Rom. 2:1-29 KJV-
1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O manM, whosoeverS thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
(Paregmenon 305; Repetitio; SynecdocheS 618; see also MeiosisM; see footnotes)
2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
(Repetitio)
3 And thinkest thou this, O manM, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
(MeiosisM; Repetitio)
4 Or despisest thou the richesI of his SgoodnessA and Sforbearance and Slongsuffering; not knowing that the goodnessA of God leadeth thee to repentance?
(Polysyndeton; SSynonymia 332; AntimereiaA 495; Antiptosis 507; IdiomaI 831;
Anthropopatheia 893)
5 But after thy hardness and impenitentI heart treasurestA /Cup unto thyself wrathM against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
(MetonymyM 550; IdiomaI 856; AnthropopatheiaA 894; CatachresisC )
6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
(Merismos v6-8 435)
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for Sglory and Shonour and SimmortalityE , Seternal life:
(EllipsisE 30; SSynonymia 332; Merismos v6-8 435)
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousnessE , Sindignation and Swrath,
(EllipsisE 30; SSynonymia 332; Merismos v6-8 435 )
9 STribulation and SanguishE , upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
(EllipsisE 30; SSynonymia 332; AnthropopatheiaA 894)
10 But Sglory, Shonour, and SpeaceE , to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
(EllipsisE 30; SSynonymia 332; Synecdoche 627; AnthropopatheiaA 894)
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without lawA shall also perish without ElawA : and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
(EllipsisE 108; AntanaclasisA 290)
13 (For not the hearers of the law [are] just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles, which have >Enot the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the lawE<, are a law unto themselves:
(Epanodos>E< 300)
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and [their] thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
17 Behold*, thouA art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
(Polysyndeton 208; Correspondence 370; ApostropheA 904; Asterismos* 926; Synchoresis 970)
18 And knowest [his]E will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
(EllipsisE 20; Polysyndeton 208; Synonymia 332 (see footnote); Correspondence 370; Synchoresis 970)
19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
(Asyndeton 148; Polysyndeton 208; Synonymia 332 (see footnote); Correspondence 370; Synchoresis 970)
20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
(Asyndeton 148; Synonymia 332 (see footnote); Correspondence 370; Synchoresis 970)
21P Thou therefore which teachestP another, teachestP thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not stealP , dost thou stealP ?
(Asyndeton 148; PolyptotonP 271)
22 P Thou that sayest a man should not commit adulteryP , dost thou commit adulteryP ? thou that abhorrest idols , dost thou commit sacrilege?
(Asyndeton 148; PolyptotonP 271)
23 P Thou that makest thy boast of the lawP , through breaking the lawP dishonourest thou God?
(Asyndeton 148; PolyptotonP 271)
24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
26 Therefore if the uncircumcisionA keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcisionA be counted for circumcision?
(AntanaclasisA 290)
27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge theeE , who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
(EllipsisE 23; Hendiadys 666)
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither [is that] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
(Ellipsis: see page 108)
29 But he [is] a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God.
(Ellipsis: see page 108)
Italicized words in [brackets] were added by the King James Version translators.
Footnotes:
Verse 1
Synecdoche; Pas, πᾶς; “All” or “every” here is not without exception, but rather with distinction to whom his message applies within the group to which it is addressed.
MeiosisM: “O man”; Paul is leveling the playing field by bringing both the Gentiles and the “non-Gentiles” down to the same level, for there is no difference! (see also Rom. 3:22 and 10:12)
Paregmenon: Derivation.
Judgest, ὁ κρίνων; κρίνεις; κατακρίνεις; ὁ κρίνων.
κρίνω: Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for krinō (Strong’s 2919)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 3 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2919&t=KJV >
Condemnest
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for katakrinō (Strong’s 2632)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 3 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2632&t=KJV >
Thanks go to Peter Arbib of the Facebook group Figures Of Speech In The Bible for identifying the figure Repetitio in verses 1-3.
Verse 4
Synonymia held by Polysyndeton:
“…goodness and forbearance and longsuffering…”
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for chrēstotēs (Strong’s 5544)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 4 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5544&t=KJV >
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for anochē (Strong’s 463)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 4 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G463&t=KJV >
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for makrothymia (Strong’s 3115)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 4 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3115&t=KJV >
Antimereia: χρηστότητος, good(ness), is a noun used as an adjective.
This could possibly be better translated without the Antimereia, but would require an Ellipsis and be rendered “…the good [thing]…” or “…the kind [thing]…” etc.
If translated without the Antimereia it would then require Antiptosis, or exchange of cases, and be rendered as the translators have already done.
Idioma: riches (greatness or wealth) of His goodness.
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for ploutos (Strong’s 4149)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 4 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4149&t=KJV >
Verse 5
Metonymy: “wrath” is put for judgement, which is the result of wrath.
Idioma: (a peculiar usage of words and phrases): ἀμετανόητος; impenitent (see note pg. 856). This word is used only once, here in Romans 2:5, and nowhere else in the New or Old Testaments. It would seem that Paul may have “coined” a new sense for this word (which did already exist) to better express the idea he is projecting. (see note pg. 856); see also Epictetus, Fragments, and the Revised English Version; REV. See: Vocabulary.com definition for impenitent and for unrepentant. Biblically, the difference between the two words seems to be in timing and severity. Someone could do wrong now, and realizing it, repent immediately. The entirety of time could involve mere minutes or seconds. An impenitent heart is one that over time has become hard and calloused. Although these two words are extremely similar, they are not exactly identical. I believe, therefore, that impenitent is the better choice here.
See: Vocabulary.com definition.
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for thēsaurizō (Strong’s 2343)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 7 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2343&t=KJV >
Another Idioma (a peculiar usage of words and phrases) here in verse5 is sklērotēs, σκληρότης (hardness). Since both of these words are only used once they are peculiar to the Apostle Paul.
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for sklērotēs (Strong’s 4643)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 14 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4643&t=KJV >
Anthropopatheia in the word “treasure”.
I give special thanks to Jodi Sigrist, from the Facebook group Figures Of Speech In The Bible, for explaining how Dr. Bullinger saw the Anthropopatheia in the word treasure. God is condescending (Condescensio) to the level of man in the sense of having treasure, an earthly physical attribute. My understanding, therefore, is that the people of whom God is speaking think they will be rewarded by God for their “self-righteousness ”, so to them they believe their reward to be treasure.
Jodi Sigrist “If you do a word study on “treasure” you will find it applies to man’s treasure: rubies; diamonds; money and land. But God is talking about a very different kind of treasure. He is talking about the kind of treasure, the rewards or lack thereof that He God shall give on the day of Judgement. Since it’s God’s treasure which is not literal treasure, it’s the figure Anthropopatheia or Condensensio.” (From Facebook post of March 6, 2018)
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for thēsaurizō (Strong’s 2343)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 7 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2343&t=KJV >
Catachresis is incongruency. Using the word treasure in reference to condemning judgement is not congruent. When someone plays a song that is especially appealing we may describe what we hear as “sweet”. This could only be literally true if we had taste buds in our ears, which we do not, therefore it is incongruent. By using the figure Catachresis, Paul delivers irony.
Eironeia, or Irony, is “the expression of thought in a form that naturally conveys its opposite.” Involved in Irony is expectation. Here in verse 5 Paul uses a form of Irony called Divine Antiphrasis, where a single word is employed to grab one’s attention. They expect to be rewarded, but in the end it will be condemnation instead. Paul uses the word “treasure” to point this out.
http://www.literarydevices.com/irony/
Verses 6, 7 and 8 contain the figure Merismos, which is “an enumeration of the parts of a whole which has been mentioned”. Here what God will render, the righteous and then the unrighteous, is mentioned.
Verse 7-10
For an explanation of the Ellipses in these verses see page 30.
Throughout the chapter the figure Synonymia is used, making use of synonyms to highlight a topic at hand. In modern usage a synonym is a word that has the same meaning as another word, however, this is NOT the biblical usage. A synonym is a word with a similar, BUT NOT IDENTICAL, meaning as another word or words. The topic for which the Synonymia is used is bigger, and more encompassing than any of the single words could express on their own.
We can see this figure used in Psalm 32 to establish a scope with regard to the topic of sin and the blessings of forgiveness by God. From this figure we can see that Adam’s sin was not an instantaneous event, but rather a series of events that built to his (their) fall from God. We are not shown any indication that Adam asked God to forgive them for doing wrong (missing the mark/stepping off the path). We also see him blame the woman instead of accepting the blame for his actions, which is a bending of the bow. He then breaks the bow by going too far and blaming God for his own wrong doing (… “the woman which YOU gave me”…).
Verse 10
Synecdoche: Glory, honor, and peace are among but a few of the earthly and heavenly blessings to every man who works good…
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for pas (Strong’s 3956)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 17 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3956&t=KJV >
Verse 12
In English the word “law” occurs four times in the verse, but in the Greek there are two separate words used twice each, totaling four times. The Antanaclasis occurs in the first two, which are both the word ἀνόμως, anomōs. The first use of “law” here means being subject to the law(s) of the Old Testament. The law was given by God to Israel by way of Moses. It was not given to the Gentiles, and they were therefore not subjects of the Law. Nevertheless, the Gentiles die too, even without the judgement of the Law. The judgement of/by the law is the second usage of “law” in the verse, and has a different meaning than the first. When the same word is used to mean two different things in the same context, it is the figure Antanaclasis.
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for anomōs (Strong’s 460)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 6 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G460&t=KJV >
If the words omitted by the Ellipsis are added for explanation, they do so, but also negate the effect of the Antanaclasis. In the text the Antanaclasis takes precedence over the Ellipsis because the word anomōs actually occurs, whereas the words of the Ellipsis have to be added.
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for nomos (Strong’s 3551)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 6 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3551&t=KJV >
Verse 14
Epanodos is a figure that uses an inversion of words to emphasize a point. For a fuller explanation by Dr. Bullinger, see page 300. Epanodos should not be confused with the figure Anadiplosis, which begins a sentence with the same word or words that ended the preceding sentence. Anadiplosis is used to ensure that two thoughts do not become separated from each other. (see Gen. 1:1-1:2)
For a comprehensive explanation of the figure Correspondence used in verses 17-20,
see pages 363-393.
Verse 17
Asterismos* is the use of an attention getting word as we commonly use an asterisk. Here it is the word “Behold”. In modern times people often use the word “Now” in much the same way, when attempting to secure a listener’s attention while connecting thoughts. Asterismos performs a much broader function than the example of “Now”, that I have given. Whether it is in the word “behold”, the word “truly”, or “verily”, or another word, it is used to direct our attention to something of special importance.
Apostrophe is a figure whereby the speaker turns away from addressing their real audience to briefly address an imaginary one. The clue in verse 17 to this being the figure is that the word “thou” is a second person, singular, personal pronoun. Paul is speaking directly to whatever individual(s) this information applies, if any.
Verses 17, 18, and 19 contain the figure Polysyndeton, or “(too) many conjuctions”, which is used to join individual things together as a whole. In the expression “A and B and C” the A is not only joined to the B, but also to the C. Without the figure it would simply be expressed as “A, B, and C”.
Verses 17, 18, 19, and 20 contain the figure Synchoresis, whereby concession is made to all the points Paul expresses, in order that he can deliver the reproof God had him express in verses 21, 22, and 23.
In verse 18, 19, and 20 Dr. Bullinger mentions Synonymia as being present, but I do not see it. I see a common theme being carried, but not by synonyms.
Verses 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 contain the figure Asyndeton, which is when a conjunction should grammatically be present, but isn’t. In the following verses several things are grouped together, but without the conjunction to show the last member of the group, as would be expected.
19 “And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind,
a light of them which are in darkness,
An instructor of the foolish,
a teacher of babes,
which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?
thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?
thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?”
[AND] Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Verse 21, 22, and 23 host the figure Polyptoton. Each verse number is linked to the corresponding Blue Letter Bible reference.
Verse 26
Here we once again see the figure Antanaclasis used, this time with the word “uncircumcision”.
“Therefore if the uncircumcision (the Gentiles) keep the righteousness of the law (the necessary requirements to arrive at that state or condition) , shall not his uncircumcision (condition for fulfilling the law) be counted for circumcision (fulfillment of the law)?”
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for akrobystia (Strong’s 203)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 11 Mar 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G203&t=KJV >
Righteousness: δικαιώματα, not the state or condition of being righteous, but the necessary requirements to arrive at that state or condition.
In other words…
Rom 2:29 But he [is] a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God.
Verse 27
“And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee , who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?”
…“judge [condemn] thee ( though thou art a Jew), who by (literal circumcision) dost transgress the law?”
Hendiadys; letter and circumcision. Two words used to express one idea.
Ellipsis; see parenthesis.
Verse 28 and 29 according to Dr. E. W. Bullinger’s translation, including Ellipsis…
“For not he that [is a Jew] outwardly, is a Jew, neither that which [is circumcision] outwardly in the flesh, is circumcision; but he that [is a Jew] inwardly, is a Jew, and circumcision of heart in the spirit and not in the letter [is circumcision].
Thanks go to Blue Letter Bible and Internet Archive and The Cornell University Library for providing public domain material.
Thanks also to E. W. Bullinger for his work
“Figures Of Speech Used In The Bible”, and thanks to you for taking the time here.
See original at link. Stream Download.
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