Rom 10:1-21 KJV
1 BrethrenV*, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
(Vocative caseV*)
2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of Gc God, but not according to knowledge.
(Tapeinosis 163; Genitive caseGc 999)
3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
6 **But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, *Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down [from above]:)
(Epitrechon* 474; Gnome 790; Prosopopœia 867; **Erotesis 953)
7 Or, **Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
(Epitrechon 474; Gnome 790; Prosopopœia 867; **Erotesis 953)
8 **But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, [even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
( Gnome 790; Prosopopœia 867; **Erotesis 953 )
9 That if thou shalt confess* with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart** that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
(Idioma* 828; Metonymy** 567)
10 For with the heart** man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession* is made unto salvation.
(Ellipsis 111; Metonymy** 567; Idioma* 828)
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever* believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
(Synecdoche* 618)
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich* unto all that call upon him.
(Anthropopatheia* 893)
13 For whosoever* shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
(Pleonasm 410; Synecdoche* 618 )
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
(Climax 258)
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet* of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
(Climax 258; Synonymia 333; Synecdoche* 648; Gnome 796)
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing* by the word of God.
(Anadiplosis 255; Metonymy* see pg. 549)
18 But I say*, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.
(Heterosis* 524 see Psalm 19:4; Prolepsis 980)
19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by [them that are] no people*, [and] by a foolish nation I will anger you.
(Meiosis* 157)
20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
(see Isaiah 65)
21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a dis obedient and gainsaying people.
(see Isaiah 65)
Notes:
Verse 1
Robert Estienne in his Stephen’s Greek Text, commonly know as the Textus Receptus, or Received Text, also known as The Stephen’s Greek Text, includes the word Israel as having been included in the original texts. The Westcott Hort (1881) and the Nestle Aland 26th Edition do not include the word Israel. Perhaps the manuscripts Robert Estienne used did include the word Israel, or perhaps he added it. It is quite clear to see that the context of the chapter supports its implication in verse 1, and with that note it is possible that the Stephen’s Text included it at their own liberty, being justified in so doing by the use of the Vocative Case in the word Brethren.
Compare the Textus Receptus with the GNT at Blue Letter Bible and at
Bible Hub. Thanks to The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources for information on the Vocative Case.
Verse 2 Tapeinosis: “a lessening of a thing in order to increase it”.
By saying “not according to knowledge”, what is really intended is “according to extreme blindness and ignorance”.
Verse 6-7 Epitrechon: Epitrechon is a form of Parenthesis that adds a statement to the context for the purpose of explanation. The Epitrechon is not complete in itself.
Gnome: verse 6 and 8 agree with Deuteronomy 30:12-14 in the Septuagint, while verse 7 does not.
Deu 30:12 KJV – It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Erotesis: this figure is sometimes called a rhetorical question. This is when a question is asked but an answer is not expected and/or waited for. Erotesis is an examining by question, or interrogating. Wordnik gives a computer science definition that, I believe, is appropriate.
“Computer Science: To transmit a signal for setting off an appropriate response.”
Genitive case: “…zeal of God” means “zeal for God”.
Verse 8 Gnome: see above.
Verse 9-10 Idiomatic use of the word “confess”.
See Matt. 10:32; confess, ὁμολογέω, homologiō; to say the same thing as another; to agree with. See also 1 John 4:15.
Verse 10 Dr. Bullinger mentions an Ellipsis, or words that have been left out and must be understood. Here are his words from page 111. “Here “righteousness” is to be understood in the latter clause, as well as “salvation”; and “salvation” is to be understood in the former clause, as well as “righteousness”. Moreover “confession” must be made with the heart as well as with the mouth; and righteousness includes salvation”.
“with the heart man believeth unto righteousness [and salvation] and with
[the heart and] the mouth confession is made unto [righteousness and] salvation.
Verse 11 Synecdoche: Genus for Species. This simply put is a form of the whole for the part. “Whosoever” here means with distinction to the criteria set forth in the epistle, hence “all with distinction”, not “all without exception”.
Verse 12 Anthropopatheia: God is said to have “riches”.
Verse 13 Pleonasm: “the name of” is a redundancy; it is not necessary but adds depth to the message.
Verses 14 and 15 Climax: this, according to Dr. Bullinger, is simply a repeated Anadiplosis, or the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of a sentence that ended the sentence immediately preceding. I’m not on-board with this assessment, as we simply do not see that characteristic of the repetition here in the repetition of “and how shall they ”. Anadiplosis does not fit, as the repetition is only on the beginning, not the end as well.
Mesodiplosis, or middle doubling, does not quite fit either, as the doubling is at the beginning of successive sentences.
Perhaps Anaphora, would better describe the repetition in verses 14 and 15.
According to Dr. Bullinger Anaphora only involves the repetition of one word, and yet some of the examples he provides are of more than one word. When more than one word is involved he classifies it as an Epibole. However, with Epibole the repetition is said to be at irregular intervals, and the idea of “successive” seems to defy the term “irregular”. Call it as you will, a repetition is taking place, and that repetition brings the reader’s focus back to the point being repeated.
There is another figure of repetition playing out here as well. The figure Polysyndeton is easily spotted in the repetition of the conjunction δε. De, δε is a conjunction that is used in many different ways and generally shows a distinction between things joined. The term “dis-junctive” is difficult for people to grasp when used in reference to a “con-junction”, making the word “distinctive” here perhaps a better choice.
In verses 12 through 21 we see, by way of Catabasis, or downward descent, that it is not God who has rejected Israel, but Israel who has rejected God. Because He has not rejected them the door remains open for whosoever calls upon the Lord to be saved. It will remain open until the fullness of the Gentiles has entered His ark, then the door closes to salvation. See Matt. 24:37 and Luke 17:26.
12-15 “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call→ on him in whom they have not ↓ believed? and
how shall they believe→ in him of whom they have not ↓ heard? and
how shall they hear→ without a ↓ preacher? And
how shall they preach→ except they be ↓ sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
With each step down a more fundamental level is reached. If this sequence were reversed we would have an Anabasis taking us upward.
God sends preachers. Their preaching is heard. What is heard is believed. When it is believed those who believe call upon the Lord who then is able to save them.
But by the downward progression Paul shows that indeed God did send preachers who preached, but their message was not believed.
Verse 15 Synonymia: it appears that the figure is only in the English, with the words “bring glad tidings” and “ gospel of peace” both being the same word, not different words with similar meanings. This verse is a Gnome, or quote without directly referencing the author. Esaias is mentioned, but not as having said these words. See Isaiah 52:7.
Synecdoche: feet are put for the entire person.
Verse 17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Here we have an Anadiplosis, bringing three thoughts together so as not to separate them. The first is faith, followed by hearing, and the third is the word of God. Anadiplosis begins a phrase, clause, or sentence with the same word or words that ended the previous one (hearing and hearing).
The word hearing is akoē, meaning to actually perceive the sound. But this does not mean that someone who is deaf cannot believe, for akoē also refers to the subject that is heard. The second occurrence of the word “hearing”, meaning “what is heard”, would be a Metonymy. Both occurrences used together constitute a type of Antanaclasis called Ploce.
Faith comes by hearing not just anything, but hearing the word of God.
Verse 18 Heterosis: First person put for third person. Originally God inspired David to speak the words, then Paul uses the first person “I”.
Prolepsis Tecta addresses an objection before it is presented. Paul addresses the concern that Israel would claim to have not heard, and then that would excuse their unbelief.
Verse 19 Meiosis: the term “no people”
See 1 Pet. 2:9-10 ου λαος νυν δε λαος meaning;
ου; ou; (pronounced oo as in noon) : absolutely no; absolutely not.
λαός; laos; (pronounced lah-os’) : a people, as in a large group, tribe or nation.
νυν; nyn; (pronounced noon) : now, at this present time.
Acts 15:14
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for ou (Strong’s 3756)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 2 Nov 2018
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3756&
amp;t=KJV >
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for nyn (Strong’s 3568)“.
Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2018. 2 Nov 2018.
< http:// www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3568&
amp;t=KJV >
Here are excerpts from “Synonyms of the New Testament” by Richard C. Trench that lead me to consider that perhaps this is not the figure Meiosis, which is the belittling or minimizing of one thing
to intensify or magnify another. Paul does not seem to be belittling those to whom he writes, but stating a straight forward fact. Later in this epistle he prescribes the behavior necessary to be a people, a nation.
“…..And this is the general law of the words’ use, every other being exceptional; λαός the chosen people, ἕθνη, or sometimes more fully τὰ ἕθνη τοῦ κόσμου (Luke 12:30), or τῆς γῆς (Ezra 8:89);
but always in the plural and with the article, the residue of mankind
(οἱ κατάλοιποι τῶν ἀνθρώπων, Acts 15:17)”.
And …
“…At the same time ἕθνος in the singular has no such limitation; it is a name which, given to the Jews by others, is not intended to convey any slight, thus τὸ ἕθνος τῶν Ἰουδαίων (Acts 10:22); they freely take it as in no way a dishonorable title to themselves, τὸ ἔθνος ἡμῶν (Luke 7:5; cf. 23:2; John 11:18), τὸ ἕθνος τοῦτο (Acts 24:3; cf. Exod. 33:13; Deut. 4:6; Wisd. of Sol. 17:2); nay sometimes and with certain additions it is for them a title of highest honour; they are ἔθνος ἅγιον (Exod. 19:6; cf. 1 Pet. 2:9); ἔθνος ἐκ μέσου ἐθνῶν (Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. § 29). … ”
And …
“…If indeed the word is connected with ἔθος, and contemplates a body of people living according to one custom and rule, none could deserve the title better or so well as a nation which ordered their lives according to a more distinctive and rigidly defined custom and rule of their own than probably any other nation that ever lived”.
View at http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/trench/section.cfm?sectionID=98&lexicon=true&strongs=G2992
Thanks go to Mr. Barton of the Facebook group Figures of Speech in The Bible for pointing out that the use of the word heart in verse 9 is a Metonymy. It is so common to use the word heart in our daily communications to mean our thoughts, our affections, our inner most being, and perhaps other things, that it has long been forgotten to be a non-literal figure of speech. One can read from Gen. 6:5
to Rev. 18:7 and find the word heart being used in a non-literal manner.
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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