Jewish Self-Perception and Superiority in Romans 2
Jewish Self-Perception and Superiority in Romans 2
The apostle Paul addresses the Jewish self-perception of superiority in Romans 2:17-20, where he writes, "Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law" [10]. Paul acknowledges the Jews' pride in their religious heritage and their possession of the law.
The surrounding context of Romans 2 is crucial for understanding Paul's argument. He has just finished describing the Gentiles' sinful state in Romans 1 and is now turning his attention to the Jews. Paul's goal is to show that the Jews are also under God's judgment, despite their privileged position [4].
The historical setting of Romans 2 is the early Christian church, where Jewish Christians were grappling with their identity and relationship to the Gentiles. Paul, as a Jewish Christian himself, is addressing the issue of Jewish superiority [1].
The key terms in Romans 2:17-20 are "Jew," "law," and "God." The term "Jew" refers to the Jewish people, who were known for their distinctive religious practices and their possession of the law. The "law" is the Torah, the Jewish scripture that contains God's commands and instructions. Paul is highlighting the Jews' reliance on the law as a source of their pride and identity [3].
One of the major exegetical decisions in interpreting Romans 2 is understanding Paul's tone and intention. Is he praising the Jews for their heritage, or is he being ironic and criticizing their hypocrisy? Commentators such as Matthew Henry and John Gill interpret Paul's words as a form of irony, where he is highlighting the Jews' failure to live up to their own standards [3, 5].
The range of interpretations on Jewish self-perception and superiority in Romans 2 varies among commentators. Some, like Charles Hodge, see Paul's argument as a critique of Jewish legalism and a defense of justification by faith alone [6]. Others, like Adam Clarke, emphasize the importance of living up to one's privileges and responsibilities [7].
In tradition, Romans 2 has been used to critique Jewish exclusivism and to argue for the equality of Jews and Gentiles before God. The passage has also been interpreted as a call to self-examination and humility among Christians, who may also be prone to pride and hypocrisy [8, 9].
The Jewish self-perception of superiority, as reflected in Romans 2, was not unique to the early Christian period. Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian, writes about the Jewish people's pride in their heritage and their possession of the law [1, 2]. This pride was rooted in their understanding of themselves as God's chosen people.
Sources
- Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 4, section 5: following.”
- Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 7, section 1: . Concerning The Garments Of The Priests, And Of The High Priest.”
- Romans (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Romans 2:17: In the latter part of the chapter the apostle directs his discourse more closely to the Jews, and shows what sins they were guilty of, notwithstanding their profession and vain pretensions. He had said (Rom 2:13) that not the hearers but the doers of the law are justified; and he here applies that great truth to the Jews. Observe, I. He allows their profession (Rom 2:17-20) and specifies their particular pretensions and privileges in which they prided themselves, that they might see he did not condemn them out of ignorance of what they had to say for themselves; n”
- Romans (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Romans 2:1: In the former chapter the apostle had represented the state of the Gentile world to be as bad and black as the Jews were ready enough to pronounce it. And now, designing to show that the state of the Jews was very bad too, and their sin in many respects more aggravated, to prepare his way he sets himself in this part of the chapter to show that God would proceed upon equal terms of justice with Jews and Gentiles; and now with such a partial hand as the Jews were apt to think he would use in their favour. I. He arraigns them for their censoriousness and self-conceit”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 2:15: Behold, thou art called a Jew,.... From hence to the end of the chapter the Jews are particularly addressed; their several privileges and characters are commemorated, which by an ironical concession are allowed them; several charges are brought against them, even against their principal men; and the plea in favour of them, from their circumcision, is considered; and the apostle's view in the whole, is to show that they could not be justified before God by their obedience to the law of Moses: "behold"; take notice, observe it, this will be granted: "thou art called a J”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 20: ground of our justification. 140 7. This still further and most decisively appears from the grand objection to his doctrine which Paul was constantly called upon to answer. That objection was, that if our personal goodness or moral excellence is not the ground of our acceptance with God, then all necessity of being good is denied, and all motive to good works is removed. We may continue in sin that grace may abound. This objection has been reiterated a thousand times since it was urged against the Apostles. It seems so unreasonable and so”
- Romans (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Romans 2:17: Behold, thou art called a Jew - What the apostle had said in the preceding verses being sufficient to enforce conviction on the conscience of the Jew, he now throws off the cover, and openly argues with him in the most plain and nervous manner; asserting that his superior knowledge, privileges, and profession, served only to aggravate his condemnation. And that, in fact, he who, under all his greater advantages, transgressed the law of God, stood condemned by the honest Gentile, who, to the best of his knowledge obeyed it. Dr. Taylor. And restest in the law - Thou t”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 88: that if there be any difference between them, it is not in virtue of national or social distinctions, but solely of individual character and devotion. That we are all one in Christ Jesus, is a doctrine 811 which precludes the possibility of the preeminence assigned to the Jews in the theory of which their restoration to their own land, and their national individuality are constituent elements. 5. The Apostles uniformly acted on this principle. They recognize no future for the Jews in which the Gentile Christians are not to participate. As”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 6: Augustine — Homilies on the Gospels — CHAP. XII.--OF THE FACT THAT THE GOD OF THE JEWS, AFTER THE SUBJUGATION OF THAT PEOPLE, WAS STILL NOT ACCEPTED BY THE ROMANS, BECAUSE HIS COMMANDMENT WAS THAT HE ALONE SHOULD BE WORSHIPPED, AND IMAGE (part 1): 18. Furthermore, that Hebrew nation, which, as I have said, was commissioned to prophesy of Christ, had no other God but one God, the true God, who made heaven and earth, and all that therein is. Under His displeasure they were ofttimes given into the power of their enemies. And now, indeed, on account of their most heinous sin in putti”
- Romans (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Romans 2:17: 2:17-20 The boasting of the Jews reflects Old Testament and Jewish teaching about the privileges and responsibilities God gave to Israel. God gave his law to Israel, entered into a special relationship with them, and commissioned them to be a light to the Gentiles (see Isa 42:6-7). Jews were not wrong to enjoy these blessings; their error was in failing to live up to their privileged position.”