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Background to the Book
The Apostle Paul (Rav Sha'ul) wintered in Korinthos in A.D. 56-57 on his way to Troas (Envoys/Acts 20:5f; Rom. 16:1, 23). He was preparing go to Yerushalayim with aid for the needy believers there from the Greek believers, after which he planned to go on to Spain, stopping in Rome en route (15:25ff). This letter was sent from Korinthos to brief them on some matters he needed to finalize when he came. (1:9) His audience was mainly Gentile believers who were associating with Jewish synagogue communities since Judaism was a recognized faith in Rome, while no one else was exempt from the token religious rituals by which citizens had to prove their loyalty to the city or the empire. Many of them, enamored by the fact that they no longer needed to convert to Judaism in order to share in the "commonwealth of Israel", were flaunting their freedoms and thus sending the message to the Jews who still did not believe in Yahshua that this mass move of Gentiles to the Elohim of Israel could not be that which the prophets had foretold, because these "converts" were not living what they considered to be holy lifestyles. Paul argues that they should submit themselves to the stricter "house rules", since not only were they the Gentile believers' only legitimization in Roman society; submission to the lifestyle restrictions that would grant Gentiles the right to table fellowship with the Jews (see Envoys 15:7-21) might also make his beloved kinsmen from Yehudah jealous for the relationship with their Elohim through their own Messiah which even these "outsiders" were enjoying. And the surprising truth about who these "Gentiles" really are comes out in numerous ways throughout the book.
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Chapters 4-5
CHAPTER 4
1. But if so, what shall we say? [That] Avraham our father attained [standing] for himself by human effort?
Some expected to receive merit through their forefathers' deeds. (Mat. 3:9; Yoch. 8:33) While YHWH's promises to our ancestors can be appealed to (Deut. 9:27), each must also have his own faith.
2. Because if Avraham was counted righteous because of something he did, he has a reason to boast. But this is not the way YHWH sees it,
Not the way YHWH sees it: literally, not before YHWH. I.e., men may see it that way, but no one can boast when they compare themselves to Him.
3. because what does the Scripture say? It says, "And he believed YHWH, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." [Gen. 15:6, Septuagint/LXX]
4. Now a worker doesn't think of his pay as a favor but as a debt,
5. but to a "non-wage-earner" who trusts instead in the [One] who [can] justify [even] those who are destitute of reverence, his faith is counted as righteousness."
A non-wage-earner: having no background of Torah-observance in which to boast. (For example, the tax collector in Luke 18:13.) Those who use obedience to try to earn merit with YHWH would make Him their debtor, but the one who does not see it as a business transaction which obligates Him can experience the relationship as one of mercy and love. (Luk. 7:47) Indeed, Avraham undoubtedly worshipped idols at some point, so even he could not be considered a "wage-earner" in terms of perfect observance of Torah.
6. David also says the same thing regarding the blessedness of the person to whom YHWH accounts righteousness apart from works:
7. "[How] blessed are those whose law-violations are forgiven, and whose sins are covered over;
8. "[How] blessed the one to whose credit the Master will not charge any sin!" [Psalm 32:1, LXX]
Heb., blessed is the one whose transgression is lifted [off him].
9. Is this blessing then [pronounced] upon the circumcised alone, or also upon the uncircumcised? (Since we say that "trust was accounted to Avraham as righteousness".)
10. So how was it accounted? Was it when he was in [the condition of] circumcision or uncircumcision? It was not when he was circumcised, but while [he was still] uncircumcised,
11. and he received the sign of circumcision as a seal to [confirm] the righteousness [that had come] by the faith [he had] while [still] uncircumcised, so that he could be a "father" to all those who have faith, though [still] uncircumcised, so that righteousness could be credited to them also,
12. in addition to being a father of the circumcised--[that is], those who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith our father Avraham had while he was still uncircumcised.
Not only: i.e., circumcision itself as an act guarantees nothing if the heart attitude is not also there. In this way YHWH provided for both Jews and non-Jews to share in the covenant of blessing and deliverance from sin which He offered to Avraham and his descendants, who can be "accounted" not only through physical lineage, but also through sharing His attitude toward YHWH. By being called while still a Gentile, so to speak, Avraham could represent YHWH's purposes for the whole world. (Nanos) Even after Torah came, "grace through faith" (Eph. 2:8-10) was always YHWH's way of salvation (Mal. 3:6). Circumcision, sacrifices, etc., are manifestations of an already-existing faith, since obedience implies some level of trust, but they cannot constitute "actions performed to acquire salvation". (Jackson)
13. For the promise (that he would be heir to the world) did not come to Avraham or to his descendants through the Torah, but through a condition acceptable [to YHWH] based on trusting,
14. because if they are heirs only on the basis of Torah, then faith has been emptied of its force, and the promise has been nullified,
Nullified: because then it would have become conditional, when originally it was not. We would have to make our efforts add up to an amount we could have no confidence of attaining. But "even as the Law is not nullified through faith (3:31), so too faith is not nullified through the Law; they both establish that the purpose of the other is ultimately only one thing...the very thing that makes Avraham 'the father of us all', namely to give 'glory to [YHWH]' (v. 20)." (Nanos)
15. because what the Torah brings about is retribution (since where there is no law, there can be no violation either).
YHWH made the promises before there was any law to break, and though it carried penalties when it did come into play, this could never cancel the promise. (Galatians 3:17, 18)
16. For this reason it is based on faith: so that it could come as a free gift, thus guaranteeing that the promise would apply to all the "descendants"--not just to those within the framework of the Torah, but also to those who are "descendants" of the faith of Avraham, who is the father of us all
Guaranteeing: unalterably firm, warranting the utmost trustworthiness. (Thayer)
17. (just as it has been written, "I have ordained you to be the father of a multiplicity of peoples") before YHWH, Whom he believed--the one Who makes the dead to live, and Who speaks of things which do not yet exist as though they did--
Ordained: established, appointed--something firmly fixed in YHWH's purposes. Speaks of: or, calls by name. (e.g. Yeshayahu/Isaiah 44:28)
18. who, beyond all [realistic] expectation, placed his faith upon the hope that he would become the father of many nations, based on the assertion, "this is what your seed shall be";
19. and though he was as much as a hundred years old, he did not let his faith grow weak, nor did he consider his body to have already died, nor take into consideration the deadness of Sarah's womb,
Grow weak: a strategically-placed argument, since "weak in faith" or "unable to believe" is the very pejorative term these Gentiles were using of the Jews who did not believe YHWH would keep His promise that Gentiles (or the tribes) would one day (again) love and praise Him. (14:1) Consider his body to have already died: i.e., having no offspring to render his seed "immortal". Deadness: being past child-bearing age.
20. nor did he waver in unbelief at the promise of YHWH, but was empowered by faith, deferring to the pre-eminence of YHWH,
Empowered by faith: or, "enabled to believe"--the very terminology some in Rome were using of themselves as opposed to others (ch. 14). Deferring to the pre-eminence: i.e., choosing to believe what YHWH said over what he could see or logically figure out.
21. being indeed fully persuaded that what He promised He was able to accomplish.
22. This is why it was "credited to him as righteousness."
23. But this (about it being credited to him) was not written in regard to him alone,
24. but also for our sakes, to whom it is on the verge of being credited--that is, to those who place their faith upon the One who has raised our Master Yahshua from the dead,
On the verge of being credited: those He has in mind to make the intended beneficiaries of this favor. It has the sense of something that will happen by fixed necessity or YHWH's appointment. Avraham had the same type of belief--that YHWH would raise his and Sarah's bodies "from already being dead" according to natural processes.
25. Who was delivered over to death because of our offenses, yet was raised on account of our justification.
Raised: as evidence that YHWH had already accepted His sacrifice as the full payment for our sins, so that we were "positionally" righteous. I.e., we have been counted as justified, even though the whole story has not yet been played out. His resurrection (as the firstfruits, 1 Cor. 15:20) was the down payment guaranteeing our resurrection someday also.
CHAPTER 5
1. Therefore, [since we] have been justified as a result of trusting, our [relationship] with Elohim [is now one of] peace, through our Master, Yahshua the Messiah,
Literally, we have peace in Elohim's direction. The rest of the book (especially chapters 11-16) challenges us to bring back the peace horizontally between the two houses of Israel for reasons reaching far beyond our present differences.
2. through Whom we have come to have access, by trusting, into this undeserved position of favor, and we [now base our] boast upon the certainty of praise from YHWH.
Paul now begins a series of descriptions of how the redemption YHWH provides satisfies each of the legitimate goals and objections raised previously. First, we have access to His favor, which in the framework of Torah is complicated by purity issues. It is now available to those who have followed Torah all along and those who are just coming to know what it is. Our boast: He has undermined all other grounds for boasting. There is now a basis that does not require us to oppress others in the process. Certainty of praise from YHWH: We saw in 3:23 that every other hope of receiving His favor has been exhausted, but as with anything else that is submitted to death with Messiah, it comes back resurrected, redeemed, purified, and fuller than ever. Position: or standing. Paul will explain this concept of "positional accounting" in greater details throughout chapters 5-8.
3. And not only this; we also can "boast" even in our afflictions, knowing that affliction renders endurance effective,
Can: or, should. Our afflictions: from those who continue to seek their glory in the old, usual way. Renders endurance effective: changes the raw material of the empowerment He provides into this useful quality through the stresses that shape us. Endurance: steadfastness, constancy, unswerving loyalty to our purpose, with the nuance of sustained, patient, expectant waiting for (used for the Hebrew tiqwah, as in Ps. 9:8; Prov. 10:28).
4. then endurance produces proven character, and proven character, hope.
Proven: or "documented", as a specimen of tested value; Aramaic, experience. Hope: something certain, which we can count on.
5. And this hope does not disappoint us, because YHWH's love has already been poured out into our hearts through the Spirit of Holiness that has been given to us,
Disappoint us: put us to shame by being proven false. (Stern; this juxtaposition of hope, avoidance of shame, and "pouring out" alludes to Yirm./Jeremiah 17:13 and Yoch./John 7:37-38; 8:7-9)
6. since while we were still powerless, at the right time, the Messiah died on behalf of those who were irreverent [toward YHWH].
Powerless: to fulfill the Torah's whole demand. Perhaps this is a gentle rebuke for those who considered others "weak" or blamed them for being "unable to believe", since this is the same word used of them in 14:1ff. (Nanos) At the right time: on schedule, at the appointed moment--when we needed it, but also on schedule according to His promise to first double our punishment before restoring us. (Yirmiyahu 16:18; Yeshayahu 40:2) The 390 years of the Northern Kingdom's affliction (Yehezqel 4) doubled ends at just about the time Paul started taking the message of restoration out among the Gentiles.
7. Indeed, hardly anyone is willing to die [even] for a righteous person--[though] perhaps [occasionally] someone might dare to die for the sake of a decent person--
A righteous person: the Aramaic has, a wicked person.
8. but YHWH demonstrates His love toward us by the fact that while we were still sinners, the Messiah died for us.
Demonstrates: proves His point in the clearest and most coherent way, setting several ideas side by side and presenting them so as to introduce people to a new way of seeing Him.
9. How much more, then, now that we are counted righteous on account of His blood, will we be delivered from retribution--through Him?
Delivered from retribution: brought safely outside the area that is to be subjected to wrath--as He vividly did for Lot and Noah.
10. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to YHWH through the death of His Son, won't we all the more, since we are already reconciled, be saved by His life?
Enemies: Aram., Ba'al D'bub, the equivalent of the Heb. Ba'al-z'bub. Saved: rescued and restored to wholeness. If His death accomplished all these things for us, how much more will His life, which is now operative within those who trust Him, enable us to live in such a way as to avoid deserving His wrath? Most notably, the expression of His love can flow through us (v. 5) to those with whom we have differences (chapter 15); compare 1 Cor. 3:10-23; 11:31-33.
11. And not only this; we are also boasting about YHWH because of Yahshua the Messiah, through Whom we have already received this reconciliation.
12. So, just as sin entered the world through one man, and through [that] sin, death [also entered], and death in turn permeated to all men, on the grounds that all sinned.
One man: Aramaic, "one son of humanity", an idiom for one who is mortal. Though the tendency to sin also passed down physically from Adam, the emphasis here is that everyone's death sentence is due to the fact that each has also indeed sinned himself. (v. 14; 1:18-3:20; Yehezqel 8:14)
13. (For until the Torah [was put into effect], sin was indeed present in the world, but sin is not charged [to anyone's account] where there is no law;
Charged to anyone's account: Aramaic, counted as sin. This may explain those in 1 Kefa/Peter 3:19 who are given a conscious opportunity to repent after death, not having had the benefit of YHWH's instruction to warn them against trespassing. Sin means "missing the mark", but if no one is taught which mark to aim for, how can they be faulted for shooting in other directions?
14. nevertheless death reigned from [the time of] Adam to [the time of] Moshe, even over those who had not sinned with the same kind of violation [a particular command] as Adam, [who is] a prefiguring of the One who was to come.
The One who was to come: Aram., He, the one prepared.
15. But the free gift is not to be compared to [Adam's] moral deviation, because although by one man's moral lapse, the many died, the grace of YHWH--and the gift that comes with the favor we receive through the one man Yahshua the Messiah--overflowed to the many in a far greater way.
Not to be compared: in any other way; Adam's sin is imputed to all he represents, as Messiah's sacrifice can be, but the comparison ends here. "His grace is out of all proportion to the fall." (Amplified Bible)
16. Nor is the gift to be compared to the one [incidence of] sinning, in that the judgment of one sin resulted in condemnation; rather, the free gift resulted in justification from many trespasses.
17. For although, by the one offense, death reigned through the one [man], those who are receiving the overabundance of [both] the undeserved favor and the gift of righteous standing shall reign in life much more through the one, Yahshua the Messiah.)
Death reigned: became ruler or held sway, biasing us all toward sinning, inclining us that way against our wishes and best intentions.
18. As [I was saying], then, just as through [the entrance of] one trespass all men were [brought] into condemnation, so also through one righteous accomplishment [could] all men [be brought] into the right standing [that belongs to] Life.
Here the thought begun in v. 12 resumes after a long digression. One righteous accomplishment: an act with legal connotations; that which is deemed right so as to have the force of law. (Thayer) This act resounds with legal finality in contrast to the temporary nature of Adam's. Right standing: The Aramaic term means worthiness or innocence, with an element of victory and triumph. Understanding this concept hinges not on the specific nature of each sin, but the legal concept of corporate solidarity (see 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Hebrews 7:9ff). We are all considered to have been present in a genetic sense in Adam, thus participating in his downfall when he forfeited the kingship of earth to Satan. But in the same way, then, we can also share in the second Adam's successfully buying back earthly rulership by accomplishing the perfect obedience that the first representative of the human race did not. For those who change the basis of their hope of attaining righteousness to the legal exchange accomplished by the Messiah, a transaction precedented only in Adam's disobedience is accomplished. We are counted as members of a new "race" wherein Adam's record no longer applies to us in the judicial sense, and we will ultimately be freed from the effects of the curse Adam brought on us all. (1 Cor. 15:45) Positionally, we are counted as pure; thus it behooves us to line up our actions with this truth so that we are pure in every sense.
19. For as through one man's disobedience the many were rendered sinners, likewise through the obedience of the One will many be rendered righteous.
Disobedience: including an unwillingness to listen to instruction. Obedience also has to do with listening to the right voice. (Nanos) Rendered: constituted or declared, caused to be.
20. Now the Torah came in as an additional [factor beside], so that sin would increase, but wherever sin increased, grace overflowed far more,
So that sin would increase: superabound; Aram., proliferate. (See 7:7ff; Gal. 3:19).
21. in order that as sin reigned by means of death, grace might likewise reign as this righteousness results in everlasting life--by virtue of Yahshua the Messiah, our Master.
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Chapters 1-3
CHAPTER 1
1. Paul, a bondservant of Yahshua the Messiah (called to be an envoy, set apart to [spread] the glad message from Elohim,
Bondservant: one who chooses to serve his master perpetually. (Ex. 21:1-6) Set apart: relieved of all other duties and commissioned to this one.
2. which He announced beforehand through His prophets in holy writings
Holy writings: the Hebrew Scriptures. Announced: Aramaic, promised.
3. concerning His Son, who came from the seed of David according to the flesh,
4. being powerfully demonstrated to be the Son of Elohim in accordance with the spirit of holiness through [His] being raised from the dead: our Master, Yahshua the Messiah,
Demonstrated to be: or marked out as.
5. through whom we received both our empowerment and authorization, for His name's sake, to bring about the obedience [that springs] from faith among all the nations--
Obedience that springs from faith: Behavior appropriate to their new belief as freemen yet "slaves of righteousness". (6:14; 16:17) This agrees with Yaaqov (James)'s statement that "faith without works is dead." His Name's sake: to bring honor and credibility to Yahshua's reputation. (14:16-20)
6. into which category you also fall, as those called by Yahshua the Messiah),
Called: from among the Gentiles to be joined to, and thus part of, the people of Israel.
7. to all those in Rome who are Elohim's beloved, called and set apart:
May favor and well-being come to you from YHWH our Father as well as from the Master, Yahshua the Messiah.
Favor: a common Greek greeting; well-being: the Hebrew greeting, shalom.
8. First of all, I thank my Elohim through Yahshua the Messiah for all of you, because the word about your faithful [character] has spread throughout the whole world!
9. For the Elohim (whom I serve in my spirit by spreading the good news about His Son) is my witness, how I never cease to make mention of you
10. in my prayers, imploring whether I may now finally be blessed, in YHWH's will, to come to you,
In YHWH's will: Aramaic peshitta, if a way opens in Eloah's will.
11. for I long to see you, in order that I may share with you a spiritual gift by which you may be firmly established
A spiritual gift: instruction from YHWH regarding an area in which they are lacking, for which this letter is an introduction in absentia. (Nanos, Wedderburn)
12. (that is, that you and I may all be encouraged together by the faith that each of us has in himself--both yours and mine.)
13. However, I would not want you to be ignorant, brothers, [of the fact] that I often intended to come to you (but was always hindered until now) so that I might also have some fruit among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles.
14. I have an obligation both to the Greeks and barbarians, both wise and foolish;
Greeks and barbarians: Considering his audience (mainly Gentile believers who are associated with Jewish synagogue communities), he may be referring to "Hellenized (Jews) as well as (those who have made themselves) Gentiles", not fully-observant Jews, for he does not categorize "all men" as "Jews and Greeks" as he does elsewhere (e.g., v. 16). It was the "lost sheep" he was after, and both of these audiences had left YHWH's covenant to one degree or another. To a Roman audience, the Hellenized world was equivalent to the civilized world, since though Rome was victorious over the Greek Empire, it had gained much of its cultural advancement therefrom. Greek was the lingua franca bequeathed to it intact, and it was thus the universal tongue that speeded the message of Messiah's purchase of amnesty for the Northern Kingdom of Israel, now scattered among the Gentiles.
15. and so far as it is in my power, I am eager to proclaim the glad message in Rome as well,
16. for I am not ashamed of the good news concerning the Messiah, because it is YHWH's means for effecting deliverance to everyone who believes--first to the Jew, but to the Hellenized as well,
Means: literally, dynamic. Deliverance: from sin. Hellenized: the quintessential alternative worldview vis-a-vis Judaism, and thus often a generic term for all Gentiles. But Yahshua sent His envoys especially to the "lost sheep of the House of Israel" (the Northern Kingdom who had chosen to become Gentiles), though in the process Hellenized Jews as well as any who wished to join the holy community heard the message as well. Aramaic: if of the Yehudim first, if of the Aramaeans.
17. for in it YHWH's integrity is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written,
"But the righteous shall live through faith." [Havaqquq 2:4]
From faith to faith: by faith from start to finish.
18. --because the wrath of Elohim is made manifest from heaven upon all [the] irreverence and unrighteousness of human beings who suppress the truth in violation of justice,
Human beings: Adam in Hebrew. Avi Ben Mordechai points out that in first-century Jewish usage, this would refer only to Israelites; Yehezqel 34:30-31 in particular identify this term "men" with the House of Israel, the Northern Kingdom. Suppress the truth: Psalm 119:142 identifies truth as YHWH's Torah in particular. So again we see that these references to "Gentiles" refer primarily to the Northern Kingdom, which chose to become Gentiles. Who but those who were given the Torah could suppress it?
19. because that which can be known about Elohim is recognized by them, because Elohim made it evident to them--
Known: self-evident; obvious if not deliberately obscured, as it is here.
20. for since the creation of the world His invisible characteristics--both His eternal power and His divine nature--being discernible through the [craftsmanship of the] works themselves, are evidence enough for them to be without excuse,
21. because, though they thus knew about Elohim, they did not honor Him as Elohim, nor were they grateful, but rather they became futile in their reasoning, and their heart, failing to discriminate [truth from error], became darkened.
Futile: useless; devoid of result, i.e., leading to no solid answers, but only "proving" the premise they began with through "evidence" that makes sense only when reasoned backward from the conclusion conveniently decided upon ahead of time. Making excuses (though the truth was clear) dulled their faculties, leaving them open to delusion about the simplest facts and thus "chasing after wind". (Ecclesiastes) We see this happening again through the unscientific theory of evolution, which is a wishful attempt to explain away mankind's obligation to Elohim. But how much more does this apply to those who were once in covenant with YHWH, but then despised and left it behind (that is, the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and many from Yehudah as well, as in 2:17ff). Darkened: indeed, this means they previously had light (which Psalm 119:105 says is identical to YHWH's word).
22. In asserting their "wisdom" they were [proven to be] foolish,
Their arrogance blinded them to the inevitable consequences of their philosophy. Thinking they were free from constraints and claiming their own ingenuity got them there, they were actually careening toward tragedy. But wisdom speaks in particular of those who were under the covenant of the Torah (Deut. 4:6), but gave this up for what seemed more attractive to them at the time.
23. and they traded the glory of the incorruptible Elohim for an image resembling man, who is perishable--and then [the likeness] of birds and four-footed animals, and even reptiles.
Resembling man: Aramaic, the image of a son of man, a Hebraic way of emphasizing that we are not evolving after all. (Num. 23:19; Ps. 8:4; 146:3; Yeshayahu 21:12) Perishable: not simply mortal, but capable of being corrupted, in contrast to the incorruptible Elohim, who is too pure to even behold evil. Reptiles: literally, creeping things--a downward progression further and further into uncleanness, from worship of Elohim's purity to honoring beasts not even fit for consumption, let alone worthy of supreme loyalty. Their deities were truncated into toothless beings that they could easily control.
24. On account of this, Elohim in turn gave them up to [what they preferred,] the uncleanness evidenced in the lusts of their hearts--letting their very bodies be dishonored among themselves--
Gave them up: or handed them over; Aramaic, released. His integrity (v. 17) is vindicated since He is only punishing them as suits their crime. (See also vv. 27, 28.)
25. these who exchanged the clear reality of Elohim for the lie, and worshipped and served what was created rather than the Creator, who indeed is blessed forever.
The lie: in particular, the one promulgated by Satan from the beginning, that they could become independent elohim.
26. For this reason Elohim gave them up to degrading passions--for even females among them altered the instinctive function into [something] that is contrary to nature.
Degrading: moving from a position of honor into dishonor. Function: or usefulness, for homosexual behavior produces no offspring, only self-devouring diseases. Even: women are more reluctant to fall into such unnatural practices; society must become utterly devoid of any notion of decency before these sins "trickle down" to those normally not so susceptible to such illogical temptations. Females: instead of "women", a word normally referring to animals is used, showing how sub-human they have become. But the clear analogy is to those who left Israel--a community given the very best means of escaping the futility of normal fallen existence and designed to demonstrate YHWH's wisdom to everyone who saw it lived out (Deut. 4:6)--and went back to the pagan ways from which their ancestors had been rescued.
27. And likewise the males also, having forsaken the natural use of the female, burned in their lust for one another--males carrying out such indecent acts with other males, and receiving back within their own bodies the reward which was fitting for their error.
Indecent: both having no goal and unfit even to speak of.
28. And since they did not see fit to have Elohim within the range of their knowledge, He Himself gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which ought never to be permitted--
Depraved mind: literally, disqualified from being called an intellect any longer. Latin, reprobate: going back to something they had come out of. By believing they evolved from animals, they actually backtracked to having the brains of lower species. Likewise, He surrendered the Northern Kingdom of Israel completely to their desire to mingle with the Gentiles (Hos. 7:8) by letting them become so assimilated that they lost their identity.
29. having been filled with all kinds of unrighteousness, sexual immorality, malice, greed, loathsome wickedness, loaded with envy, murder, quarrelings, deceit, and evil habits--being gossips,
30. libelous, haters of Elohim, violently insolent, arrogant, braggarts, devisers of new [kinds of] evil, disobedient to parents,
31. indiscriminate, untrustworthy, without affection even for their families, unforgiving, unmerciful--
Indiscriminate: Aramaic, having no covenant--the very state of the Northern Kingdom until Yahshua came to renew it for us; or, no stability. Unmerciful: Aramaic, no tenderness.
32. who, though they had known the just ordinance of Elohim that those practicing such things are worthy of death, not only commit these acts themselves [on occasion], but also give hearty approval to those who make a regular practice of doing them.
Give hearty approval to: Aramaic, fellowship with--a radically opposite parallel of the fellowship Paul desires between those from Yehudah and those returning from the Gentiles (Acts 15:19) who both worship YHWH, though currently in different ways.
CHAPTER 2
1. Therefore, O human being, you are without excuse--everyone who passes judgment--for in that for which you judge the other man, you condemn yourself, because you who do the judging are [actually] practicing the same things!
Without excuse: Aramaic, having no spiritual way out. The same things: compare Yaaqov/James 2:10; Aramaic, it is returned to you.
2. However, we all know very well that the judgment that Elohim passes on those who do such things fits [objectively] with the facts.
Fits with the facts: or, is in agreement with truth.
3. Do you then think, O mortal man (you who pass judgment on those who practice such things and yet do them yourself), that you [will] escape Elohim's condemnation?
4. Or do you despise the wealth of His kindness, His toleration, and His immense hesitancy to avenge, instead of recognizing that His kindness is meant to lead you to [change your ways and] return to Him?
Hesitancy: Aramaic, the place He gives you. Anyone who thinks he can be considered justified before Elohim without accepting His provision of amnesty through the Messiah is fooling himself about how righteous he really is.
5. Instead, owing to your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up violent retribution for yourself on the Day of Wrath, when the righteous judgment of Elohim will be unveiled,
6. and "He will render to each one exactly what His deeds deserve",
This is a quote from Psalm 62:13 (62:12 in English) and Prov. 24:12.
7. [that is,] unending life to those who, through steadfastness in constructive undertakings, strive for excellent standing, honor, and an incorruptible nature,
Constructive undertakings: Aramaic, the works He empowers.
8. but to those who, out of self-interest, go so far as to reject the truth and comply with unrighteousness, He will bring anger and retribution,
Comply with: Aramaic, are persuaded by.
9. affliction and distress on every human soul who perpetrates evil, whether he be a Jew--especially--or a Greek.
Distress: or dire straits. Perpetrates evil: or, lets his evil inclination have expression. Especially: Jews, who have had the more revelation, should know better than anyone. Greek: a common term for all Gentiles, but held as the cultural ideal of civilization in that part of the world at this time, but despised as ignorant by the Jews (vv. 1-3).
10. However, there will be glory and honor and peace for everyone who lives out what is excellent, both to the Jew (primarily) but also to the Greek,
Primarily: See 3:2.
11. since there is no partiality with Elohim--
YHWH recognizes any who fear Him, no matter what nation they come from. (Acts 10:35)
12. for all who missed the target without knowing the Torah will accordingly be sent to ruin without reference to the Torah, while whoever sinned within the protective confines of the Torah will be judged by the Torah,
Torah: Instruction from YHWH, most particularly through Moshe/Moses.
13. because it is not those who have heard YHWH's instruction who are counted righteous with Elohim, but those who carry out His instruction--these will be justified;
Have heard: Some Jews were thinking they automatically had standing with Elohim simply because they had heard His words. (v. 17; compare Luke 3:8) With Elohim: or, as Elohim sees it.
14. for when heathens, who do not have the Torah, instinctively do the things that are written in the Torah, they, who do not have the instruction, are a law unto themselves
Instinctively: guided by a natural sense of right and wrong, decency, and respect for their neighbors.
15. (who demonstrate that the essence of the Torah is "written on their hearts" and operating there. Their consciences act as additional witnesses to this, and their reasoning faculties alternately condemn or perhaps exonerate them)
"Written on their hearts": an allusion to Deut. 11:18; Yirmiyahu/Jer. 31:33.
16. on the day when Elohim sorts out the motives men have kept concealed, which is in agreement with my [version of the] Gospel through Yahshua the Messiah.
My version: or the aspect of the glad message that I am called to proclaim, which focused primarily on those who had been outside the covenant.
17. Now you, who bear the name "Jew", who rest [your hopes] on the Torah, and pride yourself in your knowledge of Elohim,
18. "understanding His will", and [able to] distinguish the difference between things holy and profane, having been so instructed through the Torah,
19. being confident that you are indeed a guide to the blind, a light to those in darkness,
20. an instructor to those who act irrationally, a teacher of the untaught, having the fullest, most accurate expression of genuine knowledge and of the truth in the Torah--
Fullest... expression: Aramaic, an example.
21. how is it, then, that you, being the one who teaches another, do not teach yourself? As the one who preaches against stealing, do you yourself then steal?
22. As the one saying, "Do not commit adultery", are you committing adultery yourself? As one who is repulsed by the idols, are you guilty of robbing their temples?
Robbing temples: Apparently this actually happened, perhaps in the Jews' zeal to desecrate what they knew was not a true elohim. Aramaic, spoil the house of the holies.
23. You who make your boast in the Torah, are you dishonoring Elohim through your transgression of the [very same] Torah?
24. Because just as it has been written, "on your account Elohim's name is being treated with contempt among the Gentiles."
Treated with contempt: or blasphemed, reviled, railed at reproachfully. The quote is from Yeshayahu/Isaiah 52:5 and Yehezqel/Ezekiel 36:20; this forms the background for Paul' later argument in 14:3, 4.
25. Circumcision is indeed useful if you observe the Torah, but if you are a transgressor of Torah, your circumcised state becomes in reality uncircumcision,
Circumcision: the physical sign that one has taken on the observance of Torah.
26. whereas, if the "uncircumcision" fulfills the moral requirements of the Torah, won't he in his uncircumcised condition be counted as if he were circumcised?
Uncircumcision: an epithet Jews used of pagans. But the precise term used is important. It is not the word for those who had never been circumcised, but those "having foreskins", a subtle difference perhaps, but it throws much light on exactly who they were, for we are told in 1 Makkabim 1:15 that when some in Israel persuaded their fellows that it would be to their advantage to realign themselves with their Gentile neighbors, taking on their ways, they built a gymnasium in Yerushalayim and in order to not be ostentatiously different from those against whom they competed in the nude, "made themselves uncircumcised"--this same term. They actually had surgery replacing their foreskins in some fashion. So the term bears special connection to those who were once part of the covenant of Yahweh but made a clear decision to leave it behind and take on Gentile ways. The Jews, as corrupt as many of them had become in this era, still retained their identity as the tribe of Yehudah. The Northern Kingdom had deliberately "mixed itself among the peoples" (Hos. 7:8), meaning it had become so mingled as to be very confusing to determine which were Israelites any longer. Counted as if: This lays the groundwork for his arguments in chapters 14, 15.
27. And won't those who are physically uncircumcised, by keeping the law, call you into condemnation, who transgress the Torah though you have the letter and are circumcised?
Physically: literally, by nature, i.e., through no fault of their own. The letter: the complete written form of YHWH's revelation, which others did not have.
28. For it's not the one who appears to be a Jew who is a real Jew, nor is true circumcision that which is done in the visible flesh,
Appears to be: or is recognizeable as, in contrast with the Northern Kingdom.
29. but he is really a Jew who is one inwardly, and the truest circumcision is of the heart, not so much in letter as in spirit-- who is praised not by men, but by YHWH.
Inwardly: or, in the hidden part. Not so much in letter as in spirit: not in the literal sense so much as in the attitude it portrays. Of the heart: as in Deut. 10:16. Who is praised: The root word for "Jew" in Hebrew is "praise". So a true "Jew" is anyone who praises Elohim "in spirit and in truth". (Yochanan 4:24)
CHAPTER 3
1. So then what advantage is there for the Jew, and what is the use of being circumcised?
2. Much in every sense! First of all, indeed, they were entrusted with the very words of YHWH!
Words: utterances, oracles. All of the authoritative verbal revelation came through the people of Israel, which is often how "Jews" is used today and already was in Paul's day, since they were the only remaining part of the nation that was easily identifiable. They have the very real advantage of having preserved and understanding as native speakers the nuances of the Hebrew language in which YHWH revealed Himself.
3. But what if some of them did not believe? Won't their unbelief discharge YHWH [from His] obligation [to them]?
Discharge from His obligation: or, inactivate His faithfulness.
4. May it never be! YHWH would prove true, even if every man were unfaithful, just as it is written: "...so that You might be justified in what You say, and vindicated when You are being scrutinized." [Psalm 51:4]
5. But if our violation thus demonstrates YHWH's righteousness, what are we to say? That YHWH is unjust to enforce the angry punishment that is due us? (I speak according to human [reasoning].)
Our, we: i.e., the Jews, a blanket term here since Paul was part of the Southern Kingdom, though actually of the tribe of Binyamin, not Yehudah. Demonstrates: brings together the evidence in a way that as the two are placed side by side in comparison only serves to prove it all the more unquestionably. Human reasoning: i.e., as men would argue to evade responsibility; I recognize the irreverence of such ways of speaking.
6. May it never be! Otherwise how could YHWH judge the world?
If He let the Jews' sin go unpunished, He would have to be consistent in His leniency and no wrongs anywhere could be set right, nor any justice done.
7. But if by my lying YHWH's truth is brought all the more honor, why I am I the one [still being] judged as a sinner?
8. And why not say (as some wrongly accuse us of saying and others claim that we say), "Let's do evil things in order that benefit may come of it"? Those who say such things deserve the condemnation [they will receive]!
Claim: or quote, without hearing directly from us. Deserve the condemnation: Or, they would be right to judge me if that were what I had really meant to say.
9. So, then, do we [Jews] measure up as any better than others after all? Not at all! For we have already brought forward the evidence that both Jews and Greeks are categorized as sinners,
10. just as it has been written,
"There is not a righteous person--not one!
11. "There is none that understands,
Not even one who seeks after YHWH;
12. "All have turned aside from the way;
together they have become useless;
Not one shows kindness--Not so much as one!" [Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3]
Kindness: Septuagint; Heb., doing what is beneficial.
13. "Their throat is an open grave; they deceived with their tongues."
"Vipers' poison is under their lips" [Psalms 5:9; 140:3]
Throat: or voicebox; Heb., His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and injury. Grave: an idiom for corruption. Deceived: or flattered.
14. "whose mouths are full of cursing and bitterness [gall]. [Psalm 10:7]
15. "Their feet are overquick to shed blood; [Prov. 1:16]
16. "devastation and misery remain strewn in their tracks,
17. "and they were not familiar with a pathway of peace." [Yeshayahu/Isaiah 59:7-8]
18. "There is no fear of Elohim before their eyes." [Psalm 36]
19. Now we know that whatever the Torah says, it is speaking to those living within the framework of the Torah, so that every mouth may be silenced, and all the world may come to be [categorized as equally] under Elohim's judgment,
Silenced: stopped up, i.e., dumbfounded, without excuse.
20. "because before Your face no one who is alive can be righteous" [Psalm 143:2] on the grounds of undertaking to accomplish [adherence to the] Torah, since through this same Torah comes a precise, accurate knowledge of sin.
No one who is alive: or, not everyone who is alive. Undertaking to accomplish Torah: misconstruing the commands as rules which will magically obligate YHWH to reward us. The phrase is the translation of a Hebrew phrase (Ma'aseh haTorah) which had a special meaning of a set of 24 particular commands thought by the Qumran sect to be especially efficacious in rendering one ritually pure. Knowledge of sin: or, recognition of sin's sinfulness. Though absolutely correct in itself, it could hardly effect purification, being itself tainted by its very mention of specific sins.
21. However, another kind of righteousness has now been actualized--from YHWH yet outside [the] Torah (though the Torah and the Prophets did indeed bear witness to it),
Outside: separate from, but on the perimeter surrounding it, thus not in antithesis to the Torah or outside its scope, but from a source independent of human efforts to keep it. It gets around the limitations of the Torah (cf. 8:3) since one who leaves the covenant cannot re-enter it unless he has a kinsman redeemer.
22. this being the righteousness from Elohim Himself which is [available] to anyone on account of the faithfulness of Yahshua the Messiah [reaching] to all and [extending] over all who place their confidence in Him, because there is no distinction [made],
For anyone: Jews or not, or those who have been Torah-observant or not. Thus it can still be offered to those who have been unfaithful to the Covenant, namely the Northern Kingdom, and be extended to the rest of the world as well. Faithfulness of Messiah: to vicariously obey the complete Torah for us so that we could be reinstated into the covenant. Reaching and extending over all: just as the blood of atonement was sprinkled toward and upon the whole congregation.
23. since all have sinned, and [therefore] fall short of earning praise from Elohim
Fall short: when thus clamoring for His goodwill through attempts at observance, which is not the purpose of Torah. Alt., lack the splendor Elohim has.
24. [yet are] being undeservedly declared [to have the] right standing due to His [empowering] favor through the ransom that [comes] through Messiah Yahshua,
Declared to have the right standing: Aram., given place, or placed. Ransom: or kinsman-redemption, i.e., liberation via payment.
25. Whom Elohim has set forth openly as [being] an acceptable means of appeasing wrath on account of the faithfulness in regard to His [own] blood, to provide vivid proof of His integrity when, in Elohim's forbearance, He passes over the sins that had occurred previously,
His blood: which He faithfully presented to the Father as High Priest, as on the Day of Atonement. (cf. Yochanan 20:17; Heb. 9:12) Alt., through placing confidence in His blood, i.e., in what it accomplished on our behalf (v. 24). Forbearance: holding back judgment until the innocent substitute who could bear it came.
26. adding to the evidence of His justice in the present season (that He can be correct when declaring anyone who partakes of Yahshua's faithfulness to be innocent).
Present season: a fixed grace period when amnesty is offered for any who wish to re-enter the covenant. Partakes of the faithfulness of Yahshua: that is, in paying the debt. His payment can now be credited to whomever will accept it.
27. So then, what becomes of our boasting? It has been precluded! On the basis of what principle? One of self-efforts? Not at all! Rather, through a principle of faith.
Boasting: about our record of holy behavior. Precluded: All grounds for pride are removed. Self-efforts: or accomplishments (in regard to Torah observance).
28. We infer, then, that on the grounds of faith a person [can] be counted righteous, getting around the [requirement for] accomplishment of [complete] Torah [observance].
We can be "grandfathered in" to the covenant again through Yahshua. This does not mean the normal requirement is cancelled, but only that it can be waived in this case due to this additional factor.
29. Or is He the Elohim only of the Jews, and not of the Gentiles also? No, He is the Elohim of Gentiles also,
If Gentiles must become Jewish in order to belong to Elohim--which would be the case if right standing with YHWH could be based only on Torah-observance -- then YHWH is only a local deity like all the rest, and not the Elohim of anyone anywhere in the world who trusts in Him.
30. since it is one and the same Elohim Who will justify the circumcised (through faith) and the uncircumcised (also through faith).
Compare Deut. 10:16, which says the truest circumcision is that of the "heart". Paul's Epistle to the Galatians discusses this in more detail. Faith: confidence in what Yahshua has accomplished for us.
31. So then, are we saying that the Torah is done away with on account of this confidence? May it never be! On the contrary, we firmly uphold the Torah.
Firmly uphold: or stand it up so it is immoveable, unharmed and intact through any attack, stick by it, establish it, keep it in place; Aramaic: We raise it up. In demonstrating, as above, that Elohim's standard goes against our natural inclinations and drives us to Him for mercy, the Torah fulfills one of its purposes, causing us to hold it in still higher esteem than ever.
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Chapters 6-8
CHAPTER 6
1. What shall we say, then? That we should continue in sin so that grace might overflow?
These seems a logical conclusion, and indeed one that some have drawn.
2. May it never be! How can we who died to sin continue to live in it?
Shall those who have put our confidence in the Obedient one go on living in disobedience? (Nanos) Why should we who have been given a new nature which is obedient keep living according to the old? While YHWH sovereignly used sin's presence to provide a starker background by which to highlight His love and purity, sin is now a foreign thing to us, and thus is no longer appropriate, even though the penalty has already been paid.
3. Or aren't you aware that all who were immersed into Messiah Yahshua were immersed into His death?
Ritual immersion as had been practiced by Israel for centuries before this is a picture of dying--a clean break with an old condition--and entering into a new life. It is used when converting to the worship of YHWH, when re-entering a ritually pure condition after being in a state of defilement, when taking on a new role (such as priest), and when preparing to enter the Temple, the symbol of YHWH's presence on earth. Crossing the Yarden River into the Holy Land was another example of the same imagery; thus it is very appropriate that the only recorded instance of Yahshua's immersion was also in the Yarden River, making both pictures converge!
4. Thus we were buried with Him through immersion into His death, in order that just as Messiah was raised from the dead in glory of the Father, we should likewise walk in newness of life.
Glory: majesty as exhibited in deeds of power, by which His name comes to be held in high estimation. Newness: Aramaic, renewal. Bullinger's Companion Bible renders it "life-long newness". Guthrie summarizes: "Salvation from... wrath is only the negative side of [justification]. If [Messiah's] death achieves the negative aspect, His life is the basis for the positive."
5. For if we have been planted together in the representation of His death, we shall certainly also be [united with Him] in the resurrection;
Planted together: Bullinger, identified. While the main uniting is with Messiah, there is room for this statement to include the two Houses of Israel (here seen as Jew and Gentile) also being united to one another in the process. (Compare 11:17 and Yoch./John 12:24.) Representation (depiction) of His death: that is, the immersion mentioned above, by which we demonstrate that identification openly. The term actually means a likeness "well-nigh to equality". (Thayer)
6. knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the body could cease to operate as an instrument of sin, and we should therefore no longer be slaves to sin,
Our old man: or humanity--the nature inherited from Adam, with its corrupted traits; the underlying "sin" that only results in "sins", the particular instances. Contrast with the "new man" of Eph. 2:15; 4:24; Col. 3:10. Cease to operate as: or, that the body of sin might be deprived of its effectiveness by disuse; Aramaic, be annulled. This is an indirect answer to the charge that the Torah was being "done away with"--the same word used in 3:31. This connection explains his logic in the next two chapters that it is we, not the Torah, that are done away with. Doing away with the sins is not enough; the sinner must be executed, so the motivating factor itself changes, not just the actions, though by the same token, the actions must change or there is no evidence that the
7. because whoever has died has been freed from sin.
Freed: legally acquitted from the jurisdiction of sin, since, in YHWH's eyes, if Messiah died in our place, it is truly we who have died. (N. Grubb) Having participated in Yahshua's death means that we have no obligation to our passions or old habits, just as a freed slave can disregard any commands his former master shouts at him, though shout he still does and the conditioning runs deep.
8. But if we died with the Messiah, we have confidence that we shall also live with Him,
This gives new meaning to the old hymn that asks, "Were you there when He rose up from the grave?" Indeed we were!
9. [since we] know that the Messiah was raised from the dead, never to die again; death no longer holds power over Him.
Others were raised from the dead, but assumedly died again, since they were brought back into the same fallen, corrupt bodies.
10. For [the death] that He died, He died once and for all [in reference] to sin, but insofar as He is alive, He [keeps on] living for YHWH.
As in 5:15, the positive aspect prevails: though death accomplished this separation from the cancer that had overtaken us, the real intent was to bring us to the lifestyle we were always meant to have, as "slaves to righteousness" (v. 18). The Torah lifestyle (when the spirit behind it is understood properly) is what holds the old nature at bay. To the immediate audience, this meant subordinating freedoms that they found enjoyable (v. 17; 12:1ff; 16;17) to the higher goal of being able to reunite with a Yehudah that was still hesitant to believe that YHWH had also brought new life to these "Gentiles" as well (ch. 14-15), thus proving that the Messiah (whose role it is to inaugurate this) must have already come. If we are in Him, and He in us, every bit of our energy should be moving in the same direction, not working against what He is doing:
11. You, too, must then recognize yourselves to be dead indeed in regard to sin, but alive for YHWH's sake, in identification with the Messiah (who is our Master, Yahshua).
Recognize: or consider; let this understanding so pervade your consciousness so as to make the positional truth effective in practicality.
12. So do not let sin be "king" in regard to your mortal body, [pulling you back] under a [perceived obligation to] listen to its cravings;
Mortal body: Aramaic, dead body, referring back to the body that has been immersed into Yahshua's death, and thus declared dead as far as any obligation to sin is concerned. Cravings: Aramaic, pantings.
13. neither should you yield yourselves to sin as tools of unrighteousness, but rather place yourselves at YHWH's disposal, as alive but having come out of a condition of being dead, and yield the members of your bodies to YHWH as instruments of righteousness,
Tools: passively used for another's purpose, as pawns for YHWH's antagonist (for no one can be anything but a slave to either sin or YHWH, v. 16). Contrast this with the active, conscious yielding to a new Master.
14. because sin shall no longer lord it over you, since you are no longer subject to Torah, but to the power of YHWH's empowering favor.
No longer subject to Torah: i.e., not under its authority to condemn you, though this is for the purpose of now becoming its active partners. Paul contrasts it to YHWH's empowerment in a way he never does with the Torah itself (7:12), so this term must, like "the works of Torah", have referred to a particular heresy that misunderstands what obedience to Torah means. (Trimm) Stern renders "Torah" here as "legalistic interpretation of Torah". Trimm notes that the Greek word nomos, which can mean Torah or any law, stems from a Hebrew/Aramaic root meaning "to civilize" or "make polite", which is indeed what the Torah does for us. There is no choice but to be obedient now; the choice is between whether to submit to Messiah's "easy yoke" (Mat. 11:28ff) or a view of Torah as burdensome, which emphasizes its power to condemn. Empowering favor: includes both amnesty for sin and the ability generously given to be able to accomplish what Torah aimed at--the positive effects of holiness, without unnecessary fear of being condemned for going about it wrongly. Since Yahshua has undergone the penalty for the time when we were not obedient, Torah now has only positive meaning for those who submit to it: teaching us countless things about YHWH and His Messiah (Heb. 10:7), bringing us great reward (Ps. 19:11), freeing us from unnecessary obstacles (Ex. 15:26; Yehoshua 1:8). Our attitude toward it now can be one of unmixed love. (Ps. 119:97) How this became translated to ignoring it completely is a sample of the subtlety of the enemy's deceit. How can we ignore a house plan and expect to build the house correctly?
15. What then? Shall we sin because we are no longer under the Torah's [condemnation], but under YHWH's empowering favor? May it never be!
We are never "above" Torah, but we are "beside" it as its partners once we have internalized it. (Gal. 3:19-4:7) Empowering favor: includes both amnesty for our failings, a "grace" period bought for us to become what we had ceased to be, and positive encouragement by which He motivates us to obey from the heart. This should result in fuller obedience than isolated, disjointed legalistic commands ever could prompt.
16. Don't you know that you become slaves, obligated to obey whichever master you yield yourselves to--whether it be sin, which results in death, or the obedience that results in righteousness?
17. But thanks be to YHWH that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart a standard of teaching into which you were delivered,
A standard of teaching: or, paradigm of a new lifestyle--the same one decided upon at the Yerushalayim Council (Acts 15:22-31) of what is incumbent on non-Jews to be considered "righteous" (16:17).
18. and, having been liberated from sin, you were made subject to righteousness.
Made subject: If we leave one area of servitude, we by definition enter the service of the other. The Exodus freed Israel from Pharaoh to serve YHWH. To be free from sin's control while still in fallen bodies, there is still a discipline by which we must live (Torah), but it has no direct connection with earning YHWH's favor. It is a myth that we can actually serve self; that is really only one more form of serving sin. These non-Jewish believers were claiming to be free from the Torah, but there is no "freedom" in an absolute sense, but only freedom from one of the only two masters that truly exist, so that we are free TO serve the other.
19. I am speaking in human terms on account of your human nature's inability to understand this: with that in mind, just as you yielded the members of your [bodies] into servitude to uncleanness and to one kind of lawlessness after another, so now "enlist" your bodies in the service of righteousness, whose outcome will be sanctification.
Your...inability to understand: This is a mild rebuke to those who prided themselves on their "ability" to understand something their Jewish neighbors could not. (Ch. 14-15) One kind of lawlessness after another: being sucked deeper and deeper into things contrary to Torah. Enlist: yield yourself rather than being "drafted" against your will into another, unprofitable, kind of service. But he has in mind a particular result to be gained by their step-by-step growth in holiness which is larger than a merely personal lifestyle of righteousness: the salvation of Jews who do not yet believe. (Ch. 9-12). For this reason he asks them to suppress their bodily lusts (in this case, culinary tastes) for a higher purpose.
20. Since we are using such terms, then [we could say that] when you were in the service of sin, you were "free" with regard to righteousness;
21. but tell me, what fruit did you have then from the labors over which you are now ashamed? For the final [installment of the] payback from those things is [nothing but] death!
Final payback: we could render it "severance pay".
22. But now that you have been set free from sin and "enlisted" in YHWH's service, you have your fruit, which leads to being made holy--and has everlasting life as its final "kickback",
23. since the [only] "benefit" sin pays is death, while the "bonus" that comes from YHWH is eternal life in Messiah Yahshua, our Master.
Benefit: soldier's pay or allowance, especially the part given in lieu of money. Bonus: an unearned, free gift.
CHAPTER 7
1. Or are you ignorant, brothers and sisters (because I am speaking to those who are knowledgeable in legal matters) that the law holds dominion over a man only as long as he is alive?
Legal matters: or, the Torah (in particular).
2. What I mean is that the married woman was bound to her husband for as long as he lives, but if the husband dies, she is released from "the law of the husband".
Husband: Aramaic, master.
3. Thus, while the husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress if she becomes another man's, but if the husband dies, she is released from the law, and is not an adulteress if she becomes another man's.
The Torah addresses the nature of the first Adam (1 Tim. 1:9), but now there is a second Adam. (1 Cor. 15:45ff)
4. So then, my brothers and sisters, you were made dead with regard to the Torah through the Messiah's body, so that you could come to belong to another--to the One who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for YHWH.
Dead with regard to the Torah: i.e., freed from the need for it to stir up sin in us and bring a penalty. (v. 5) Messiah's body: i.e, on the execution pole, but also, when we live as members of YHWH's Body instead of thinking of ourselves as individuals, we become too busy doing what is right to have any time to do wrong. Belong to another: with nothing, however holy, standing in the way. An Israelite man is permitted to remarry the same woman as long as she has not married another man in the meantime. (Deut. 24:1-4) As Hoshea was told to take his wife back home but not live with her as a wife for a long period (Hos. 3), Y'shua had come to bring YHWH's wife back into the household. (Eph. 2:19) The sentence of "No pity" was up, but not until much later when the second sentence of "not being My people" was up would the wedding come, when we again call Him "my man" instead of "lord". (Hos. 2:16) The certificate of debt (both the original contract by which our unfaithfulness could be measured, and the divorce document) was taken out of the way through Y'shua. (Col. 2:13-14) How? In ancient Israel when a man went to war, he wrote a divorce document and left it with his wife in case he should die in battle and his body not be found, in which case she was free to marry another. (Avi ben Mordechai) Y'shua's body was not found when searched for after His death "in battle", and thus the covenant could be renewed as a clean slate. Israel could have a "new" husband--though He was the same one--but with all of our past offenses erased. (Heb. 9:15)
5. For whenever we [operate] in the flesh, the sinful passions in our members are aided by the Torah in bearing fruit [that leads] toward death.
Flesh: not to be equated with the physical body, but the mere natural power of our fallen human nature, which falls short (3:23; 8:1) even if the intent is to do right. Aided: Aramaic, exhorted, i.e., even encouraged. (vv. 7-8)
6. But now we have been released from the Torah by dying in relation to that which firmly kept us in its possession, so we can serve in the newness of spirit, and not in the old [manner]--that of letter.
Released: or cut loose; had it nullified toward us. From the Torah: not its true standards but its obligation to punish us for sinning (Gal. 3:24-4:2). That which firmly kept us in its possession: sin, not the Torah. Not in... the letter: a Hebraic idiom for "not so much in the letter as in the spirit (intent) behind it", for the letter does define HOW to love one another, through concrete examples for which we will find many new, unwritten parallels as we understand the point behind them. The spirit is the Torah also, but it is its heart (animating force), without which the mere letter is indeed a lifeless shell that has the result described in verses 7-11. Notice that it was not the Torah that died, but we, as Messiah's Body, died, so that sin, which held us captive and had a right to because the Torah said we were guilty and deserved death, would no longer have any claim to us. I.e., our one-time past relationship to the Torah, under which we were condemned, was severed by the death of the Messiah, for it was as if we were executed for our infractions when He was, in our stead.
7. What should we say, then? "The Torah is in error"? Never! Still, I would never have known what sin was, except by means of Torah. For example, I did not understand that there was such a thing as covetousness, except that the Torah said, "You shall not covet." [Exodus 20:14]
Covetousness is not a tangible thing (though in Aramaic it is called "panting" here, which clarifies the concept). As a sin chiefly of the mind, it might be overlooked. But enter Torah, and we know what is forbidden. As Adam and Chavvah did not know there could be such a thing as evil (which also has no substance as such), until there was an occasion to contrast it with something else (the knowledge of good and evil), the Torah brought to our attention the potential for getting off track, and showed us that there was an (albeit perverse) alternative to the straightforward truth we had known. It made us curious about what was on the "other side of the fence", and this became an obsession until we found out what it was, even though it was not only disappointing but also hurtful once we tried it. Childhood ignorance is lost once one knows the law that is designed to teach us to make distinctions (Lev. 10:10). Y'shua, given the same choice, went from being innocent to being righteous, while Adam went from innocent to guilty. But covetousness even corrupts religious desires--wrong motives for doing right, such as spiritual pride, rivalry, or trying to "score points" with YHWH.
8. In other words, sin, taking occasion through the commandment, was empowered to produce in me every sort of coveting.
Taking occasion: using as its base of operations. A commandment can arouse a latent potential for sin by its very suggestion of what should not be done (arousing latent evil by its very suggestion of sins we might never have imagined otherwise), as the same sun that makes flowers fragrant brings the foul steams of the dunghill to the surface. (Henry) It has the same effect as eating the forbidden fruit, not because it is evil, but because it opens our eyes to the possibility of things being abused (itself a form of death), and thus ruins us for any nobler use until the solution--true, deep-heart atonement--is accepted.
9. [You could say] I was "alive" then, apart from the Torah, but with the coming of the commandment, the sin revived, and I "died",
Alive: since where there is no law, there can be no violation. (4:15) Then: i.e., the theoretical time (though not literal in Paul's life) before he was made familiar with the Torah.
10. and the commandment that was designed [to bring] life turned out in my case to [be bringing] death,
Bringing death: as a body is further inflamed by a medicine that is not strong enough to carry away its disease. We spoiled even the Torah when we, in our fallenness, got our hands on it, so we had to be separated even from it so that we could be re-formed and re-created. The Torah is known in mystical circles as the garment that merely enwraps (thus taking the shape of) the Man it covers, but if we focus too strongly on the garment (which also must be laid aside if there is to be intimacy with the true husband), it too becomes idolatry, and we defeat the entire purpose. Therefore YHWH went back to the drawing board and renewed the covenant in different terms, though its content and purpose, when put back in the proper order, were the same as ever.
11. because sin, seizing the occasion through the commandment, deceived me, thereby killing me.
Deceived: or, misled (due to our faulty understanding of what the Torah was aiming at). This pattern is repeated every time Torah throws light on another way we fail to line up with YHWH's standard. It topples us from our sense of being in "good standing" and forces us to seek the power to love YHWH which only He can give when we come to Him for mercy.
12. Thus the Torah is indeed holy, and the commandment, holy and just and right.
This is the basic, core belief by we must judge everything else Paul ever says about the Torah. If we were cut off from the Torah, it was so we could be resurrected to the relationship it was truly meant to have toward us (teaching us to know YHWH, not becoming a substitute for Him), but with amnesty for the past, a fresh start.
13. Has what is right, then, come to mean death for me? May it never be! Rather, the sin, in order that it could be brought to light and shown to be sin, has produced death for me through what is right, so that by means of the commandment the sin might come to be seen for what it is--sinful beyond measure.
We can no longer make excuses once it exposes our motives. The true standard is made clear through the Torah, though other nations who are not designed to be His intimate people might go happily on their way thinking they are guiltless. But all through the Scripture we are reminded that they live pointless lives in which, in the words of the Shakharit (dawn) prayers, "most of their deeds are desolate and the days of their lives are empty before You. The preeminence of man over beast is non-existent, for all is vanity." Right: or beneficial; Aramaic, sin, seen as sin, by the graced perfected death in me that is especially condemned by the commandment.
14. For we know that the Torah is spiritual; however, I am [still] carnal, having been sold into [slavery to] sin--
15. indeed, I don't even understand my own behavior, because I [end up] doing what I do not want to do, but the very thing I hate--that's what I [find myself] doing!
No matter how high our ideals, we are not equipped to live according to the laws of a pure nature when we ourselves are corrupt.
16. However, if "what I don't want [to do is exactly] what I do", then I am [in fact] in agreement with the Torah--that it is [eminently] praiseworthy.
I concur wholeheartedly, but the fallen nature renders me unable to respond to this new upward pull because of the greater natural strength of the evil inclination which, like a spiritual law of gravity, is also present. The Torah's failure to justify us before YHWH lies not from any defect in the teachings themselves, but in us who misuse them. (Berkowitz) Praiseworthy: Aramaic, beautiful. Again, this is Paul's root opinion about the Torah, by which we must interpret all his other statements!
17. In this case, it is no longer I who am acting; rather, the sin that inhabits me [is what is working through me].
Inhabits: Aram., dominates, as a slavemaster who can order one to act against his better judgment. Enchained to Adam's mutated genetic makeup, our habits are still evil, but once we agree with YHWH's verdict and stop trying to justify ourselves, we receive a new option, though the old is still with us until physical death frees us from it.
18. Thus I know that nothing useful resides in me--that is, in my natural constitution--because the desiring to do [what is] beneficial is present with me, but to accomplish it, I find no [power within myself],
Nothing useful resides in me: Lamsa renders the Aramaic, "Yet I know that it does not fully dominate me." Present with me: near at hand, yet still just out of reach--an excruciating source of frustration. (v. 24) Aramaic, easy (simple) for me.
19. because I do not do what I wish (the beneficial); rather, what I do not wish to do (the evil) is just what I [find] myself [actually] doing.
20. But if "I" do what I do not really wish to do, then it is no longer my real self who is perpetrating it, but rather the sin that resides within me initiates it.
The new nature remains entrapped by our bodies' remaining weakness, but YHWH no longer counts this our truest self--see 8:1,2; He does not recognize us as the ones living out our old tendencies, but lays the blame on the slavemaster who gave the orders, as the higher-in-command is considered the real war criminal, not the one forced to carry them out.
21. Consequently I find it to be a law that although I am the one desiring to do right, the evil inclination is nearer at hand--
Law: here, an operative principle, not a command, though using the same term heightens the sense of tension between our natural inclination and YHWH's requirements. Stern renders it, "a kind of perverse 'torah'." Nearer at hand: distracting me from what I really want to pay attention to. It is our "nearer kinsman" that stands in the way of a better one redeeming us. (Ruth 3:12) Trimm renders it, "I find a Torah that unites with my mind, which desires to do good."
22. for according to the inward man I delight in YHWH's Torah,
23. but I see another principle at work in my bodily members, having waged war against the principle by which my mind [operates], and taking me captive through the principle of sin that exists within my members.
Principle: or "law", the same word used here for Torah. Mind: reason, capacity for spiritual truth, higher powers of the soul to recognize the right and hate the evil.
24. What a miserable man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is given over to [what only brings] death?
Miserable: wretched, troubled, afflicted. Rescue me: or, draw me to Himself. Given over to: or sold into slavery to "this whole morbid package of frustrating tendencies"!
25. I thank YHWH, [it has been accomplished] through Yahshua the Messiah, our Master! Consequently, then, I myself truly serve the law of YHWH with my mind, though the flesh [may still operate according to] the principle of sin.
What was accomplished? The severance from the penalty in the Torah for what our natural inclinations still tend toward. Serve: or submit to, yield obediently to.
CHAPTER 8
1. [There is] therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yahshua,
The new nature, which YHWH regards as the true self (v. 9), can no longer have blame laid to it, for the penalty has been paid; we, as the Body, are identified with the righteous character of our Head, who paid it. (7:17, 20; 1 Yoch. 3:9) "[YHWH's] loving commands, which express His desire for our fellowship, have through the Fall become law, and as such are negative and prohibitive rules that condemn man. Yet through the Gospel the same law is transformed... again into the loving commands of [YHWH]." (Althaus) Some manuscripts add here the last phrase in v. 4, including the Aramaic (the earliest extant translation), which reads, for those who in Messiah Yahshua do not walk in the flesh, or, who walk not in the flesh but in Yahshua the Messiah.
2 because the principle of the spirit of life in Messiah Yahshua set me free from the principle of sin and of death--
Only the approach changes, as the law of aerodynamics prevails over, but does not cancel, the law of gravity. (Bedell) We are empowered to rise above the old nature's tendencies while still living in a body subject to its influence. (v. 11) Justice having been satisfied, we can again see YHWH's commands as an expression of His desire that life be the best it can be in a fallen world, rather than something that condemns us. They are solid ground to land on; their "teeth" are removed and they become mainly instructive--our friends--once we are free from fear in regard to whether we have observed them well enough.
3. for since the Torah was powerless, in that it was weak due to [our] natural condition, YHWH (by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and [specifically] to deal with sin) condemned sin in the flesh
Powerless: to, by itself, empower us to overcome the pull in the opposite direction. (ch. 7) It "lacked the power to make the old nature cooperate." (Stern) Also, once we had forsaken the covenant, it held only condemnation for us, and did not contain the mechanism by which a whole nation, once shattered, could return, unbesmirched, to favor with YHWH. Also, Sha'ul again uses the motif of "weakness" to set the stage for his answer to those who consider others "weaker" than themselves. (Segal, Nanos; cf. note on 7:7) Condemned sin: not merely judged, but rendered it even more censurable because of His perfect example--though the focus is on taking away the penalty for us through satisfying justice perfectly Himself. In the likeness of sinful flesh: Though tempted in every way (Heb. 4:15), He was flesh and did not sin, thus precluding any idea that the physical nature, as such, is inherently evil. To deal with sin: The main purpose of Yahshua's first coming as the "Messiah ben Yoseyf" was to be "bruised for our iniquities" (Yesh. 53:5), whereas when He returns in the role of "Messiah ben David", it will be "without reference to sin" on the part of those whom He has already cleansed (6:10; Heb. 9:12, 26-28; Yoch. 15:3) In the flesh: Aramaic, in His (Yahshua's) flesh. I.e., by incorporating into Himself all the unpunished sins especially of the prodigal Northern Kingdom, He was able to pay off their penalty and thus nullify our debt, so that sin had no more claim on us. Torah: the same word in Greek and Aramaic as the two "principles" in v. 2, and hence here it may refer to the latter of these rather than the Torah of Moshe, but not in v. 4:
4. in order that the righteous requirement of the Torah may be fulfilled in us (those who are not ordering our lives according to flesh but according to spirit),
Righteous requirement of the Torah: the outcome that YHWH had originally intended before there was a Torah: true love towards YHWH and one's neighbor. It counts as equivalent in His eyes as long as we keep ordering our lives (literally, walking, a concrete Hebrew way of putting it) along that path and not the other, though we are still in sin-infested bodies.
5. since those who are [living] according to flesh direct their minds to the things of earthly nature, whereas those [living] according to spirit [direct their minds to] the things of the spirit,
According to the flesh: Here, specifically, those more concerned that they were free to eat certain things without seeing that it was preventing those who were obligated to kosher laws from recognizing them as genuinely possessing a salvation that the latter also needed. Direct their minds to the things of earthly nature: though they now have the option of not doing so. Living according to spirit: letting their human spirits, revived by being reconnected to YHWH's Spirit, be united into one operating force, thus pursuing the things of the spirit realm.
6. because the mindset of the flesh is [one of] death, but the mindset of the spirit, [one of] life and peace,
The mindset of the flesh: the natural way of thinking, the "psychic" mind of 1 Cor. 2:12-15 which cannot comprehend spiritual matters, but judges according to its own feelings or reasonings.
7. since the mindset of the flesh is one of enmity against YHWH, for not only it is not submissive to YHWH's law; it is not even able to be!
This explanation of the limitations of human religion unaided by YHWH's intervention accounts for Sha'ul's lack of success (ch. 7). Enmity: in Aramaic, the word is the equivalent of the Hebrew Ba'al-zebub. Able: The same term used of one faction in the debate Sha'ul is addressing here (ch. 14-15).
8. Thus those who operate in the [strength of] flesh [alone] have no power to please Elohim.
9. You, however, are not in flesh, but in spirit, since the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you--though if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, that person does not belong to Him.
Sha'ul again uses the language of positional identification with Messiah (6:3ff; 1 Cor. 15:22). Though we still have a "fleshly" nature, that is not where YHWH locates our "true self" (7:17, 20); rather, that is in the spirit--the part of the person that, as the first installment of three, has been fully reborn and perfected (v. 30), and already "seated with [Messiah] in heavenly places." (Eph. 2:6) Spirit of Messiah: distinguished here from the spirit of Elohim, but laying the foundation for the latter to build a home in us also.
10. But if Messiah is in you, then, though the body is indeed dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If Messiah is in you: as we are in Him (as opposed to "in Adam")--a perfect union. The body is dead: having already begun the process of dying, being no longer perfect; in the same way, our spirit is already counted as alive and capable of growing in influence, as we allow it to. (v. 11) Literally, the spirit is life. As Adam was considered dead the day he sinned, those who have opened the door to Yahshua are counted alive, though our minds still have much to comprehend about who we are and how we ought to live this truth out.
11. Moreover, if the Spirit of the One who raised Yahshua from the dead dwells in you, then He who raised the Messiah from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies [back] to life through the indwelling of His Spirit in you.
The inward condition of life can even influence the outward condition of our dying bodies, giving us power to resist sin and invigorating us to again do what pleases YHWH; this also speaks of the complete resurrection.
12. Consequently, then, brothers and sisters, we are indeed debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh,
13. because if you live according to the flesh, the logical conclusion you are heading toward is death. But if by spirit you put to death the body's ways of acting, you will [enjoy real] life,
14. because as many as are led by Elohim's Spirit--these are sons of Elohim;
Led: Aramaic, guided. This resolves the dilemma of our not being able to always trace our roots to being literal physical descendants of Yaaqov, because "sons of Elohim" are a particular title used for those of the Northern Kingdom who were once "not a people" any longer. (Hoshea 1:10) The fact of our being drawn back to YHWH by His Spirit is what identifies who we are.
15. for you did not receive a spirit of slavery that leads you back into fear; rather, you received a spirit of adoption-as-sons, by which we cry out, "Abba!" ("Daddy!")
Sha'ul gives the Hebrew translation of "Abba" for his Greek-speaking audience, for it is the language of his heart and the language YHWH loves most to hear us praise Him in.
16. The Spirit Herself bears witness in concert with our spirit that we are children of Elohim--
Herself: itself in Greek, but in Hebrew (the pure language, Tsefanyah 3:9), spirit (ruakh) is feminine; the Aramaic actually reads, She the Spirit. This reflects YHWH's motherly aspects, since YHWH is All in all.
17. and if children, then heirs as well--heirs indeed of Elohim, and Messiah's joint recipients--provided [only] that we suffer together, in order that we may also be honored together.
18. For I reason that the sufferings [we must undergo during] the present [limited] season are not weighty enough even to be compared to the coming honor that is to be manifested in us,
Present season: the long-awaited time when shared affliction is necessary to form and shape the splendor He has put within us but kept covered up by our weak, mortal constitution. We must suffer because we have aligned ourselves with a "rebellion" against the principalities that now rule the world system, and will lash out at us as they lash out at Him. Weighty: also carrying the connotation of honor in Hebrew thought.
19. because the creation is eagerly awaiting the revelation of the sons of Elohim!
Awaiting: waiting it out, with head patiently but persistently outstretched in attentive, watchful anticipation of, with bated breath. "The creation" is a Hebrew idiom for all of mankind, especially Gentile nations, whose very origin was an unwilling subjection to confusion (1:21-28; Gen. 11:7). Thus, they are awaiting the message of release that is meant to come from those who have already experienced it. "Sons" because adopted daughters in Roman society had no rights, while adopted sons--v. 15--could inherit as if they had been naturally-born--Jews and Gentiles together! The rest of the world cannot fully experience the presence of Messiah's kingdom until those YHWH has preserved (Yesh. 49:6) and not let drop (Amos 9:9), though dispersed and no longer even aware of their identity, are again brought to light. Thayer: "the unveiling of who the sons of YHWH are". This sets the stage for the coming three chapters. The revelation also includes the message they bring to the rest. (Zech. 8:23)
20. For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own volition, but through Him who subjected it upon the hope
Futility: inappropriateness, frailty, pointless recurring cycles without direction or progress; vanity--the same word used throughout the Septuagint version of Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes. Subjected: purposefully arranged under an ordered scheme. These pointless, recurring cycles of life and death and death form a backdrop for the one big exception--the history with a direction, embodied in Israel.
21. that the creation itself will also be released from the bondage to corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the sons of Elohim.
During the "time of the restitution of all things" (Acts 3:21), the originally-intended order will be restored. (vv. 23ff)
22. We know, of course, that with this time in view, the whole creation is groaning together, feeling the agony [as] of difficult labor,
This time: the present, promised day when redemption is beginning to be proclaimed.
23. and not only [the rest of the world], however; we ourselves--who have the down-payment of the spirit--even we have groaned within ourselves, eagerly awaiting [our] adoption, the [liberation brought about by the] ransom of our body
Down-payment: or firstfruits (Heb. 6:5). Adaption: Aramaic, sons of treasure. Ransom of our body: the third installment --full practical liberty to never sin again, after being freed from the penalty of and the will to sin.
24. since we were being sustained by this hope; but hope that can be seen is not hope, for how could anyone still be hoping for what he already sees?
Not hope: If we can see what we hope for, it isn't really hope anymore.
25. But if we hope for what we do not see, with patience we eagerly await it.
With patience: this certainty of what is coming enables us to endure the struggles we have meanwhile.
26. Moreover, the Spirit joins in toward the very same goal and hangs on to help make up for our weakness, because although we do not know what we need to be praying for, the Spirit Himself pleads the case for us with sighs [that articulate the true longings which are] too deep to express by words,
27. and the One who searches the inner thoughts of our hearts understands the intent of the spirit, because [our spirit in union with His] intercedes on behalf of [those who are] holy, in agreement with what Elohim desires.
28. Moreover, we know that all things converge to help accomplish what is beneficial for those who love Elohim--to those who are being called, in line with His predetermined purpose,
Converge: in His sovereign "chemistry", even if not all are beneficial if looked at individually.
29. which is that those whom He knew in advance, He foreordained to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, so that He can be the firstborn among many siblings.
Foreordained: Primarily Israel, His "firstborn" (11:2). Perhaps it seems like circular reasoning to understand whether He first knew who would be "fit" to be conformed to Messiah's image (Thayer), and so chose them to be the ones who would believe, or whether He chose them first, then created the rest of the human race for "supporting roles" (e.g., Pharaoh in 9:15ff), but we can only rejoice in the outcome that whoever cares about the question is offered the occasion to respond to His invitation and thus "become" one of those "foreordained"! His ways are higher than ours. (Yesh. 55:9)
30. But those whom He foreordained, these He also called, and whomever He called, these He also justified; but in addition, those whom He justified, He glorified.
He glorified: From YHWH's point of view it has already taken place, and is thus, for those who continue in Him, an absolute certainly--which is the connotation of "hope" in this context, rather than the uncertain sense in which we often use this term.
31. So then, what shall we say in response to these things? If Elohim is on our side, who can succeed as our [legal] adversary?
On our side: acting in our defense; Aramaic, in our stead. Adversary: literally, be against us.
32. Truly, He who did not withhold His own Son, but delivered Him over to condemnation in order to defend us all from the same--how is it possible that He will not also freely give us everything that comes along with Him?
If we have the "down-payment", is He unwilling to give us the whole package? Dare we accuse Him of being so capricious?
33. Who will [dare to] bring any charge against the ones Elohim has selected [from among others]? Elohim is the one [doing the] justifying!
This is an allusion to Yeshayahu/Isa. 50:8, 9, a Messianic prophecy that applies to us (since what is true of the Head is true of the whole Body).
34. Who then is the one condemning? The Messiah is the one who has died, but more importantly, who also rose again, and who is at Elohim's right hand; He is the defense lawyer for us!
In other words, the only one who could bring a charge against us is on the other side--ours--if in fact we are on His side. (Yehoshua 5:14) He is the one who has made our very vindication possible, so how can our adversary's accusations stand?
35. What will then separate us from the Messiah's benevolent affection? Persecution? Calamity? Scarcity of food, or lack of clothing? Danger, or even a sword?
Persecution: or pressure. Calamity: Aramaic, confinement.
36. Just as it has been written: "For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep [earmarked] for slaughter." [Psalm 44:23]
Compare: 12:1; 2 Cor. 4:8-11; 6:4ff; 11:23-28.
37. Yet in [the midst of] all of these things, we come out more than victorious, because of the One who loves us;
More than victorious: the Aramaic word could also mean innocent or worthy.
38. indeed, I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor [the highest] authorities, nor [the] powers [of the spirit world], nor the threats that are already upon us, nor the ones that are yet to come,
Threats... already upon us: lit., (things) present.
39. nor height, nor depth, nor anything else that has been created will be able to separate us from the love of Elohim which is in Yahshua the Messiah, our Master.
Anything else that has been created: except, perhaps, our own choice, though even this is called into question by v. 29.
More on "Grace and the Law"
Chapters 15-16
More on the "Fullness of the Gentiles"
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Chapters 9-11
CHAPTER 9
1. I am telling the truth in Messiah; I am not lying, my conscience testifying as my corroborating witness in the spirit of being set apart [for a special purpose],
2. that my grief is so great, and the painful sorrow in my heart so unceasing,
3. that I could even have wished that I myself could be cut off from the Messiah in place of my brothers, my physical kinsmen--
Could have wished: the grammatical mode implies "if it were possible", which he has precluded in the previous paragraph (8:28-39); Trimm renders it "I have prayed". Note the parallels with Moshe/Moses (Exodus 32:9, 10, 32). Cut off: or, accursed. But only the Messiah qualified as an innocent substitute who could be forsaken by YHWH on behalf of others. (Mark 15:34) He did this once for all. (Heb. 7:27) Perhaps YHWH could have allowed Paul to be left out of the earthly advantages of being in the Kingdom that they did not share. Yet that was not His choice. (vv. 11-18)
4. those who are Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, the preeminence, the covenants, the giving of the Torah, the [Levitical] service [of worship], and the promises.
Israelites: in this context, he seems to be speaking only of Jews (as encompassing all of the southern Kingdom, including those token few from the north who joined Yehudah after the secession), who are readily identifiable as Israelites. An Israel that is defined both more broadly and more narrowly than this will be referred to shortly. Adoption: Aramaic, sons of treasure. Service: Aramaic, the ministry that is in it (i.e., the Torah). Preeminence: weightiest honor, most consideration in the dissemination of the Glad News of redemption.
5. The patriarchs are their own, and, according to the flesh, the Messiah Himself belongs to them--He being the foremost of all. [May] Elohim [be] blessed into the ages! Amen.
6. Now, it is not as if the word of YHWH has failed, because not all of those who come from Israel are [part of the true] Israel,
The failure of some Israelites to repent did not mean YHWH had not kept His promises. (See 11:17.) He only promised to keep the root alive. (See v. 27.) The true Israel is anyone who lives and acts as Israel. We are finding now that for the most part this true Israel is a subset of the physical descendants of Israel, but, just as at the Exodus, others from outside who join are considered just as much Israelites as the native-born. (Ex. 12:49; Num. 15:16) In fact, Paul seems to be mainly addressing the latter in this book--Romans who have joined themselves to the synagogue. Undoubtedly many were indeed descended from Israel, in part (Hoshea 7:8), since they were responding to the drawing of the spirit of sonship (8:14-17) that was resurging into every Israelite soul as the sentence of "no mercy" for the Northern Kingdom (Hoshea 1) was now up. Thus those visibly identifiable as Israel (see note on v. 4) were not the entirety of the holy nation either.
7. nor are they all children [simply] because they are the seed of Avraham; rather, "In Yitzhaq shall your seed be called." [B'reyshith/Gen. 21:12]
The particular title, "seed of Avraham", to whom the promise applied in YHWH's eyes had now narrowed to the children of Yitzhaq alone: i.e., not Yishma'el.
8. That is, it is not [simply] the children of the flesh who are these "children of Elohim"; rather, the children of the promise are [the ones who are] counted as [this] "seed",
Children of the flesh: those born by natural planning only, not by miraculous appointment (Yochanan 1:13; Gal. 4:23, 29):
9. since the wording of the promise is [like] this: "At the appointed time I will come back, and Sarah will have a son." [B'Reyshith/Gen. 18:14]
10. And not only her; Rivqah also, though she had conceived from one single [act] of our forefather Yitzhaq,
This narrowing of the scope of the promises continued, even dividing between a set of twins whose pedigree was exactly the same, yet only one of them was considered Avraham's true seed.
11. while [her sons] were still unborn (and thus when they had not yet done anything either righteous or evil), so that YHWH's decreed arrangement based on [predetermined] choice might endure as not [being] a result of [their] actions, but based on [Whom was doing the] calling,
12. she was told, "The elder shall serve the younger", [B'Reyshith 25:23]
13. as [indeed] it has been written, "Yaaqov I loved, but Esau I hated." [Mal. 1:2-3]
Loved: Aramaic, befriended. Hated: not always a term of malice (though Esau was later opposed by YHWH because of his hatred for YaaqovGen. 27:41) but often descriptive simply of the one disqualified so another can be chosen.
14. What shall we say, then? [There is] not injustice on YHWH's part, is there? May it never be!
15. For He said to Moshe, "I will grant favor to whomever I wish to grant favor, and I will have compassion on whomever I wish to have compassion on." [Ex. 33:19]
Grant favor to: Aramaic, befriend.
16. It depends, therefore, not on the [fact that] one wishes or [who] exerts himself [the most in order] to attain, but on the One who grants the favor--on YHWH, that is.
Depends not on: or, is not within reach of. Exerts himself: Aramaic, races. To modern ears, it sounds grossly unfair that YHWH would not give everyone an "equal opportunity". But His ways are not ours. (Yeshayahu/Isa. 55:9) He is the one who wrote the whole story, and He knows all the roles that need to be filled:
17. For example, the Scripture tells Pharaoh, "For this specific purpose I raised you up: so that I might demonstrate My power through you, and so that My name might become known throughout the whole earth." [Ex. 9:16]
An antagonist was needed in order to heighten the (real-life) drama so that YHWH's acts would stand out all the more vividly and would be impressive enough to be published more widely. Raised you up: alternately (in Heb.), allowed you to endure (this long).
18. Consequently, we surmise that He has mercy on whomever He wishes, and hardens whomever He wishes.
After people have made choices to ignore Him, as Pharaoh did, He facilitates the continued hardening, and uses it toward His purposes, I.e., Pharaoh would never have turned out to be a "nice guy" had YHWH given him more time. Some are already written in the Book of the Wholly Wicked and are not permitted to be redeemed. (Contrast Deut. 23:18 with Ex. 34:20.) Since the ultimate sovereignty is His, YHWH can be said to have been the one "doing" anything that He permits to take place.
19. "Then who is He to still lay blame?", you will undoubtedly ask me,"--because who has ever gone against His purpose?"
I.e., if it is true that He wanted it to turn out that way, then how can He punish Pharaoh for doing what He wanted done anyway? And if everything that ends up taking place is a result of His predetermination, how can anyone be considered guilty? But YHWH judges according to motives. (Yeshay./Isa. 10:5-7)
20. On the contrary [the real question is], who are you, O mere man, to be the one talking back to YHWH? "The thing which is formed won't say to the one who forms it, 'Why did you make me this way?', will it?" [Yesh./Isa. 29:16; 45:9]
This is the final conclusion of the philosophical debate that runs through the whole book of Iyov (Job).
21. Or [to put it another way] doesn't the worker in earthenware have authority over the clay, to make one container for honorable purposes and another one for dishonorable usage, out of the same batch of wet clay?
Dishonorable: not always ignoble, but sometimes merely for common, everyday use. (Compare Yirmeyahu 18:1-6; Yeshayahu 29:15-16; 30:14; 41:25; 44:21ff; 45:7-10.)
22. But what if YHWH, wishing to display His righteous judgment and to make His power known, with great patience put up with "containers" designed to be filled with wrath, fit only for ruin,
Power: the term includes both strength and authority.
23. in order to make known the abundance of His honor that He intends to pour into the "containers" for which mercy was determined, which He made ready for honor beforehand,
24. whom He also called out--namely, ourselves, who come not only from among the Jews, but also from among the [other] tribes?
Other tribes: The word is often translated Gentiles, but in historical context this term was used by the Jews of Paul's day for the "lost tribes" in particular, since they were still considered "half-human" since they had chosen to mingle their seed with the Gentiles, whereas true Gentiles were not even spoken of as men by that time. (Avi Ben Mordechai) Remember that "Jews" generally encompass only two to three of the tribes of Israel (the southern kingdom of Yehudah); the name Israel actually remained with the northern kingdom, as the term was used throughout the chronicles and prophets. So until all the tribes are reunited (Messiah's purpose and Paul's), Yehudah is not even properly designated as Israel.
25. (Just as He says in the prophecy of Hoshea [2:23 (25)], "I will call [some of] those who are not my people, 'My people', and those who are not [now] beloved, 'Beloved'!
26. "And it shall so happen that in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people', precisely there will they be called 'sons of the Living Elohim'. [Hoshea 1:10 (2:1)]
These prophecies were both directed very specifically to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, so these "others" were (for the most part) not those who had never known Him, but those whose ancestors had once been His people, but no longer wanted to be. Still, He made many promises through all the prophets to bring their descendants back to Himself, because of this sovereign choice He had made that Israel would be His special treasure.
27. But Yeshayahu [Isaiah], referring to Israel, proclaims, "Though the descendants of Israel should become as many in number as the sand of the sea, only a small remnant will be preserved",
Be preserved: or remain, return--and the fulfillments of this promise have encompassed all three. Compare Yeshayahu 11:11.
28. because He is "bringing the word to fulfillment and hastening to carry it out in righteousness, since the Master will bring the matter about speedily upon the Land." [Yesh. 10:22-23]
Heb., A conclusion [that is] decreed, overflowing [with] righteousness, because Adonai, YHWH of Armies, is bringing about a complete, decisive end within the whole Land. Aramaic, for He decides the word, and cuts and works it.
29. Also, as Yeshayahu had said earlier, "If YHWH of Armies had not left us a Seed, we would have become like S'dom, and we would have been made comparable to Ghamorah." [Yesh. 1:9])
A Seed: i.e., a remnant of descendants, but on another level, the Messiah. (Gal. 3:16)
30. Then what shall we conclude? This: that the tribes who were not seeking to acquire righteousness have obtained right standing [with Elohim]--the kind that comes by faith;
Not seeking: They had chosen to be Gentiles, but YHWH still had promises to fulfill to their ancestors, and so He called them back into His community, and as it has played out it has often (at first) actually been against the will of the individuals called. But, having once been Israel, they still had an obligation to Him (which their parents had promised at Sinai). Obtained: taken on, almost "stumbled upon"; Aram., overtaken. By faith: trusting the fact that Y'shua had paid the way for those who had not all along been fulfilling their obligation to come back into covenant as if there had been no break in the continuity.
31. whereas Israel, seeking after a law [by which they could acquire] righteousness, did not apprehend that law of righteousness.
Here Paul is using the term "Israel" in the way most people today use it, as referring to those identifiably of the community of Israel, which is, by and large, the Jews (the House of Yehudah).
32. Why? Because they were not seeking it by way of faith, but as if it could come as a result of successful observance of Torah. Indeed, they have stumbled over the "stone that causes stumbling",
33. just as it has been written, "Behold, I place in Tzion a stone that causes stumbling and a rock that impedes; not one person who has confidence in Him will be put to shame." [Yesh. 8:14; 28:16]
I place in Tzion: Aramaic: the prophet I give to Tzion [is] a stone... Rock that impedes: lit.: "scandal" placed in one's way to entrap him. This, Paul says, is the Torah (and by extension, Y'shua, the living Torah), which trips up those who approach it wit the wrong motives (for their own purposes instead of His). But the stumbling that the stone occasions is not intended to be permanent, but is for a particular purpose. (cf. 11:11.)
CHAPTER 10
1. Nonetheless, brothers and sisters, my heart's longing and my intense petition toward YHWH on behalf of Israel is that she enter into salvation,
Intense petition: The word implies that he implores out of a sense of need (Thayer)--not only because they are his kinsmen, but because the reversal of this condition will both signify and make possible the final fulfillment of YHWH's purposes in history. (See ch. 11.) Here, Israel refers to those who are consciously still within the covenant, that is, Yehudah; the rest of Israel is alluded to later in the chapter; the Aramaic version does not include the name Israel, but only says "them", though the antecedent in chapter 9 is clearly the Jews.
2. because I testify for them, that they have a zeal for YHWH, but it is not based on a correct understanding,
Zeal: When pointed out in Scripture, it was dedicated to a defense of Israel's uniqueness. (Dunn) Incorrect understanding: They miss the main point of the Torah (vv. 3, 4). But in this more particular sense, they are harassing those returning to YHWH from among the Gentiles (Acts 15:19) by questioning their claim to be equal sharers in YHWH's covenant blessings. They think they are maintaining a standard of holiness while in fact failing to recognize that these are their own long-lost brothers, the Northern Kingdom
3. since they do not recognize the righteousness that is YHWH's, and so in seeking to establish their own "righteousness", they did not submit to YHWH's righteousness--
Their own righteousness: Aramaic, seeking to raise a justness by themselves--by treating the "fences" they added to prevent accidental trespassing as if they were equivalent to Torah, which in itself is adequate protection (Berkowitz), thus raising the bar too high for the weak, weary, or exiled to ever attain (see v. 8).
4. because Messiah is the aim of the Torah as regards entering into righteousness--to everyone who places confidence in Him.
The aim: the target, goal, purpose, desired outcome, the fulfilling result, the point which ties together all study and practice of the Torah, which can only provide a foretaste of the level of righteousness He offers (v. 3); Aramaic, summation.
5. For Moshe writes in regard to the righteousness that grows out of the Torah, "the person doing these things shall live through them." [Leviticus 18:5, Septuagint (LXX)]
6. Moreover, the righteousness that springs from faith speaks thus: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will climb up into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Messiah down) [Deut. 30:12], or, [for that matter, we could add],
7. who will go down into the abyss (that is, to bring Messiah back up from the dead)?
"Some think Paul misuses the Torah by quoting selectively…to apply the passage to Messiah... However, ...according to the canons of rabbinical citation, the context is assumed as given... Therefore, far from changing the simple sense of the text, Paul is assuming his readers know [that] already, so he can base upon it a 'drash' (teaching) which should win the acceptance of anyone who approaches the Torah in a spirit of trust." (Stern)
8. Instead, what does it say? It says, "The word is [easily] accessible to you, [right] in your mouth and in your heart" [Deut. 30:14]--this "word" being the very word of faith that we are heralding!
His instruction is not impossible to obey (Deut. 30:11), contrary to some interpretations of Paul himself! Heralding: making it even more "reachable" by those who would not otherwise hear. (vv. 14-15) Why make it harder by adding unnecessary burdens that go beyond its intent? (Mat. 23:4) One would only do this if his intent was to vie for position and status rather than simply to know YHWH.
9. --because, if you assent [openly] "with your mouth" that Yahshua is the Master and have confidence in your heart that the Elohim raised Him from among the dead, you will be saved,
Raised: or, roused, as in awakening someone from sleep. Master: an allusion back to the "change of masters" passage in 6:12-23). The Elohim: the article of exclusiveness denotes His final authority, even over Yahshua (which Yahshua Himself acknowledges in Yoch. 14:28). Be saved: Aramaic, have life.
10. since with the heart one trusts, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he declares his assent, resulting in salvation.
Aramaic, The heart that believes in Him will be justified, and the mouth that professes Him will live.
11. For the Scripture says, "not one [person] who has confidence in Him will be put to shame" [Yesh. 28:16, LXX],
12. because there is no distinction [made] between Jew and Greek, for the same one who is the Master of them all is abundant in generosity toward all those who call on Him.
Because... : Aramaic, in this it does not discriminate against either... (This claim has a limited scope; it is not a blanket equalizing of the two worldviews, as per 3:1; 9:4-5) Greek: often a generic or exemplary term for Gentiles; the Aramaic has "Aramaean". Abundant: pouring it out lavishly until they are filled up; or, rich.
13. For "anyone--whoever he may be--who appeals to the Name of YHWH [for help] will be saved." [Yoel 2:32 (3:5)]
Appeals to: or, calls upon. Be saved: Aram., have life.
14. Now, how can anyone appeal to Him in whom they have never trusted? But also, how can they trust in Him of whom they have never heard? And again, how will they hear without a proclamation?
15. And how are they to proclaim it publicly unless they are sent out with authorization? --as it has been written, "How beautiful...are the feet of those who make known the glad news of peace, who bring tidings of excellent things." [Yeshayahu/Isaiah 52:7; Nachum 1:15]
Beautiful: or, graceful, with the sense of being in full bloom, the fulfillment of the potential for which we were created. But at root, the term means "of the right hour" or "in season", i.e., fitting, appropriate, "at home", right on schedule. Feet: or footsteps, also an idiom in Scripture for the pilgrimage festivals (Ex. 23:14), which must be on schedule, for they are appointments. And their purpose is to explain what this "Gospel" really is. Peace: Heb., shalom--reconciliation with YHWH, total well-being, and also national tranquility and harmony (which can only come with the reunification of the two houses of Israel). The Hebrew context goes further into the same vein as Paul's explanation, speaking of the content of the message as "deliverance", the rescue from our exile and reinstatement into YHWH’s favor.
16. Yet not all complied with the glad message, because Yeshayahu continues, "Master, who has believed the instruction they heard from us?" [53:1]
Complied with: or obeyed, for the proper response is not just assent, but acting upon one's belief that it is true; "If you love Me, keep My commandments.". Believed: Hebrew, stood (his ground) on. The instruction: Heb., report; Aram., the daughter of our voice, a Semitic idiom for an audible word from heaven.
17. We conclude, then, that trust comes through hearing the instruction, but the hearing only comes by a [clearly-understood] communication from YHWH.
Communication: or word, a message with a definite meaning to the hearer, with whom the fault must presumably be if he does not respond (since there was no lack of clarity on YHWH's part).
18. But I say, "Isn't it [rather] that they did not hear?" No, because [they did indeed hear]: "Into all the earth their strain has gone out, and their lyrics to the extreme outposts of the habitable world." [Psalm 19:4]
But I say: Paul plays the "devil's advocate" to carry his argument, a common rabbinic method used throughout the Talmud. (Stern) Strain: a musical sound, whether vocal or instrumental; Heb., line, string, or cord; Aramaic, daughter of their voice. The context of the first half of Psalm 19 appears to be referring to the stars, the original signs of the zodiac, which before they were corrupted told the story of what YHWH would accomplish through Yahshua, and the second half, to the Torah, the same revelation in more clarified, prosaic, focused form, which was indeed delivered by a voice at Sinai. (Bullinger) Extreme outposts: or, remotest frontiers; thus it can hardly have bypassed Israel, who was at the very center:
19. "Then", I say, "[must it] not [be] that Israel did not understand [the message]?" From the outset, Moshe says, "I will provoke them to jealousy over a 'non-nation'; over a senseless group of people will I rouse you to anger" [Deut. 32:21];
Moshe: in actuality YHWH is the one speaking here, but Moshe recorded it; his name is also a typical "shorthand" referring to the Torah. Senseless: ignorant of the Torah (2:20)--the antithesis of Israel, a nation "taught by Elohim"; Aramaic, not convinced. Rouse you to anger: or, drive you to exasperation. A non-nation: or, [those which are] "not a people", i.e., cannot be described as a homogeneous ethnic group. Who is that but the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which YHWH punished for 2,730 years (the 390 years of Yehezqel4:5 multiplied by the seven times of Lev. 26:24) by the specific curse of being "Lo-Ammi"--not My people! (Hoshea 1:9) How would these people provoke the part of Israel that remained with the covenant (and thus remained a nation, which, for most purposes, is equivalent to the Southern Kingdom of Yehudah, or the Jews) to jealousy? First, by enjoying a heritage that should have been their experience all along, and by receiving the same degree of mercy from YHWH without deserving it as much (cf. Mat. 20:1-15):
20. then Yeshayahu is so bold as to [dare to] say, "I was found by those who were not looking for Me; I was made manifest to those who were not even asking about Me!" [65:1],
I was made manifest: Heb., "I said, 'Look at Me; here I am!' to a nation (or people) not called by My name." So it is a distinct group of people which have become indistinguishable from the nations by choosing to become Gentiles, precisely as the Northern Kingdom did.
21. whereas, referring to Israel, He says, "All day long I stretched forth My hands to a people [both] impossible to persuade and argumentative." [65:2]
Impossible to persuade: or, deliberately withholding belief. Argumentative: back-talking. But a second way they would drive Yehudah to jealousy was that these people who had once rejected Torah would return and actually outdo many Jews in keeping Torah!
CHAPTER 11
1. "In that case", I say, "wouldn't YHWH repudiate His people?" May it never be [understood that way]! After all, I am an Israelite, too--one of Avraham's descendants--from the tribe of Binyamin!
Binyamin: a respected tribe, for it was the only one that remained faithful to YHWH along with Yehudah when the ten northern tribes rebelled. Yet still it is not Yehudah per se.
2. YHWH did "not repudiate His people"--the very ones "whom He knew in advance"! Or aren't you familiar with what the Scripture says in "Eliyahu"--how he complains to YHWH about Israel? He says,
Did not repudiate: as promised in 1 Shmuel 12:22; Psalm 94:14; Yirmeyahu 31:35-36. Whom He knew in advance: an allusion to the same phrase used in 8:29; compare Amos 3:2; Aramaic, who from before were eminent to Him. In "Eliyahu": rabbinic shorthand for "the passage about Eliyahu". (Godet) Complains: or, makes an accusation. Israel: specifically the Northern Kingdom, where Eliyahu focused his prophesying.
3. "O YHWH, they [have] executed your prophets, and undermined your altars, and only I am left--and now they are after my life!" [1 Kings 19:10, LXX]
4. But what does the oracle say to him in reply?
"I have kept back for Myself 7,000 men who did not bend a knee to Ba'al." [1 Kings 19:18]
5. The same kind of thing is [taking place] again in the present season of ripeness: there has come to be a remnant based on a choice of [whom He wished to] empower with favor.
Whom He wished to empower with favor (grace): or, that which brought Him delight. This is a reference back to the discussion in 9:15-18. The remnant he is referring to here appears to be from the House of Yehudah, which would include all those who had already acknowledged Yahshua as their king.
6. Now, if it is [decided] by [His choice of whom to] empower, [then] it is no longer a result of working [for it]; otherwise a favor ceases to be a favor. Indeed, if it is a result of working [for it], it is no longer a favor; otherwise, earning is no longer earning [either].
They would have "bought His vote". Working: that is, for remuneration.
7. What [is the upshot] then? That what Israel is clamoring for, it did not obtain--though the benefactors of the choice did obtain it, but the rest were hardened,
Clamoring: in their efforts to make themselves pure. Did not obtain: that is, through mere Torah observance. Hardened: literally, covered with a thick callous.
8. just as it has been written,
"YHWH gave them a spirit of insensibility--eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear
--right up until this very day." [Deut. 29:4; Yeshayahu/Isa. 29:10]
Insensibility: in a state of intense shock (from a root meaning "be pierced with sudden, intense pain"), connoting dizziness, reeling, or dulled senses. The original Hebrew in Yesh. 29:10 uses the same word as for the "deep slumber" that YHWH brought over Adam when He wished to create Chavvah (Eve). Again He uses this method to produce a co-benefactor of His blessings by "putting Israel to sleep"! Yahshua played this out this same picture in one of His healings. (Mat. 9:18-26) Eyes that do not see: Aramaic, eyes that do not examine within.
9. David also said, "Let their table of feasting turn into a snare [for them] and a lure into a trap--a pitfall [that will] also rebound on them [as a punishment fitting the crime];
Their table of feasting: Just as Yoseyf's brothers ate dinner while he suffered in the pit, Yahshua's countrymen had their minds on the Passover feast while He was dying. Pitfall: or tripwire, in either case designed to make one fall into a trap.
10. "Let their eyes become darkened so that they may not see, and may their back be constantly bent over." [Psalm 69:22-23]
So that they may not see: a condition Yahshua deliberately brought about--Matt. 13; Mark 4; Luke 8; Yochanan 12. Bent over: as under a yoke of hard labor.
11. "So then," I say, "Didn't they 'trip' in a way that resulted in falling down?" May it never be! Rather, by means of their "slipping", salvation came to the Gentiles, in order to "provoke them to jealousy".
Slipping: a non-mortal false step. Provoke them to jealousy: an allusion to Deut. 32:21, as in 10:19. Salvation came to the Gentiles: Aramaic, their own life becomes to the people for their jealousy.
12. But if their 'slipping' [results in] the world's enrichment, and the diminution [of their status results in] abundance for the nations, how much more their replenishment?
Slipping: missing their appointment (Luk. 19:44). But to fit with v. 25, this must also refer to the earlier decision of the northern Kingdom, led by Efrayim, to "mix with the nations" (Hoshea 7:8; Matt. 15:24). Replenishment: filling up in such a way that a loss is repaired. This is the same word used for the "fullness" of the Gentiles in v. 25.
13. Now to those of you who are Gentiles, I say this: Insofar as I am indeed one sent to the Gentiles, I hold my ministry in high honor,
14. [hoping that] I may somehow provoke my kinsmen according to the flesh to jealousy, and may bring some from among them to salvation--
The insurging of obedient Gentiles would be to the rest of the Jews a sign that YHWH was "calling out from among the Gentiles a people for His name" (Acts 15:14), and thus signal to them that the promised restoration of Israel, upon which this depended, had begun and they were failing to participate in it. But these Gentiles were responsible to carry out the "obedience of faith" that was crucial to proving this to the Jews. (1:5; 16:26) It is not so much the salvation of the Gentiles that they are to be jealous about, but of Paul's ministry in particular, since it revealed a failure on the part of other contemporary Jewish missionaries (2:17-24; Mat. 23:15) to be the kind of "light to the nations" that YHWH intended (Nanos), and most importantly a failure to restore the lost tribes to the true faith. Salvation: Aram., life.
15. because if their being cast out is [the opening] for the [rest of] the world to be reconciled, what [will it be] when they are received, if not life after having been dead?
Opening: because the Northern Kingdom was cast out into every nation, once the "fishermen" were sent out to retrieve them (Yirmeyahu 16:16), others would also be able to hear about Yahshua and respond to His offer. Efrayim's father Yoseyf also brought the world great benefit by being "cast away", and revived the life of his father when they were reunited. (Gen. 45:27; 48:2) But v. 4 also suggests that there is a set number in the remnant of Israel (cf. Deut. 32:8; Acts 1:20), and that for some from the other tribes to be included in this, the greater part of Yehudah had to be temporarily set aside. (v. 17) Reconciled: returned to favor, differences having been settled. Those differences were why the Northern Kingdom was rejected. The language is that of moneychangers, with the sense that if YHWH exchanges part of Israel for a remnant of the Gentiles, He will receive it back with interest! Received: back to their home with kindness after having been estranged. (Filemon 12) Life after having been dead: The Jews would receive far more blessing even than their abasement brought to the rest of us--not less, as we might be tempted to think. (v. 18)
16. Now if the first portion of the dough is holy, then the [rest of the] batch [is holy] as well. Likewise, if the root is holy, the branches are as well.
First portion: prepared from the firstfruits of the grain. (Num. 15:19ff)
17. But just because some of the branches were broken off, and you (being a wild olive tree) were grafted in among them, and thus became a joint sharer of the root and robustness of the cultivated olive tree,
Broken off: or cut off, a direct allusion to Yirmeyahu 11:16 (LXX), or partially cloven, as is done to a plant stock in winter (when the plant is dormant) so as to admit a graft. (Lev. 1:17) The scion, which is grafted in, is also a term that means "descendant". Compare Yirm. 5:10 and Numbers 15:16. Among them: Aramaic, into their place. Root: a term used of Messiah (Yesh./Isa. 11:10; 53:2; Rev. 5:5; 22:16). Robustness: enriching marrow or richness related to the anointing with olive oil by the best of the oil. (Ps. 23:5) The olive tree was a symbol of sophisticated Greek culture, but Paul is saying that the one that is really more "civilized" is Israel, and the Greek, unlearned (wild). Biblically, Custance pointed out that the olive tree consistently represents Israel's spiritual life, the vine her national life, and the fig tree her religious life. Pruning or lopping of olive branches is not done for the purpose of destruction but restoration and reinvigoration of what was diseased or unproductive. (Baxter, Ziesler; cf. Luke 13:7ff)
18. you should not boast at the expense of the natural branches. But if you are inclined to boast in that way, remember that it is not you who sustain the root; rather, it is the root that supports you!
Despite Paul's warning us, this type of boasting is still common today among those who say the Church replaced Israel as YHWH's chosen people.
19. What [I mean is], you [are likely to] say, "The branches were broken off in order that I could be grafted in!"
They think themselves so important that some to whom YHWH had made promises had to be taken out of the way to make room for them.
20. True enough [insofar as that] because of [their] unbelief they were broken off, whereas you remain in place because of [your] faith. [All the more reason that you should] not be high-minded, but rather have [an attitude of] reverential deference,
Reverential deference: or fear, recognizing that it can work either way:
21. because if YHWH did not spare branches that naturally [belonged to the tree, it is quite possible that] He may not spare you either.
22. Behold, then, [both] the kindness and the severity of YHWH: severity indeed on those who have fallen, but on you, kindness--if you continue on in that kindness; otherwise, you will be cut out as well.
Kindness: gentleness, fairness, or reasonableness (in allowing any opening at all to those who had chosen to become Gentiles; Mat. 11:30) Severity: abruptness of cutting off, unbending rigor. Cut out: as from an unsuccessful graft.
23. Moreover, those others also--if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, because YHWH is able to graft them back in again;
24. because if you were cut out of what was by nature a wild olive tree, and (contrary to nature) grafted into a good olive tree, how much more [fruitful] could these--the natural branches--be [if] grafted into their own tree?
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Bible Plants says, "Olive trees are too valuable to be felled for fuel or timber like ordinary trees. Only when they are old... may they be felled, and then usually at ground level with the roots intact, for even an ancient tree will sprout fresh suckers at its base. Olive trees are often rejuvenated in this way by vigorous pruning, for lopping large branches encourages new growth that will bear fruit." (This is exactly what took place in the olive trees at Gath-Shmaney, where, to fulfill the picture, Yahshua was "cut off" without an heir, but then came back and lived to "see His seed". (Yeshayahu 53:8, 10; compare Iyov/Job 14:7-9)
25. [I say all this], brothers [and sisters], so that you will not consider yourselves to be more knowledgeable than you [really are], because I do not want you to err by disregarding this mysterious [way by which YHWH is operating]--in which a partial hardening has come over Israel until the time when the "fullness of the Gentiles" comes in,
Mysterious: with a hidden purpose that is easy to misconstrue. Hardening: protective swelling over a broken bone or graft; a callous to relieve the pain and strengthen what was wounded. Partial hardening: i.e., over all of Israel, rather than a hardening over part of Israel, since both Yehudah and Efrayim maintained part of the truth, yet both were blinded to other aspects of the truth. Aramaic, blindness of heart by placing lightly. "Fullness of the Gentiles": a direct reference to Genesis 48:19, which specifically says this entity would come from Efrayim. The mechanism was by his mixing himself with the peoples. (Hos. 7:8) So it is unquestionably speaking of people who are only half-Gentile in heritage, having descended partly from Israel. Comes in: perhaps correlating with the time Yahshua spoke of when "the times of the Gentiles would be completed" (Luk. 21:24), but Nanos points out that the tense here reflects the time when the representation of Gentiles BEGIN to enter.
26. and in this way "all of Israel shall be recovered", just as it has been written,
"Out of Tzion shall the Deliverer come, and He will turn impiety away from Yaaqov."
All of Israel: not every individual, but representations from every part--not just the more easily-identifiable Jewish remnant, but the whole nation as a corporate entity, which had to include some from the religious establishment as leaders, but some from each of the lost tribes as well. That is who Paul and the other apostles were seeking. (Why else would they look in synagogues first when trying to locate responsive Gentiles?) Recovered: that is, brought back from exile and reunited (Y'chezqel/Ezekiel 37:17). Out of Tzion: The original quote says "For the sake of Tzion... to those who turn from transgression in Yaaqov." (Yeshayahu/Isa. 59:21) The seeming discrepancy is resolved in Lamentations 5:21. (Compare Psalm 14:7.) Mark Nanos suggests he is alluding also to a tradition that the Messiah would rescue the diaspora from pagan overlords after first delivering the Land. This is the stage of history that we are in at present, as the exiled Israel is not only realizing who they are, but is breaking free from pagan philosophies that have held us captive for millennia.
27. and, "This is the covenant from Me that shall be with them, when I take away their sins." [Yeshayahu 27:9]
Aramaic, "then they shall have the same covenantfrom Me when I have forgiven their sins." Compare Yirmeyahu (Jer.) 32:40ff. Nanos points out that the mystery was not THAT all of Israel would be saved, but HOW; not THAT they were stumbling, but WHY; not THAT the Gentiles would share in salvation, but HOW. On these points Paul disagreed with the other Jewish proselytizers.
28. Indeed, in terms of the Glad News, they are "hated" for your benefit, though in regard to [being YHWH's] chosen [people], they are beloved because of the promises YHWH made to the patriarchsâ€â€Â
Hated: can simply mean passively unblessed (as they were at present); Aramaic, "ba'al enemies". On the basis of such a reading, many have caricatured Jewish emphases to cast them as worse "opponents" than they really are. However, it was the Jews who opposed Paul's work more than anyone else; it was not until much later that direct persecution came from the Romans.
29. because the free gifts and the calling of YHWH are irrevocable--
Irrevocable: never to be rescinded, as some try to claim. Though both houses of Israel turned away from YHWH, as a collective unit He set (different) time limits on the punishment for each. (Yehezqel 4; Yirmeyahu 16:18; Lev. 26:24) Aramaic, Eloah will not change His mind. YHWH will never go back on His promises to the patriarchs of the blessings that He would bestow on their literal descendants, whatever light others might gather from them. Otherwise, we could not trust Him with any of His more recently-made promises either.
30. because in the same way as you once did not believe in YHWH, yet now you have been given [an occasion for] mercy through their unbelief,
Mercy: i.e., contrary to the attitude of many, the amazing thing is not that Jews can be saved, but that Gentiles can! (v. 18) Unbelief: or disobedience, which YHWH used for His purposes, even if they were not conscious of participating in His plan, whereas the Gentile believers are to be conscious of returning the favor:
31. they too have now refused to believe [precisely] so they in turn may receive mercy through the very mercy you [can now show].
Refused to believe: Aramaic, unconvinced. Mercy: Aram., befriending. Stern paraphrases: "Everything you have--your salvation, your righteousness, your hope--comes from [YHWH]'s having shown you mercy by grafting you into Israel... You have that mercy in your possession… Therefore, because you owe it to the people of Israel to display [YHWH]'s mercy toward them, [show] them the same mercy that [YHWH] has shown you"--specifically, in this case, by the instructions given in chapters 12-15.
32. Thus, YHWH has included everyone together in unbelief, in order that He might show mercy to us all!
Mercy: This aspect of His nature can only be fully understood when it is experienced directly, so He has given that privilege to all whom He loves.
33. Oh, what depth [there is] to the wealth of both YHWH's wisdom and His knowledge! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways beyond tracing out!
Beyond tracing out: or, incomprehensible (Thayer); Aramaic, inscrutable. I.e., only YHWH could come up with such an all-encompassing plan! (Kreloff) Though there are many points along the way where the "plot" seems to be at a total dead end, He is still able to leave nothing unresolved and to do no injustice to any in the final analysis.
34. Indeed, "Who has understood the mind of YHWH? And who ever became His advisor?" [Yeshayahu/Isa. 40:13]
35. Or, "Who first gave Him [anything] so that [he can expect] it to be repaid to him?", [Iyov/Job 41:11]
36. since "all things come from Him, and through Him, and [back] to Him; to Him be glory into the ages!" Amen!
He may be quoting with approval this portion of a contemporary hymn, an example of a common style in which such a doxology was often followed by an explanatory clause.
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Chapters 12-14
CHAPTER 12
1. I urge you, therefore, brothers and sisters, in light of [this manifestation of] Elohim's compassion, to present your body to Elohim as a living sacrifice--holy and acceptable--which is the [least you can do as a] logical equivalent to the sacred Temple services.
Compassion: in wishing to show mercy to both houses of Israel, as seen in the immediately-preceding context; Aramaic, befriending. A living sacrifice: in lieu of animal sacrifices, as the present situation of exile necessitates. Nevertheless, He has given us something to "spend" for Him--a body that will be used up regardless, making the same kind of sacrifice count for the sake of others whom YHWH loves while you are still alive. Having our ultimate needs secured, our focus is to turn toward helping one another make it through the present difficult age. Acceptable: meeting "kosher" specifications--especially in the context of sacrifices, and in anticipation of his discussion of dietary limitations, where he uses precisely the same terminology. (14:2, 14-18)
2. Moreover, do not let your attitudes be shaped by the paradigms of this age, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of Elohim is--that which is honorable and acceptable and mature.
This age: the world order of mankind, with its accompanying pursuits. Transformed: Gk., metamorphosed (as a tadpole or caterpillar undergoes in becoming something so radically different as to be beyond comparing). The hearers need to look beyond the temporary inconveniences that obedience will bring. Renewing of your minds: forging of new habitual patterns of thinking. It has been scientifically proven that as we encourage such reorientation in our ways of thinking, new neural pathways are physically forged in the brain and eventually become the new defaults as "second nature", the old ones fading due to disuse. This is the link between being positionally righteous and realizing righteousness in practicality. Aramaic, by the "hanukkah" (training and dedication) of your mind. Prove: recognize as genuine after scrutinizing. Mature: fully accomplishing one's purpose, completely carrying out a task assigned to us.
3. For through the empowerment that is given to me, I tell every one of you [that you should] not think more highly of yourselves than is appropriate, but [rather] direct your minds into sound judgment, insofar as Elohim has distributed a measure of confidence to each one,
Not think more highly … than is appropriate: This is the essence of true humility--a realistic appraisal of who we are and who we are not. Aramaic, not thinking outside of what is right to think. In this case, it meant not allowing themselves to think that because they were "able to believe" in Messiah (15:1), they were superior to those Jews who still could not bring themselves to believe. (Nanos, cf. 11:18-20) Sound: Aramaic, sober.
4. because just as in one body we have many members, yet all members do not all have the same function,
In some cases YHWH made different promises to the House of Yehudah and the House of Israel. This does not mean one is superior, but each should carry out the role he was assigned. (14:1-13; 15:6; cf. 1 Cor. 7:18-24; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 5:21-6:9)
5. so also we who are many [make up] one body in Messiah, and each one relates to the others as members [of the same body],
One body: Compare Ephesians 4:7. Members of the same body: Aramaic, one by one we are members of one another. Jewish tradition speaks of the attributes of YHWH which we are capable of emulating as each including a measure of the other attributes. Each of us has our strengths which fill the gaps for others' weaknesses, and our weaknesses for which we need others to make up for our lack. But ideally, we should each possess some measure of all the beneficial characteristics in order to be balanced persons, though each will have his special calling to emphasize on or two of them:
6. yet having differing gifts according to the empowering favor given to us, whether [the gift be] prophecy (according to the proportion of faith [one is] allotted),
7. or service (in the serving), or the office of teacher (in the instructing in doctrine),
Serving: probably refers in a particular sense to collecting or bestowing charitable donations or caring for the poor. (Thayer)
8. or the one who encourages (in his exhortation), the one who shares [of his substance] (with sincerity, having no hint of self-seeking), the one taking [a position of] leadership (with diligence), the one showing mercy (with cheerfulness).
See 1 Cor. 12:4ff and Eph. 4:11ff for more ways we can serve one another. Shares with sincerity: Aramaic, gives with simplicity. Cheerfulness: or readiness of mind.
9. Let your love be unfeigned--shrinking in horror from evil, clinging fast to what is worthwhile;
10. having tender affection for one another with brotherly love; letting each other precede you in honor;
Letting each other precede you: "competing" with one another to demonstrate more deference, or going on ahead to show the way in letting others outrank you--i.e., scramble for the lowest place as you used to for the highest! Aramaic, preferring one another.
11. not hesitating in [your] diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Master;
Not hesitating: or holding back; Aramaic, lazy. Fervent: literally, boiling.
12. rejoicing in hope, enduring ill-treatment bravely and calmly, persisting in steadfast devotion to prayer;
Ill-treatment: here, opposition from synagogue leaders in particular.
13. making the needs of the set-apart ones your own; being eager to show hospitality to strangers.
Making the needs your own: or, contributing to the necessities of those who are set apart, as a partner in their neediness (Thayer), knowing that their interests are now yours as well.
14. Bless those who are harassing you--bless, and do not call down evil upon them.
15. Rejoice with those who are rejoicing; mourn with those who are mourning,
16. having the same attitude toward one another, not seeking to be esteemed by the eminent, but rather adjust yourselves to taking the lower position. Do not begin to think of yourselves as more than you really are.
Having the same attitude: i.e., living harmoniously. Aramaic, whatever you think concerning yourself, also think about your brothers. (I.e., give them the benefit of the doubt.) Be esteemed by the eminent: or, aspire to eminence. More: literally, wiser.
17. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Anticipate what will be agreeable in the judgment of all people,
Focus on doing things that everyone recognizes as beneficial, and sacrifice mere personal preferences. I.e., be careful to consider how your privileges may harm or offend others, and avoid this unless there is an important, selfless reason to do otherwise:
18. if possible, from your side, seek to be at peace with all people.
From your side: wherever the initiative is your responsibility, without feeling guilty when conflict cannot be avoided (as truth often offends). Specifically, the returnees from the Northern Kingdom seem to have been desiring to continue eating foods that the stricter Jews (rightly) considered reprehensible (14:6, 14ff), and to evade paying the Temple tax (13:6). Whatever "grace" may allow during the transition, Paul is encouraging them to get out of the mindset of doing something just because it was technically their "right" and think about the broader implications for Israel as a whole.
19. Instead of taking your own revenge, my beloved ones, give space to YHWH's wrath, since it has been written, "'Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay', says YHWH." [Deut. 32:25]
Aramaic, "If you will not seek judgment for yourself, I will carry out your judgment." (See Lev. 19:18; Prov. 20:22; 24:29; Psalm 94:1.) While certain Israelites are responsible to avenge the wrongs done to others, it is not our responsibility to bring about retributive justice for ourselves. Rather, we need to leave room for YHWH to sovereignly bring about the best all-around results (8:28) through the wise way in which He chooses to teach the offender also to depend on Him (v. 20). This frees us to live our lives purposefully rather than basing our goals on a reaction to what someone else has done to us.
20. Thus, "If your enemy should be hungry, give him nourishment; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink, because by doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head."
[Prov. 25:21-22]
Heap coals of fire upon his head: Aramaic, entomb coals of fire--an idiom for making an evildoer ashamed of his actions. The enigmatic connection is explained by a custom that persists in the Philippines to our own day in which fires are kept burning as constantly as possible since kindling material is scarce. When one's fire goes out, he needs to borrow live coals from his neighbor to revive his own fire. He carries them in a pan on his head. The idea is that he envies you only because he himself needs what you have--and are able to give. By supplying his need, you undermine and preclude any need for him to harass you:
21. Instead of being overcome by evil, you overcome what is destructive with what is beneficial!
CHAPTER 13
1. Let every soul subordinate himself to those in higher positions of authority, for there is no authority that does not come from YHWH; moreover, the existing positions of authority have been set in place by YHWH.
Subordinate himself: voluntarily place himself into an ordered schematic for the sake of smooth cooperation toward a goal higher than personal privilege. Appointed: or established. This probably has wider implications, but in context, he is referring to synagogue rulers, who had the legal right to keep order among those in their charge through flogging; recall that Gentile "fearers of Elohim" were only officially exempt from emperor worship if associated with the Jews, who had a special dispensation, so they should rightly fear excommunication. Those living in the capital of the empire would be used to submitting to civil authorities, but to submit to Jewish interpretations (here, specifically in regard to dietary considerations) so the two peoples of YHWH could simply have table fellowship, would have been a new idea to the Romans. Paul emphasizes the legitimacy of doing so as a tribute to those in whose root they share, though they might have been stricter than the Torah actually required. This interpretation is borne out by the Aramaic version, which indicates that "all souls are to work for the sultans of the Rabbi Priesthood". As we form new Israelite congregations today, the same principle holds regarding subordination to the leaders YHWH sets in place.
2. Therefore, whoever resists the authority has set himself against YHWH's own ordinance, and those who resist will themselves be the recipients of judgment.
Ordinance: or institution. Judgment: or censure, suggesting that they were not only evading but also criticizing the authorities in question.
3. For the rulers are not a threat to [those of] worthy behavior, but only to [the] bad. Indeed, do you desire to not be afraid of the authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval,
Compare 1 Tim. 1:9; 2:2ff. The realities of corrupt government call into question whether this speaks of civil authorities at all, especially in light of Paul’s attitudes expressed in 1 Cor. 2:8; 6:1. The apparent parenthesis here that otherwise seems out of place is cleared up by Nanos' suggestion that this refers to the rulers of the synagogue (the same term is used here as in Luk. 8:;41; 18:18; 23:35; 24:20; Acts 14:5).
4. because to you he is [one of] YHWH's servants to carry out [what is] beneficial. But if you do what is wrong, [then you should indeed] be afraid, because he does not wear the sword for no reason, for he is a servant of YHWH, an avenger ordained to bring vengeance toward whoever practices evil.
Sword: symbol of judicial authority. Practices evil: Here, in particular, claiming to be monotheistic without behaving accordingly. (Nanos)
5. For this reason it is necessary to place yourselves under their authority, not just because of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake,
For conscience' sake: because it is simply the right thing to do, even if there were no threat. This should be enough reason. Compare 1 Cor. 10:25.
6. because on this account you also discharge your obligation in regard to taxes, because they are ministers of YHWH, who always give attention to this very thing.
Taxes: the required two-drachma Temple tax (Nanos). Ministers: The term has a liturgical, religious connotation.
7. So discharge to everyone whatever is due them: tax to whom tax is due, custom to whom custom [is due], respect to whom respect [is due], and honor to whom honor [is due].
Tax: Aramaic, give silver to your hierarchs. Custom: or obligation; Aramaic, head silver (poll tax). To whom honor is due: through the fulfillment of vows and proper moral behavior in regard to Torah.
8. Leave no debt to anyone outstanding, except to watch out for each other's welfare, because the one who looks out for his neighbor's best interests has fulfilled YHWH's intent in giving the Torah--
Leave no debt outstanding: literally, owe no one anything; Aramaic, be not indebted to humanity. Watching out for one another is a debt that can never be fully paid, nor would we wish to end this relationship to our fellow Israelites anyway.
9. because "Do not commit adultery", "Do not commit murder", "Do not commit a theft", "Do not bear false witness", "Do not covet", and whatever other commandment there may be, it is summarized in this consideration: "You shall love your neighbor the same way that you love yourself." [Lev. 19:18]
10. Love does no evil to one's neighbor; thus, love is the fulfillment of the Torah.
Compare Yahshua's words in Matt. 22:38-40.
11. This, too: recognizing the significance of our time--that it is already the hour for you to be aroused out of your sleep, because now our deliverance is even nearer than when we first believed;
Our deliverance: the redemption of all Israel from exile; Aramaic, our life. (One rendering is, to offer our life more than when we first trusted.) While there is a grace period while we make the transition back, we will be held to the highest standard when we are back in the Land, so let us start now to divest ourselves of practices that are inappropriate there:
12. the night has advanced far, and the day is at hand; let us accordingly cast off the deeds of darkness, and clothe ourselves with the implements appropriate for the light.
Implements: equipment or weapons; Aramaic, armor.
13. Let us walk in a way that is appropriate to the daytime, not in carousings and drunkenness, neither in cohabitation or shameless behavior, nor in bickering or rivalry;
Walk: a Hebraic idiom for how we live our lives—significant in this context of associating with Jews who may yet be persuaded to recognize their Messiah by former Gentiles who submit to behavior they deem normal. Shameless behavior: Aramaic, a defiled bed.
14. rather, "put on" the Master, Yahshua the Messiah, and not [waste our time] bothering about how we will be able to provide for the cravings of the flesh.
Bothering about: or planning, preparing for. Provide for the cravings: Here, simply accept the fact that we may have to deny the appetite for certain foods. They are already well beyond eating the pork which was very popular in Rome, so perhaps he is referring to the combinations of milk and meat which the Jews added as a "fence" around Exodus 23:19 to avoid even coming close to breaking this kosher law. A tribe is permitted to set such standards that are stricter than Torah itself; though the other tribes are not necessarily bound by the same interpretation, if it will promote unity with the tribe of Yehudah, then that outcome is far more important than the privilege of technically being exempt.
CHAPTER 14
1. [Specifically], accept [as your companion] anyone who is having difficulty believing, and not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
Aramaic: Lend a hand to one who is weak in trust, and have no doubt in your reasoning.
2. One indeed is persuaded that he may eat anything, while another, being "weak", eats [only] vegetables.
Eats only vegetables: Meat slaughtered in a kosher manner may have been hard to procure in Rome, and it was even harder to find meat the poor could afford (another meaning of the word for "weak" here) that had not been offered to idols (an important issue in that time, as we see in 1 Cor. 8:10, in which context this same word "weak" is referenced). The Aramaic says "sickly", which changes the entire context of the traditional view that one who continues to follow the kosher laws has less faith than one who exercises his newfound "freedom" in the Messiah to eat things that YHWH had once said would bring the diseases of the Egyptians on them and which are still under the curse of Yeshayahu (Isa.) 65:4; 66:17! This interpretation was precluded by Acts 15:29; 21:25, where non-Jewish believers are forbidden to eat both meat offered to idols and meat not slaughtered in the customary Jewish manner.
3. The one who does eat meat must not look down on the one who does not eat it, nor should the person who does not eat condemn the one who does eat, because Elohim has accepted him.
Look down on: or, treat as less important.
4. Who are you to judge another person's servant? [It is only] his own master's [right to judge whether] is a success or failure, and succeed he will, because YHWH is able to make him succeed.
Succeed: Aramaic, it will be by [reaching for] the hands of his own master that he will be established.
5. One indeed judges [one] day to be more important than [another] day, while another gives esteem to every day. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind.
One day: as in the Sabbath or festival. Gives esteem to every day: as significant and belonging to YHWH--i.e., letting dedication to YHWH spill over beyond only the Sabbath to set our priorities for every day, as opposed to giving Him only the Sabbath. Aram., judges all days. Be fully convinced: Act with conviction rather than living an aimless life, but recognize that for some others YHWH may wish to place more emphasis on different areas of sanctification than what He focuses on in your life.
6. The one who pays attention to the day does so for the Master, while the one who does not pay attention to the day also does this for the Master. The one who eats, eats as unto the Master, since He gives thanks to YHWH; likewise, the one who does not eat abstains for [the sake of] the Master, also giving thanks to YHWH--
Pays attention to the day: is mindful of its particular ritual meanings and restrictions.
7. because not one of us lives for himself; no one even dies for himself,
8. since if we do live, we live for the Master, and in the event that we die, we also die for [the sake of] the Master. Thus, whether we live or die, we belong to the Master.
9. For this purpose Messiah both died and rose, and came back to life--in order that He might be the Master of both the dead and the living.
10. So then, why do you condemn your brother? Or why do you even look down on your brother? For [it is] the Messiah's judgment-seat [that] all of us will stand before,
Judgment seat: bemah, from the Heb., bamah, a raised platform with a tribunal throne. Compare Yoel 3:12.
11. since it has been written, "[As surely as] I live", says YHWH, "every knee shall bend before Me, and every tongue shall confess to YHWH." [Yeshayahu 45:23]
12. So, then, each one of us will render [back] an accounting to YHWH for himself.
13. This being so, let us no longer pass judgment on one another, but rather determine this: not to set a stumblingblock or obstacle in a brother's way.
If you are indeed "stronger", use your strength to help prevent stumbling brothers from falling, not to please your own tastes. (15:1) If it doesn't harm you spiritually to do the thing, it certainly will not harm you to abstain, so demonstrate your deeper freedom from self by giving up privileges for the sake of others.
14. I realize and am confident in the Master, Yahshua, that nothing in and of itself is unclean; however, to the one who considers it to be unclean, it is indeed unclean.
Nothing… is unclean: or common; Aramaic: defiled from itself. Alt., "Nothing unholy comes from Him". Compare Titus 1:15. Indeed unclean: because going ahead with the action when he doubts is a compromise of his understanding of YHWH's standard, and thus hampers his relationship with YHWH. (v. 23)
15. Moreover, if your brother is hurt by the food you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy someone on behalf of whom Messiah died, for the sake of mere food!
Hurt: grieved or distressed. Love: looking out for his best interest. Do not destroy: because you really could do so!
16. So then, don't let what for you is a beneficial thing be spoken of as evil,
A beneficial thing: in this case, freedom or faith. Spoken of as evil: because it is being abused.
17. because the Kingdom of YHWH is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit!
Not a matter of eating or drinking: I.e., you will gain nothing permanent from either; this type of giddy freedom is hardly the point of why Messiah died and rose again. (Compare Mark 7:15ff`)
18. For whoever submits to the Messiah in these things will be both acceptable to YHWH and approved by men.
Both "acceptable" and "approved" are definitions of the word "kosher"; the Greek term for "approved" is the same word the Septuagint uses in Hadassah (Esther) 8:6 to translate "kosher". An equivalent issue today might be the separating of milk and meat--a legitimate interpretation for Yehudah, perhaps, but not incumbent upon everyone. While returning Efrayimites might not feel they need to keep kosher in the same way Jews define it, YHWH has nothing against our doing so, and it would certainly signify to Yehudah that we are indeed the righteous nation we claim to be through Messiah. Eating the right foods is only a picture of this deeper form of acceptability to YHWH, the real point:
19. So then, let us eagerly pursue the kinds of things that promote peace, and the things [that facilitate] the building [process in which we fit] into one another.
As those to whom more options are open, Efrayim must make the kind of choices that will enable both ourselves and Yehudah, in our respective, different callings, to nonetheless fit and adhere together as one unified "building" (Eph. 2:13-22). The Apostles specified that we start with eating kosher so that we could simply eat at the same table, and progress onward from there. (Acts 15:19-21) Aramaic, Race after shalom and after the builder.
20. Do not undo the work of YHWH for the sake of food! All things are indeed pure, but it is inappropriate for the person who eats in a way that constitutes a stumbling block.
Undo: or, disunite. The work of YHWH: this building formed by the reunification of both houses of Israel.
21. It is more honorable to neither eat meat nor drink, or do anything by which your brother stumbles, or is impeded, or weakened.
Drink: the Aramaic adds "fermented wine". Maintaining right relationships takes priority over privilege.
22. Do you have faith? Fine--but keep it between yourself and YHWH; someone who does not condemn himself for what he approves will be blessed indeed.
Between yourself and YHWH: literally, within yourself, before YHWH. Faith that trusts YHWH to forgive unintentional offenses does free one to concentrate on the needs of others without worrying that he has violated some minor point of Torah in the process. But flaunting this freedom from qualms may cause the unlearned to think they can "get away with" gaps in observance, creating unnecessary misunderstandings as well with those who have taken greater pains (and perhaps borne serious persecution) in order to follow the letter of the Torah as they interpreted it. And this would indeed be a just cause for self-condemnation.
23. But if someone who does make distinctions goes ahead and eats, he has been condemned, since his decision is not a result of faith--and whatever does not result from faith misses the target.
Makes distinctions: Following Torah will lead him to do so. (Lev. 11:47) Only what is motivated by the conviction that a course of action is YHWH's will is acceptable to Him, for it means He is being taken into consideration in every decision--His underlying wish.
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Remainder of the text is being revised. Please look for it again on our site soon. It will be worth the wait!
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