Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Romans and the Purpose of the Epistle

Ott Pecsuk (Kroli Gspr University of the Reformed Church and Hungarian Bible Society)
In my paper I will investigate one aspect of Paul's use of Old Testament in his Epistle to the
Romans. I am interested in the question, why Romans is different from Paul's other letters, both in
its references to the Old Testament and in its special content. The question of purpose, i. e. why Paul
wrote Romans in the first place and why did he write what he wrote, is also connected to my
investigation here. Paul's use of Old Testament served more than illustrating certain theological
points he wanted to make in his writings. In that he was a good Jewish Biblical scholar, using quite
faithfully the interpretational methods of first century Judaism.1 It seems fairly sure that most of his
theological themes came directly from his interpretation of key Old Testament passages. In his
treatment of the Old Testament, he shared many of the concerns of other first generation Christians,
that is why he used many of the so called testimonial passages referring to Christ.2 On the other
hand, Paul had his own special themes and concerns, often reflecting on special situations in the
churches he wrote to. One can only speculate how much these themes were related to his Damascus
road experience,3 but it is certainly true that for the former Pharisee Paul most of them required a
Christological reinterpretation of otherwise well-know OT texts. So I approached this investigation
with the preconception that most of the important theological themes in Paul's theology had
carefully formulated OT proof-texts in their background.
What is special in Paul's treatment of OT in Romans?
First of all the number of quotations. According to Bratcher4, there are 59 OT quotations in Romans
(a one-purpose catena of several quotations is taken as one), including paraphrases and allusions
where the intention of referring to the OT as Scripture is clear.5 In the whole Corpus Paulinum
(including Pastorals and DeuteroPauline letters)6 there are 134 quotations, so Romans contains 44%
of all of Paul's OT quotations. This is a very high proportion if we compare it with the comparative
length of Romans in the Corpus Paulinum: 20 %. For some reason OT quotations in Romans were
more important for Paul than in his other letters.7 It is interesting to look at the choice of quoted OT
books in Romans: by far the two most important OT books for Paul were Isaiah8 (mainly chapters
20-29 and 50-59)9 and Psalms. He quoted them 17 and 16 times. The third most important group of
1

2
3

8
9

D. J. Harrington, Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Romans. in http://escholarship.bc.edu/scjr/vol4 (accessed: 01

August 2014) p. 7. R. N. Longenecker, Prolegomena to Paul's Use of Scripture in Romans. in BBR 7 (1997). p.
168.
Cf. C. H. Dodd, According to the Scriptures. London: Nisbet and Co.,1953.
Harrington, 7. Cf. Longenecker's article where he contrasts the Damascus-material (e. g. Romans 5-8) with the
Scripture-based material (Romans 1-4 and 9-15).
R. G. Bratcher, Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament. UBS Technical Helps Series. New York: United
Bible Socities, 1984. p. 37-48.
It is very difficult to differentiate between proper quotations, paraphrases and allusions in the whole NT but
especially in the Pauline corpus. The modern concept of quoting someone or something with a quotation mark was
unknown then, as were the strictly written sources. Oral culture must have been an important factor is quoting
Scriptures freely or imprecisely and with a great variety even within the work of one and the same NT author. Yet,
with a careful reading of the text we can distinguish between someone's casual coloring his or her speech with
scriptural reminiscenses and the intentional citations, parapharases and allusions. For more on Paul's citation
technique see E. E. Ellis, Paul's Use of the Old Testament. Edinburgh and London: Oliver and Boyd, 1957.
I included them because even though some of these may have been not written by Paul himself, all of them clearly
depend on Paul theologically and literally. Every other type of selection would be more arbitrary.
For one possible solution to this cf. Longenecker, p.168.
J. E. Walters, How Beautiful are my Feet: The Structure and Function of Second Isaiah References in Paul's
Letter to the Romans. in RQ 52 no. 1 (2010). p. 30.
D. A. Oss, A Note on Paul's Use of Isaiah in BBR 2 (1992) p. 109.

scriptures was the Pentateuch (Genesis 9 times, Exodus 4 times, Leviticus 2 times and
Deuteronomy 5 times). The other books of the OT were quoted almost on a casual basis (1Kings 2x,
Job 1x, Proverbs 2x, Jeremiah 1x, Hosea 1x, Joel 1x, Habakkuk 1x, Malachi 1x). Both Isaiah and
Psalms stand out with their frequency: I assume that their weight in early Christological
interpretation and their importance for the self-understanding of Israel as the people of God played
an important part for Paul to quote them so often in Romans. If we take a look at the use of
Scripture in Paul's other letters, the choice is somewhat similar: Isaiah 21x, Psalms 14x and then
Pentateuch 28x (Genesis 8x, Exodus 5x, Leviticus 3x, Numeri 2x, Deuteronomy 10x).10 It seems
that Paul had his own fixed preference of OT books,11 in Romans he only wanted to use them more
often than elsewhere. I assume that one of the reasons for this we must find in the much debated
purpose of the letter. This is an evergreen topic of NT scholarship and I do not think that in this
paper I can solve the question: why did Paul write Romans? Nevertheless, I think I can contribute to
the discussion by taking side in the two main camps of interpreters. Some of them, in their
reconstructions put the emphasis on Paul and his circumstances and motives. Others try to find the
key of interpreting Romans in the circumstances of the Roman Christians. Again, others try to
combine the two perspectives.12 Here I would like to argue for the necessity to take into
consideration also the specific situation of the Roman Christians. I will do this by using the
argumentation of one excellent proponent of camp 1, Gnther Bornkamm's article in The Romans
Debate and evaluate it in the light of Paul's use of Scripture in Romans compared to his earlier
practice in his other letters.
The Bornkamm-thesis
With his article Paul's Last Will and Testament originally published in Beitrge zur evangelischen
Theologie (53) and later placed in the Romans Debate (T&T Clark, 1991) Bornkamm contributes to
the debate on the character and purpose of Paul's Letter to the Romans. He asks a couple of
questions regarding the historical background of Romans. First, he investigates why the Apostle
speaks with uneasiness and concern about his forthcoming trip to Jerusalem. In face of the clearly
threatening circumstances in the Jerusalem of the late fifties, Bornkamm's next question is: Why did
Paul expose himself to such dangers? Would he not have done better to let the delegates of his
congregations travel to Jerusalem alone while he himself immediately began his western trip to
Rome and Spain?13 For Bornkamm, all these questions show to the fact that Paul did not understand
himself as a mere postman of the collection. Its completion and delivery to the saints in Jerusalem
was of utmost importance for him. The meaning of this collection was a controversial issue between
him and the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. While for him, it was a demonstration of the unity of
Jews and Gentiles in the Church, for James and the Church leadership in Jerusalem the issue of
accepting Gentiles on equal standing was far more complicated in the midst of a radicalizing
Jerusalem in the dawn of the Jewish War. The acceptance of the collection and the approval of his
continuing mission in the West by the Saints in Jerusalem was very important for Paul, who did not
want to begin his new missionary stage in Rome and Spain as a missionary freelancer.14 With this,
10

11

12

13
14

Other OT books quoted in the rest of Corpus Paulinum: 2Samuel 1x, Job 2x, Proverbs 3x, Jeremiah 2x, Ezekiel 2x,
Daniel 1x, Hosea 1x, Habakkuk 1x, Zechariah 1x.
Prof. Carl. R. Holladay raised my attention to the fact of a the similar canonical preference at the Qumran
Community: In Qumran Pentateuch, Isaiah, Minor Prophets and Psalms enjoyed special authority and formed
nucleus of a bipartite canon of Law and Prophets, with Psalms included as a prophetic book. Cf. Julio Trebolle A
'Canon within a Canon' in Revue de Qumran 75:19.3 (2000), p. 383-99.
As I did in my doctoral dissertation: Pl s a rmaiak. A Rmai levl kortrtneti olvasata. [Paul and the Romans. A
Historical Reading of the Epistle to the Romans] Budapest: Klvin Kiad, 2009.
The Romans Debate, p. 17.
Op. Cit. p. 18.

Bornkamm sketches the historical background of the writer of Romans. But he also claims that this
is almost as much as we can know about the hard historical facts behind Romans. The background
and historical situation of the Romans Christians seem much more unclear for Bornkamm. He
admits that some general facts are indeed available: the beginnings of the Church in Rome (cf.
Ambrosiaster's remark), the ethnic composition of the Roman house churches (cf. the edict of
Claudius and Acts 18:2) and the well-known strong relationship the Jewish communities of
Jerusalem and Rome. However, says Bornkamm, it is big question how much Paul knew at all about
the church in Rome and in what degree he concerned himself in his letter with the definite
circumstances there. Bornkamm also rejects the speculations (like Lietzmann's suggestion about a
Petrine influence against Paul's gospel) concerning the composition and nature of the specific
groups within the Roman congregations. Bornkamm finds Paul's argumentation too vague and
general in Romans, especially compared with his description of the historical circumstance in
Corinth in 1Corinthians. Paul's polemical sayings can easily be attributed to the diatribe style and
one cannot decipher any real historical scenario by even the most scrupulous mirror reading of these
passages.
As a solution to the dilemma outlined above, Bornkamm suggests that we find the themes
and motifs of Romans already in Paul's earlier letters, especially in Galatians, the two Corinthian
letters and Philippians. Therefore he says that Romans should not be read as a timeless theological
treatise for it does have a historical background. This background, however, should not be found in
the Roman house churches but in Paul's personal history at the time of writing the Letter in
Corinth.15 Bornkamm agrees with T. W. Manson (The Letter to the Romans and Others), who
argued that Romans was originally sent to Rome as well as Ephesus with chapter 16 exclusively
intended for Ephesus. He also follows Manson in understanding Romans as a letter of final
summary of the lessons learned in his mission work in the East of the Mediterranean Sea. Contrary
to Manson, however, he thinks that the former controversies and old lessons cannot answer for all
the peculiarities of Romans. He suggests that another content-based connection should be sought
and established between Romans and the earlier Pauline letters.
Therefore he proposed a threefold thesis: 1. In Romans, there is no clear reference to
existing factions in the Roman church(es). 2. The main theme and the many individual themes of
Romans consider questions Paul was struggling with at the time of writing Romans. 3. Almost all
the themes of Romans have parallels in earlier letters. Here is Bornkamm's list of content parallels
between Romans and the earlier Pauline letters:
1. Romans 1:1-7 parallels with Galatians (no exact place given), Philippians 3, 1Thessalonians 1-2
and 2 Corinthians (no exact place given). The issue is Paul's apostolate.
2. Romans 1,16f parallels with Galatians (no exact place given) and Philippians (no exact place
given). The issue is justification by faith.
3. Romans 1-3 parallels with Gal 4:1ff and 1Corinthians 1:21. The issue is depravity and misery of
all humanity. Slavery under the law and the elemental spirits of the universe, as the background of
Paul's teaching of justification by faith.
4. Romans 4 parallels with Galatians 3. The issue is justification by faith shown in the example of
Abraham (Gen 15:6).
5. Romans 4:17 parallels with 1Corinthians 1:28 (sic! I think this is a typo and Bornkamm thinks of
2Corinthians 1:9). The issue is the power of God the Creator. In both places it is employed for God
as Savior.
15

Op. Cit. p. 21.

6. Romans 5:1-11 parallel with 2Corinthians 5:18f. The issue is God's act of reconciliation in Christ.
7. Romans 5:12-21 parallels with 1Corinthians 15:21,45. The issue is the typology of Adam and
Christ.
8. Romans 5:20 parallels with Galatians 3:19. The Law came in to increase trespasses/the law was
added because of transgressions.
9. Romans 6 parallels with Galatians 3:27. Baptism and new life.
10. Romans 7:7-25 parallel with 1Corinthians 15:56. A one sentence formulation of a theme in
Corinthians, which was later further developed in Romans.
11. Romans 8:15 parallels with Galatians 4:5f. The issue is the spirit of God and the adoption of
God's children. Romans 8 also parallels with 1 and 2 Corinthians (no exact place given) in dealing
with death in Christ, life in the Spirit and freedom of God's children.
12. Romans 12:4 parallels with 1Corinthians 12-14. Various gifts of the Spirit and the unity of the
Church. Paul calls the members to love each other.
13. Romans 13:1-10 parallels with 1Corinthians 14:1ff. The issue is the Christians and the civil
powers.
14. Romans 12:11-14 (typo again, it should be 13:11-14) parallel with 1Corinthians 7:29 and
15:51ff. The issue is eschatology.
15. Romans 13:14 parallels with Galatians 3:27. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
16. Romans 14-15 parallel with 1Corinthians 8-10. Similar controversy where people can misuse
their faith without consideration for their brothers and sisters.
Bornkamm notes that the shared themes in the earlier letters appear in polemical contexts,
which are not perceived any more in Romans. The themes are stripped from their occasional dress,
carefully reconsidered, more profoundly substantiated and placed in a larger context.16 According to
Bornkamm the polemical tone of Romans is due to Paul's debate with the Jew in general, a
representative of humanity in its highest potential, who failed to earn its salvation over against God.
Bornkamm admits that the name of his thesis Romans as the Last Will and Testament of Paul can
be misleading in many ways: Paul was certainly not preparing for his death. But he was a thinker
who developed his thoughts and applied them to new situation, taking them to a higher level of
maturity. It was not up to him that the Epistle in fact has become his Last Will and Testament. By
implication, Bornkamm does not think Philippians and Filemon were written after Romans.
The Bornkamm-thesis examined
I am going to examine Bornkamm's thesis by applying my above mentioned presupposition (behind
most of Paul's important theological ideas there are his important exegetical discoveries from the
OT Scriptures). If Bornkamm is right, most of the shared themes should show similar treatment of
OT quotations (if they have any). This method probably work in one way: if Paul is using one or
more important OT proof texts in his earlier letters to substantiate a point, it is improbable that he
16

Op. Cit. p. 25.

later forgets about them when in Romans as Bornkamm suggests he develops them, taking them
to a higher, more universal level. If an OT quotation newly appears in Romans, it does not
invalidate Bornkamm's thesis, because Paul could easily work on new hermeneutical tasks as time
went on. If neither the earlier letters, nor Romans show any OT quotation, I simply comment on the
suggested theological connectedness and evaluate Bornkamm's treatment of it. In the following
chart I take each of Bornkamm's 16 shared themes and look at them from this special point of view.

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

1.
Paul defends his
Romans 1:1-7 is apostolic call and
parallel with
ministry.17
Galatians (1-2),
Philippians 3,
1Thessalonians 12 and
2Corinthians (3-4
and 10-12)

No explicit OT
quotation in the
parallel passages:
In Galatians 1:15
a paraphrase of
Isaiah 49:1 and
Jeremiah 1:5
(prophetic call
from one's
mother's womb);
in 1Thessalonians
2:4 a verbal
allusion to
Jeremiah 11:20
(



). In
2Corinthians 3
there are allusions
to Moses and the
service of God's
glory (3:7 glory;
3:13 veil; 3:16 the
veil taken away).
In 2Corinthians
4:6 Paul alludes to
Gen 1:3 (creation
of light =
knowledge of
God's glory in
Paul's heart;
-

No explicit OT
quotation in
Romans, in 1:1
only a verbal
allusion to Isaiah
49:1 (




)

In the theme of
Paul's apostolate
there is no clear
OT proof-text
that Paul used
both in his earlier
letters and in
Romans. The
Damascusexperience helped
Paul to understand
his apostolic call
as a continuation
of the prophetic
call of Jeremiah
and Isaiah.
However, besides
Romans 1:1, this
is detectable only
in Galatians. In
contrast to the
treatment of the
topic in
Philippians and
2Corinthians, in
Romans Paul is
not defending his
own apostolate
and vocation. A
partial affirmation
for Bornkamm's
thesis.

17

For the debate on the role of Apostles see F. Hahn, Der Apostolat im Urchristentum. Seine Eigenart und seine
Voraussetzungen. in Kerygma un Dogma 20 (1974) 54-77. and F. C. Agnew, The Origin of the NT ApostleConcept: A Review of Research in JBL 105 (1986) 75-96.

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

. In
2Corinthians 4:13
Paul quotes Psalm
115:1 (LXX):
faith and the
proclamation of
the gospel are like
cause and effect.
In relation to the
collection, as his
apostolic
assignment, Paul
quotes Proverbs
3:4 in
2Corinthians 8:21
(things honorable,
not only in the
sight of the Lord
but also in the
sight of men) In
Romans 12:17 this
gains a general
ethical meaning.

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

2. and 4. (treated Justification by

together)
faith.18
Romans 1:16f (
5:1) parallels with
Galatians (2-3)
and Philippians
(3:9)

Galatians 2:16
quotes Psalm
143:2 (LXX) (cf.
Romans 3:20).
Galatians 3:6
quotes Gen 15:6
(cf. Romans 4:3
and 4:22).
Galatians 3:8
quotes Gen 12:3
(in Abraham shall
all the nations be
blessed). Galatians
3:11 has a direct
quotation from
Hab 2:4. In
Galatians 3:12
Law is taken as an
antithesis of Faith,
based on a
quotation from
Leviticus 18:5
(Law is given, so
that one can live
in it). Galatians
3:13 argues from a
quotation of
Deuteronomy
21:33 that Christ
has taken the
curse of Law upon
himself (cursed is
everyone that

Romans 1: 17 has Bornkamm's

a direct quotation thesis is here in its
from Hab 2:4.19
strongest: the idea
of justification by
Romans 2:6
faith is clearly
quotes Psalm
based on a
61:13 (LXX) and coherent line of
Proverbs 24:12:20 argument and a
who will render good choice of OT
to every man
proof-texts. Out of
according to his
the 10 quotations
works. In the
(the catena in
context of Paul's 3:10-18 counted
debate with his
as one) 3 are
own people,
present in
Romans 2:24 (the Galatians (Hab
name of God is
2:4, Psalm 143:2,
blasphemed
Gen 15,6), but the
among the
AbrahamGentiles [because typology is even
of you]) quotes a more decisive in
slightly modified the argument of
form of Isaiah
both letters. The
52:5.21 Romans
place of the
3:4 quotes Psalm Abraham50:6 about the
typology is
righteousness of
reversed: in
God (that you
Galatians Paul
might be justified starts with
in your
Abraham's
words...).22 In
example while in
Romans 3:10-18 Romans it is the
Paul is using a
final illustration of

18

19

20

21

22

Evaluation

Adolf Schlatter understood justification by faith as the central theme of Pauls Letter to the Romans (Gottes
Gerechtigkeit: Ein Kommentar zum Rmerbrief. Stuttgart: Calwer Verlag, 1935), see also P. Stuhlmacher, Der Brief
an die Rmer. NTD Band 6. Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998, M. Seifrid, justification by Faith. Leiden:
Brill, 1992, pp. 77-135 and Christ, Our Righteousness. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2000, pp. 35-47.
To the textual problems of the Habakkuk-quotation cf. Longenecker, pp. 145-68; J. A. Emerton, The Textual and
Linguistic Problems of Habbakkuk ii. 4-5 in JTS 28 (1977) p. 10 and J. G. Janzen, Habakkuk 2:2-4 in the Light of
Recent Philological Advances in HTR 73 (1980) p. 62 and pp. 70-76.
Cf. D-A. Koch, Die Schrift als Zeuge des Evangeliums.Untersuchungen zur Verwendung und zum Verstndnis der
Schrift bei Paulus. Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1986. p. 111.
Cf. C. D. Stanley, Paul and the Language of Scripture. Citation Technique in the Pauline Epistles and
Contemporary Literature. SNTSMS 74. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. pp. 84-85 and S-L. Shum,
Pauls Use of Isaiah in Romans: A Comparative Study of Pauls Letter to the Romans and the Sibylline and Qumran
Sectarian Texts. WUNT 156. tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002. p. 179.
For Pauls motives here see E. Ksemann, Commentary on Romans. Trans. G. W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1980. p. 81.

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

23

24
25
26

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

hangs on a tree).
Galatians 3:16
cites Gen 13:15
and the emphasis
of the citation is
on the singular of
(as
opposed to the
plural of
).

(pre-Pauline?)
catena of
quotations from
Psalms 13:1-3,
5:10, 139:4, 9:28
(LXX), Isaiah
59:7-8 and Psalm
35:2 (LXX). The
issue is total
sinfulness of
humanity before
God.23 Romans
3:20 quotes24 an
altered version of
Psalm 143:2
(LXX): no flesh
shall be justified
in his sight. This
is one of the
starting points of
the Pauline idea of
justification.
Romans 4:3 (and
4:22) cites
Genesis 15:625
(Abraham
believed God and
it was reckoned
unto him for
righteousness).
Abraham is the
prototype of faith
in God. Romans
4:6 quotes Psalm
31:1-2a (LXX)26
claiming that the
condition of being
blessed (i. e.
reaching one's
goal of salvation)
is being

a long line of
argument. The
initial
argumentation of
Galatians about
justification by
faith is further
developed in
Romans. It clearly
supports
Bornkamm's
thesis.

For the origin and role of the catena see M. C. Albl, And Scripture Cannot Be Broken: The Form and Function
of the Early Testimonia Collections. NovTSup 96. Leiden: Brill, 1999. pp. 172-174. see also Koch pp. 181-183 and
Shum pp. 181-184.
Ellis (p. 153) categorizes it as an allusion.
Cf. Koch, p. 133.
Op. Cit. p. 222.

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

(reckoned) non
guilty. Romans
4:17 quotes
Genesis 17:5
about Abraham,
the father of many
nations.27 Romans
4:18 quotes
Genesis 15:5 (so
[many] shall your
seed be).
3. (It overlaps
with points 2. and
4.)
Romans 1-3
parallels with
Galatians 4:1f and
1Corinthians 1:21

27
28

Total depravity
and misery of all
humanity. Slavery
under the law and
the elemental
spirits of the
universe as
precondition of
justification by
faith.

Galatians 4:21-31
uses the allegory
of Sarah and
Hagar from Gen
16 and 21.
Galatians 4:27
quotes Isaiah 54:1
(LXX) as a
reference to the
high honor of
Sarah over Hagar.
Galatians 4:30
paraphrases
Genesis 21:10
arguing that a free
child's heritage
cannot be shared
with a slave child.
1Corinthians 1:21
does not have any
OT quotation.

Romans 1:23
contains an
allusion to
Deuteronomy
4:16-18
(prohibition of
idol worship).28

Bornkamm's
thesis cannot be
confirmed in light
of the supporting
OT quotations in
Galatians and
Romans. There is
a serious
difference in the
lines of argument:
in Galatians Paul
argues for the
huge difference
between slavery in
following the Law
and freedom in
following Christ.
The pagan world
is not at all in
view here. In
Romans, however,
the pagan world
with the practices
of idol worship
and immorality is
placed almost on
the same level as
Torah observance
as far as the
overall rule of sin
is concerned.
1Corinthians 1:21

Op. Cit. p. 261.

See J. A. Fitzmyer, Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. AB 33. New York: Doubleday,
1993. p. 283.

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

nicely summarizes
the content of
Romans 1:18ff
and the solution
offered in the
gospel according
to Romans 3. But
it lacks any
reference to the
spiritual slavery in
Law observance.
One can suspect
that the different
contexts of the
three letters
answer for the
radically different
exposition of the
same concept.
5.
Romans 4:17
parallels with
2Corinthians 1:9

God's creating
power becomes a
factor in his
Saving character.
God is Savior
because He is
Creator.

6.
God's act of
Romans 5:1-11
reconciliation in
parallels with
Christ.
2Corinthians 5:18f

29

There is no OT
quotation.

There is an OT
quotation from
Genesis 17:5 but it
is not directly
related to the issue
(it explains the
status of
Abraham).29

There is no OT
There is no OT
quotation in
quotation in
2Corinthians 5:18f Romans 5:1-11

There is no direct
use of OT
quotation.
Nevertheless, the
idea that God is
Savior because he
is Creator is from
the Old Testament
(the Creation story
was supposedly
formed in the
Babilonian
Captivity).
Bornkamm's
thesis cannot be
confirmed: there is
no further
developed concept
in Romans.
The idea of
reconciliation has
connections to the
OT peace offering
ritual as well as to
the Greek-Roman

R. Jewett, Romans. A Commentary. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007. p. 333.

10

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

understanding of
making peace
with the angry
gods. Since Paul
does not mention
any OT
antecedents, he
may think of the
latter.
2Corinthians
5:18ff does not yet
combine
justification and
reconciliation, but
in Romans 5:1-11
justification is the
condition of
reconciliation. It is
hard to claim that
the Romans
passage is a
further developed
version of the
2Corinthians idea.
Bornkamm's
thesis is neither
confirmed, nor
challenged.
7.
Romans 5:12-21
parallels with
1Corinthians
15:21,45

30

Typology of Adam 1Corinthians

and Christ.
15:45 paraphrases
Genesis 2:7 with a
pun on the
meaning of
Adam's Hebrew
name (man).

In Romans 5:1221 there is no

explicit OT
quotation, even
though Genesis 3
is obviously
behind Paul's
thinking.30

On the one hand

Adam the typos of
Christ binds the
two passages
together, and Paul
obviously carried
this typology from
1Corinthians to
Romans. On the
other hand,
Adam's meaning
in 1Corinthians 15
is giving death
to humanity
(while Christ
brought us life and
eventually will

A. J. M. Wedderburn, The Theological Structure of Romans v.12 in v.12 in NTS 19 (1972-73) pp. 340-54.

11

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

bring
resurrection). In
Romans the
emphasis is on
Adam's
disobedience
versus Christ's
obedience. The
Adam typology is
there in both
letters, but Paul is
talking about two
quite different
aspects of the
typology in the
two letters, most
probably because
of the different
situation of the
addressees. There
is no conceptual
development.
Bornkamm's
thesis is not
confirmed here.
8.
Romans 5:20
parallels with
Galatians 3:19

The Law came in

to increase
trespasses.

Galatians 3:19
does not contain a
specific OT
quotation.
Nevertheless, it is
a special
interpretation of
the Law's role in
salvation history:
it was added
()
because of the
transgressions
(
).

Romans 5:20 does

not have any OT
quotations either,
but it is also an
other, slightly
different
interpretation of
the Law's role: it
came in or slipped
in ()
so that trespass
might increase
(
)

In Galatians Paul
is more concerned
of the salvation
history timeline,
where the epoch
of the Law was
necessary to
handle sin. In
Romans, the
emphasis is put
elsewhere: God
gave the Law to
make things
worse as a kind
of preparation for
abundant grace to
appear in Christ.
The parallel is
there, but with
different purposes
and emphases.
12

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

Bornkamm's
thesis is not
confirmed.
9.
Romans 6(:111?)31 parallels
with Galatians
3:27

Baptism and new

life.

There is no OT
quotation,
paraphrase or
allusion in
Galatians 3:27.

There is no OT
quotation or
reference in
Romans 6:1-11.

The concept of
being baptized in
Christ is further
developed in
Romans: it is the
sign of the new
community of
Jews and Gentiles.
In Galatians
Baptism is linked
to new life in
Christ. In Romans
baptism is more
linked to death to
sin and the
consequence is a
new life of hope.
Here Bornkamm's
thesis stands
valid.

10.
Romans 7:7-25
parallel with
1Corinthians
15:56.

Relationship of
the Death-SinLaw triad.

1Corinthians
15:56 is the
summary verse of
a catena of OT
quotations in the
previous verses
(15:54-55): Isaiah
25:8 (Theodotion's
text) and Hoseah
13:14 (a mixed
quotation: the
wording follows
more or less the
LXX but the word
order follows the
MT text). Most
probably Paul
quoted from heart.

In Romans 7:7-25
the only explicit
OT quotation is
7:7 (You shall not
covet) from
Exodus 20:17 (or
Deuteronomy
5:21)32 but
Genesis 2-3 is also
in the background
with God's
commandment to
Adam and Eve not
to eat from the
tree of Eden and
with their
following
disobedience.

The logical
connection
between Death,
Sin and Law is
surely there in
both 1Corinthians
and Romans.
However, as far as
the illustrative OT
quotations show,
they are totally
different
arguments: in
1Corinthians,
from the triad
Death, Sin and
Law the emphasis
is on the first two,

31
32

Bornkamm does not give the exact verses.

For alternative suggestions cf. Jewett p. 447. note 64. Elsewhere I argue for Pauls deliberate referring to both
possible source texts: O. Pecsuk, Pl apostol s a kvnsg. A Rm 7,7-12 mint a tizedik parancsolat s a bneset
exegzise. in A tz ige. Tanulmnyktet Marjovszky Tibor tiszteletre, 60. szletsnapja alkalmbl. Szerk.
Hdossy-Takcs Eld. Debrecen: Debreceni Reformtus Hittudomnyi Egyetem, 2013. pp. 151-167.

13

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

The link between

his summary
statement and his
string of
quotations is sting
(). The
imagery
underneath is a
scorpion.

11.
A.
Romans 8:15
parallels with
Galatians 4:5f.
B.
Romans 8 also
parallels with 1
and 2 Corinthians.
(Because of the
extremely general
nature of the
suggested
parallelism I do
not deal with it in
this paper.)

A.
The issue is the
spirit of God and
the adoption of
God's children.
B.
Death in Christ,
life in the Spirit
and freedom of
God's children

A.
There is no OT
quotation in
Galatians 4:5f.

Evaluation

the powers
defeated in
Resurrection. In
Romans 7 the real
issue is the role of
the third one, Law.
Here Desire
() is a
provocator of Sin
and ultimately
Death, and all
these play only a
secondary role
clarifying
questions about
the culpability of
Law. The line of
argument in the
two letters are
completely
different, most
probably because
Paul wanted to say
different things to
different
audiences.
Therefore
Bornkamm's
thesis is not
confirmed.
A.
There is no OT
quotation in
Romans 8:15.

A.
The parallelism is
clear, even though
one cannot see any
development from
Galatians to
Romans.
versus

is most probably a
frequently used
clich by Paul.
Bornkamm's
thesis is not
confirmed.

14

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

12.
Romans 12:4
parallels with
1Corinthians 1214 (especially
1Corinthians
12:12).

Various gifts of
the spirit and the
unity of the
Church. Paul calls
the members to
love each other.

In 1Corinthians
There is no OT
14:21 Isaiah
quotation in
28:11-12 is
Romans 12:4.
paraphrased, but it
concerns only the
speaking in
tongues as a
prophetic sign
fulfilled among
the Corinthians. It
is not relevant to
the issue at hand.

13.
Romans 13:1-10
parallels with
1Corinthians
14:1ff (?)33

The Christians and There is no OT

the civil powers
quotation in
1Corinthians
14:1ff.

33

OT in Romans

Romans 13:9a
quotes Exodus
20:13-15 (or
Deuteronomy
5:17-19,21).
Romans 13:9b
quotes Leviticus
19:18.

Evaluation

The idea of the

one body of Christ
and the various
gifts of the Spirit
in the church is
clearly present in
both 1Corinthians
and Romans.
However, the
problem of
speaking in
tongues is not
relevant for
Romans. We
cannot say that the
Pauline teaching
of
in 1Corinthians is
further developed
and formulated in
more general
terms in Romans.
There is a topical
relationship, but it
does not force us
to see a literary
dependence.
Bornkamm's
thesis is not
confirmed.
The parallel
suggested by
Bornkamm does
not exist:
1Corinthians does
not deal with the
issue of civil
powers, unless a
short reference of
1Corinthians 2:6
to

is taken as such.

Bornkamm's suggested reference is unintelligible for me.

15

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

14.
Eschatology
Romans 13:11-14
parallel with
1Corinthians 7:29
and 15:51ff.

There is no OT
There is no OT
quotation in
quotation in
1Corinthians 7:29. Romans 13:11-14.
In 15:54-55 Paul
quotes Isaiah 25:8
and Hoseah 13:14
(see 10. above)

Evaluation

The immediacy of
Christ's return is
echoed in both
letters. In
1Corinthians 7:29
this explains
Paul's teaching on
specific aspects of
marriage and
family life. In
1Corinthians
15:51ff the real
issue is
resurrection,
Christ's advent is
mentioned only as
an opening act of
the eschatological
chain of events. In
Romans 13:11-14
the main thrust of
the argument is
ethics and not
eschatology. As
many
commentators
pointed out, the
night-day contrast
in Romans 13 may
well be a reference
to the public
insecurity of
Rome in Nero's
time. Christ's
return here is only
a link to the topic
of night-sleeping
(death) versus
day-being awake
(resurrection and
eternal life). The
meaning of the
passage therefore
is: those of us who
expect
16

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

resurrection at the
end of times must
live a morally
acceptable life.
Romans 13:11-14
is in no way an
elaboration of the
one-sentence
reference of
1Corinthian 7:29.
Bornkamm's
thesis is not
confirmed.
15.
Romans 13:14
parallels with
Galatians 3:27.

Put on the Lord

Jesus Christ.

There is no OT
quotation in
Galatians 3:27.

There is no OT
quotation in
Romans 13:14.

(Gal
3:27) and


(Rom
13:14) are
repetitions of the
same concept:
figuratively
putting on Christ
as an armor
against the attacks
of sins. But in
Romans this by no
means is a
development of an
earlier theological
theme. It is only
an expression that
Paul found very
expressive and
used twice.
Bornkamm's
thesis is not
confirmed.

16.
Romans 14-15
(more precisely
14:1-15:6) parallel
with 1Corinthians
8-10.

Similar
controversy where
people can misuse
their faith without
consideration for
their brothers and

There is no OT
quotation in
1Corinthians 8
where the
problem (meat
sacrificed to idols)

In Romans 14:11
Paul quotes Isaiah
45:23 with the
introductory
formula (As I live)
of Isaiah 49:18.34

In the two
passages there are
common themes
(e. g. problems
with food) and
partly overlapping
17

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm
sisters.

34
35

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

is described. In
illustrating his
right to receive
support from the
churches he had
established, Paul
in 1Corinthians
9:9 quotes
Deuteronomy 25:4
(you shall not
muzzle the ox...).
10:5 has an
allusion to Numeri
14:16 about the
fallen Israelites in
the wilderness.
10:7 quotes
Exodus 32:6 about
the immoral
practices of the
Israelites before
the Golden Calf.
10:20 contains an
allusion to
Deuteronomy
32:17 about the
Israelites, who
were in
communion with
the demons (idols)
and not with God.
10:22 also has an
allusion to
Deuteronomy
32:21 where God
accuses his people
of provoking him
to jealousy by
sacrificing to
idols. 10:26
summarizes the
idea that the
whole world

This is a proof text

of the universality
of the divine
judgment. Romans
15:3 quotes Psalm
68:10 (LXX) as a
prophetic
utterance of
Christ's suffering
for others. This
citation supports
Paul's advice that
the strong should
bear the failings of
the weak.35

but by no means
identical
terminology (in
1Corinthians:
in
Romans:


). There
are serious
differences in the
Pauline
argumentation. In
1Corinthians 8-10
the local problem
at hand (meat
sacrificed to idols)
leads first to the
broader problem
of Christian
liberty over
against one's
brother in the
community and
then links the
argumentation
further to problem
no. 2 of similar
nature: lack of
community at the
eucharistic
gatherings. Most
of the OT
quotations support
either the
discussion on
Christian liberty
or the Pauline
midrash on the
Exodus story in
chapter 10 that
serve as a link of
the two local

See Koch, pp. 184-185. Stanley, p. 177 does not take it as a citation and instead calls it typical biblical language.
For alternative interpretations of the purpose of the quotation see A. T. Hanson, Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.
London: SPCK, 1965. pp. 153-155.

18

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter
belongs to God
and therefore
every food is
suitable for eating.
However, this
knowledge has to
be controlled or
suppressed for
the sake of the
weak brothers and
sisters.

OT in Romans

Evaluation

problems (meat
offered to idols
and eucharist).
In Romans, the
main issue is lack
of unity between
Jewish and
Gentile Christians.
Food problems are
just partial
symptoms of this.
Both groups need
to change their
views in order to
be able to accept
each other. The
OT quotations
here (about the
universality of
God's judgment,
Christ's humble
behavior and selfsacrifice) support
the argumentation
for a change in
attitude in both
Romans groups,
the weak and the
strong.
In spite of the
superficial
agreements and
parallelisms in the
two texts,
1Corinthians 8-10
and Romans 1415, both the
situation, the
Pauline
argumentation and
the illustrating or
supporting OT
quotations differ
considerably. The
only common

19

Parallel passages Content

according to
Bornkamm

OT in the
Parallel Letter

OT in Romans

Evaluation

denominator of
the two text is
their author.
Bornkamm's
thesis is not
confirmed.

Conclusions
Our investigation for the validity of Gnther Bornkamm's thesis in light of the OT quotations in
Paul's Epistle to the Romans and in his earlier letters did show that one should not build his or her
interpretation of Romans on the interpretation of the other letters and on Paul's earlier experiences
in mission. The main themes of Romans show considerable independence both in themselves and in
their relationship to attached OT quotations. The issues Paul is concerned with in Romans may have
been raised in earlier letters but are put in completely different light as Paul's situation changed and
he addressed a congregation that he did not know personally but at the same time knew very well
through his co-workers, hearsay or non-extant correspondence. Paul's changed circumstances
contributed to the circumstances of the Roman churches and resulted a very special theological
amalgam, called Epistle to the Romans. In the chart above we did not find pre-formulated themes
with attached OT proof-texts. Only in three issues: Paul's apostolate, justification by faith and
Baptism-New Life could we accept Bornkamm's suggestion, that Paul relied on earlier treatments of
the themes at hand. In Romans, out of the 16 thematic parallels suggested by Bornkamm, 10
showed full independence of argumentation from earlier letters and consequently indicated an
addressee-focused purpose and a specific background behind the Epistle. This is the background
that still needs to be further explored.

20