 1:17, cf. 3:22; it is a door, 5:2; we must believe before we can call on God, 10:14; it is called the "faith of God," 3:3; we joy in believing, 15:13; it strengthens us, 4:20; its necessity, we live by it, 1:17; hence the law of faith, 3:27; we are justified by faith, 3:28, 4:5, 13, 16, 5:1, 9:30, 33, 10:6; and not by works, 9:32; this is true of the circumcised and uncircumcised alike, 3:30, 4:11, 12; it establishes the Law, 3:21; if the Law holds good, then faith is void, 4:14; thus Abraham believed, 4:3, 17-19; and was justified by his faith, 4:9; and became father of all believers, whether circumcised or not, 4:11-12, 16-19; we stand by faith, 11:20; the Gospel is for believers, 1:16; so, too, is the faith of Christ, 3:22, 26; He is the end of the Law to all believers, 10:4, 9; faith is in and through Christ, He is the propitiation through faith in His Blood, 3:25; we must believe in God Who raised Him, 4:24; infidelity, of the Gentiles, 1:18-25; Of the Jews, 3:3, 10:16, 21, 11:20, 23, 30-31, 15:31; in general, 10:16, 21; of faith as meaning conscience, 14:1-2, 22-23.

Sin, its nature, by one man came sin, 5:12; in him all sinned, 5:12, 14-19; it is inherent, 7:17-25, 8:10; what is not of conscience is sin, 14:23; it must have no dominion over us, 6:14-20; it is injustice, 3:5, 10-18; it is a falling short of the glory of God, 3:23; the perversity of sin, 3:7, 6:1, 15; its universality, 2:12-13, 3:9, 23, 5:12-19; its effect, it reigned unto death, 5:21, 6:23, 7:5; its remission due to Christ's death, 4:25, 5:6-10, 6:10; He came in the likeness of sin, 8:3; the body of sin was destroyed by Him, 6:6; hence our sins are forgiven, 4:7-8, for this faith is necessary, 3:25; by Baptism we are dead to sin, 6:2, 6-9, 11-13, 18, 7:25, 8:2-3; we are freed from sin, 6:18, 22, 7:6; sin and the Law, sin is a transgression of the Law, 3:23, 25, 27; the Law is its occasion, since by it came knowledge of sin, 3:20, 5:13, 20, 7:7-13; the Law itself is not sin, 6:7; all, whether under the Law or not, have sinned, 2:12; details of the sins of the Gentiles, 1:18-32; and of the Jews, 2:1-27, 11:7-15, 25.

The Law, the Jews rest in the Law, 2:17; boast of it, 2:23; are instructed in it, 2:18; they have the form of knowledge and truth in the Law, 2:20; they transgress it, 2:23; the Law speaks to them that are in the Law, 3:19; circumcision profiteth them that keep the Law, 2:25-26; Paul speaks to them that know the Law, 7:1; the Law binds so long as it lasts, 7:1; the Gentiles have not the Law, 2:14; those that sin without the Law as well as those that sin with it are condemned, 2:12; not the hearers but the doers of the Law are jnstified, 2:13; the Law does not justify, 3:20, 28, 8:3-4; the "Law of justice," 9:31, 10:5; the promise was not by the Law, 4:13, 16; heirship is not by the Law, 4:14; by the Law is the knowledge of sin, 3:20, 4:15, 5:13, 20, 7:5-11, 13; the end of the Law is Christ, 10:4; the Law of faith and the Law of works, 3:27; the justice of God is witnessed to by the Law, 3:21; the Law is established by faith, 3:31; believers are not under the Law but under grace, 6:14. 7:4, 6; they are not therefore to sin, 6:15; the Law worketh wrath, 4:15; the "Law of death," 7:4; the Law is not sin, 7:7; the Law of sin, 7:23, 8:2; the Law is holy, 7:12; the Law of the spirit of life in Christ, 8:2; the good consent to the Law, 7:16; the Law of God, 7:22, 25, 8:7; love of our neighbor is fulfillment of the law, 12:8, 10.

J. Bibliography.

The Patristic Commentaries are numerous, and are, as usual, too much neglected. Origen, P.G. XIV; the Greek text is wanting, and we have only Rufinus' Latin translation—or, as he frankly avows, "abbreviation"—of Origen’s voluminous Greek. Rufinus complains, too, that much of the original is already lost, and indeed to be found in no library. How far his translation is to be trusted is doubtful; the repeated references to the Latin text, e.g. Lib. II. 14, III. 2, 6, IX. 1, 2, 10, 12, seem wellnigh incredible in the mouth of Origen; but if they are simply due to Rufinus they are marvelously woven into the text and make us all the more suspicious of the rest. St. Chrysostom's Homilies, P.G. LX, and translated in the Oxford edition of the Fathers, are most valuable for the way in which the Apostle's thought is unraveled step by step; St. Ambrose (or rather Ambrosiaster, to give the unknown author his generally accepted name) has a most useful Commentary, P.L. XVII. The interest of St. Augustine's Commentaries lies in the fact that they date from different periods of his life; for his Inchoata Expositio, in which he only deals with a tiny portion of the first chapter, dates from about A.D. 394, while from the same period we have his Expositio Quarundam Propositionum ex Epistola ad Romanos, P.L. XXXV. The Pelagian controversy threw him back again upon the Epistle, so that in the various treatises he published in the course this discussion we have minute examinations of all the early portion of the Epistle, while the latter portion is dealt with especially in the treatise Contra Duas Epistolas Pelagianorum; all these are to be found in P.L. XLIV. St. Thomas Aquinas has left us a Commentary which, again, is far too much neglected, yet which, like St. Chrysostom's Homilies, is most helpful for unraveling the sequence of the Apostle's thought. The same, too, must be said of Cornely, S.J., in the Cursus S. Scripturae, 1896, for in addition to a wealth of patristic information and comment he follows out the line of argument in most minute fashion. Sanday and Headlam, International Critical Commentary, 2nd ed., 1896, have given us th0e model Commentary from the point of view of wealth of introductory material and concise notes, but their doctrinal standpoint must always be borne in mind. Zahn, Der Brief des Paulus an die Romer, 1910, very lengthy, but always stimulative, if not actually provocative. Lagrange, O.P., Epitre aux Romains, Gabalda, 1916, has here given us the fruit of many years of study of the Epistle, and his Commentary is indispensable. Lightfoot, in his posthumous Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul, 1904, has given us valuable discussions on chapters 1-7. See also articles in R.B., January, 1915, and for a review by Levesque of Sanday and Headlam's Commentary, April, 1896, pp. 254-263.

__________________________
Footnotes
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1. See St. Thomas, Prologus in Epistolas B. Pauli, Liège, 1857, I., p. 8.

2. Prologue to Comment. on Ephesians, P.L. XXVI. 441; Praef. to Lib. III. on Eph., ib. 513; also on Eph. iii. 1 and iv. 19.

3. This expression, as are several others in this short extract, is exceedingly difficult to render with precision.

4. Prologue to Epistle to the Romans.

5. Ep. CXX. 10, P.L. XXII. 997.

6. Prol. to Comment on Ep. to Philemon, P.L. XXVI. 601; see, too, on Eph. iii. 1, ibid. 478.

7. On Gal. vi. 1, P.L. XXVI. 426.

8. Ep. CXX, 11, P.L. XXII. 1002.

9. Cf. St. Jerome on Eph. vi. 11, P.L. XXVI. 548.

10. Lib. III. 11 in Comment. in Epistolam ad Romanos, P.G. XIV. 958.

11. Praef. in Comment. in Epistolam ad Romanos, P.G. XIV. 833.

12. Lib. II. 11, ib. 895.

13. Lib. III. 1, ib. 921-923.

14. Lib. III. 6, 7, 9, ib. 937, 942, 952.

15. Lib. III. 7.

16. Lib. III. 7, ib. 942, III. ii. 958.

17. 1 Cor. xxxv. Πᾶσαν ἀδικίαν καὶ ἀνομίαν, πλεονξίαν, ἔρεις, κακοηθείας τε καὶ δόλους, ψιθυρισμούς τε καὶ καταλαλιὰς, θεοστυγίαν, ὑπερηφανίαν τε καὶ ἀλαζονείαν ... οὐ μόνον δὲ οἱ πράσσοντες ἀυτὰ, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ συνευδοκοῦντες ἀυτοῖς. Cp., too, 1 Cor. x. and Rom. iv. 3, where the quotation from Genesis 15:5-6 is given exactly as in Romans and with a slight change from the LXX text. For further parallels, see Sanday and Headlam, Romans.

18. Smyrneans i. cp., too, Polycarp ad Philippenses vi. and Rom. xiv. 10, 12, where Polycarp writes: πάντας δεῖ παραστῆναι τῷ βήματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἕκαστον ὐπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ λόγον δοῦναι.

19. Cohortatio ad Graecos, iv.

20. Lib. X. 43 in Ep. ad Romanos, P.G. XIV. 1290. For Marcion's treatment of the Epistles see St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. I. xxvii. 2 and III. 12.

21. St. Jerome, it is true, says of this passage, "in plerisque codicibus invenitur," but he seems to have no doubt himself of its authenticity, on Eph., iii. 7, P.L. XXVI. 481; cf. Expository Times, April, 1916, and Edmundson, The Church in Rome in the First Century, p. 20, Bampton Lectnres, 1913.

22. 2 Timothy 4:21.

23. Romans 16:3.

24. See especially Sanday and Headlam, Romans, Introduction, International Critical Commentary; Lightfoot, Appendix on Caesar's Household in his Commentary on Philippians, also the Essays by Lightfoot and Hort on the Epistle to the Romans published in Biblical Essays, 1893. Edmundson, The Church of Rome in the First Century, Bampton Lectures, 1913.

25. See Origen, Lib. VIII, 10, X. 8, 11, in Ep. ad Romanos, P.G. XIV. 1187, 1264, 1267.

26. 1 Mc 8:17-32, 12:1-4, 16, 14:24, 15:15-24.

27. Ant. XIV. iv. 5; Wars, I. vii. 4.

28. Ant. XVII. xi. 2; Wars, II. vi. 1.

29. Ant. XIX. v. 3, XX. i. 2.

30. Claudius, xxv.

31. Acts 18:2.

32. Apologeticus, iii. "Cum perperam Chrestianus pronuntiatur a vobis (nam nec nominis certa est notitia penes vos) de suavitate vel benignitate compositum est." That "Chrestus" was a Christian name is evident from Eusebius, who mentions a Bishop of Syracuse of that name, H.E. X. v. 21, cp. Lactantius.

33. The Clementine Recognitions have preserved the extraordinary statement that during Christ’s life on earth Barnabas actually preached on Him and His work and the conditions for salvation at Rome! (1. vi-vii.); cp. St. Thomas, Prologue to his Commentary on the Epistles, ed. Liège, Vol, I., p. 8.

34. Romans 1:8.

35. Romans 15:14.

36. Romans 15:20.

37. Romans 1:13-15, 15:24, 15:28.

38. Romans 1:12.

39. Galatians 2:7.

40. Romans 1:8, 15:14.

41. Acts 18:2.

42. Ibid. 18:18-19.

43. 1 Corinthians 16:19.

44. Romans 15:23.

45. Ibid. 15:24, 15:28.

46. Romans 3:8, 31, cf. 6:1.

47. Ibid. 1:8-15, 11:1, 15:14-16, 20, 32.

48. Ibid. 1:13-16, 2:16, 11:13, 15:18-19.

49. Acts 28:17-29.

50. Inchoata Expositio Epistolae ad Romanos, i., P.L. XXXV. 2087.

51. Prologus in Comment. in Ep. ad Romanos, P.L. XXVI. 309.

52. See St. Jerome on Gal. v. 1, P.L. XXVI. 395, and St. Augustine, Praef. in Exposit. in Ep. ad Galatas, P.L. XXXV. 2107.

53. See the parallels worked out in Sanday and Headlam, Romans, p. lxxiv; note, too, the parallels drawn out by Origen between Romans 3:12 and 1 Peter 2:22, and Romans 7:14 and 1 Peter 1:18, Lib. III. 3 and 7 in Ep. ad Romanos, P.G. XIV. 935 and 945; cp. Lightfoot, Biblical Essays, p. 396.

54. See Westcott, Ephesians, p. liv.

55. See Charles, Apocrypha, I. 526-527.

56. Romans 16:3.

57. Ibid. 1:8-14, 15:20-22.

58. See s.v. Chronology of the Apostolic Age, infra. Edmundson, l.c., p. 82, would assign it to the spring of A.D. 57.

59. Thus, even so cautious a writer as Dr. Hort calmly states that "the whole story of St. Peter’s early connection with Rome is a manifest error or fiction; and all that we know on good authority respecting the early spread of the Gospel is adverse to the belief that the Roman Church was founded by any Apostle or envoy of the Apostles; nor is it likely that had such been the case there would have been no trace of it in the Epistle itself." Prolegomena to St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans and the Ephesians, p. 8, 1895.

60. See under Epistles of St. Peter.

61. See above and Introduction to 1 Peter.

62. Στύλοι, a clear reference to Galatians 2:9.

63. H.E. IV. xxiii. 9.

64. H.E. II. xxv. 8.

65. Romans 4.

66. See under Gospel of St. Mark.

67. Scorpiace, XV, where, too, Tertullian refers to the Roman archives for confirmation; De Baptismo, IV.

68. Origen, Tom. III. in Genesim, ap. Euseb., H.E. III. i.

69. See Edmundson, The Church in Rome in the First Century, pp. 20 and 42, the Bampton Lectures for 1913.

70. Romans 16:5.

71. Ibid. 16:7.

72. Acts 2:10.

73. Interpr. Chronicae Eusebii, P.L. XXVII. 578. St. Jerome has the same statement about Peter coming to Rome in the second year of Claudius, and residing there twenty-five years, cf. his De Viris Illustribus, I., P.L. XXIII. 638, but he adds that he remained there till "the last year of Nero, that is, the fourteenth. By Nero he was crowned with martyrdom, being fastened to the cross with his head downwards." Thus St. Jerome would make St. Peter come to Rome in A.D. 42, and die there A.D. 67.

74. H.E. V. xviii. 1, 13.

75. Strom. VI. 5.

76. Viris Illustr. I.

77. Cf. St. Thomas, Lectio iii. in cap. XV. Ep. ad Rom., ed. Liège, Vol. I, p. 280.

78. Acts 28:21-22.

79. The noun occurs 46 times in Romans, and a remarkable affinity between St. John's Gospel (15), his first Epistle (15), the Epistle to the Hebrews (23), and Romans is furnished by their preponderant use of this word.

80. 11:16, quite a classical word in the sense of "firstfruits," and, of course, much used in LXX; see Romans 8:23, 11:16, 16:5, 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23, 16:15, James 1:18, Apocalypse 14:4, where the Vulgate renders it by primitiae, primitivum, delibatio and initium.

81. Thus note the forms δικαιόω, δικαιοσύνη, δικαίωμα, and δικαίωσις.
82. 11:17, etc., the noun ἐγκέντρισις is used by Aristotle of "grafting"; the verb only occurs in LXX in Wisdom 16:11 in the sense "goad," as in Jeremiah 46:20, where Aquila and Symmachus have this word instead of the LXX ἀπόπάσμς.
83. 11:5; LXX, 4 Kings 19:4 only, but Symmachus and Theodotion employ it in the parallel Isaiah 37:4.

84.. A classical form and frequent in LXX.

85. This is a word which St. Paul has made almost peculiarly his own, for he uses it some fourteen times, and it only occurs else in Matthew 6:14-15, and the parallel, Mark 11:25-26, and in James 5:16. In the Apostle's writings it is always—with one exception: Ephesians 1:7, "peccata"—rendered by "delictum," cp. Ephesians 2:1, τοῑς παρπτώμασιν καὶ ταῑς ἁμαρτίαις, "delictis et peccatis." The word does not apparently occur in classical Greek before Polybius, but it is of fairly frequent occurrence in LXX of Ezechiel.

86. 11:11, quite classical in the sense of "stumbling," so in N.T., where the Vulgate renders it "offendere," except in 2 Peter 1:10, "peccabitis."

87. Romans 3:23, etc. Note the forms ὑστέρημα and ἱστέρησις which, however, nearly always signify physical lack rather than the moral falling short of Romans 3:23.

88. A peculiarly Lukan and Pauline word, as it occurs three times in St. Luke's Gospel, four times in Acts, and sixteen times in St. Paul's Epistles.

89. 12:6, found in Plato and Aristotle, but in LXX only in Lev. 27:18, where Codex Alexandrinus has it instead of συντιμήσεως.

90. 2:4, 3:26; in LXX only in 1 Macc. 12:25, where the Douay version has "he gave them no time to enter their own country,"

91. 11:22, a very rare word found in Diodorus and in Symmachus version of Jeremiah 51:35 and Nahum 3:1.

92. 3:9, apparently found nowhere else.

93. 15:4, a classical word, though not in the sense of "forewritten"; in the LXX of Daniel we have προσγεγραμμένοι instead of the ἄρχοντες of Theodotion; in 1 Macc. 10:36 it occurs with the sense of "enrollment."

94. 8:25, Luke 10:40, several times in LXX with the meaning of "assisting in supporting."

95. 12:16, Galatians 2:13, 2 Peter 3:17; but rare elsewhere; it occurs in LXX Exodus 14:6.

96. 8:2, in Euripides and Aristotle, but not in LXX.

97. 8:2, once in Euripides, nowhere in LXX.


by
Very Rev. Hugh Pope, O.P., S.T.M.
Doctor in Sacred Scripture,
Member of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, and
late Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the Collegio Angelico, Rome.