Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 177:705 (Jan 2020)
Article: Re-Examining Romans 1–8 With The Pentateuch
Author: James M. Howard

BSac 177:705 (January-March 2020) p. 70

Re-Examining Romans 1–8 With The Pentateuch

James M. Howard

James M. Howard is Senior Pastor, Dillon Community Church, Dillon, Colorado.

Abstract

This article proposes that understanding the theology of the Pentateuch is critical in understanding Paul’s argument in Romans 1–8, assessing the flow of the epistle, and making sense of its more complicated sections.

In Romans, Paul was concerned with how the story of Jesus continued the story of Israel.1 He needed to understand the story of Israel in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul did not have the New Testament at his disposal when he wrote. He had the Old Testament (Jewish Scriptures), the writings of the period,2 and the oral tradition about Christ. His challenge was to make sense of these sources in light of the life, teachings, and resurrection of Christ. This article proposes that understanding the theology of the Pentateuch is helpful in understanding Paul’s argument in Romans 1–8, assessing the flow of the epistle, and making sense of its more complicated sections.

Paul’s Use Of The Pentateuch In Romans 1–8

Some passages in Romans clearly quote the Old Testament. For example, Romans 9–11 quotes the Old Testament at least thirty

BSac 177:705 (January-March 2020) p. 71

times. However, Paul does more with the Old Testament than quote it.3 In Romans 1–8 he also uses numerous conceptual and linguistic links to the Pentateuch to lay a foundation for understanding the work of Christ.4 Thus, in some ways Romans becomes a Christological commentary on the Old Testament, in that the Old Testament sheds light on the work of Christ and the work of Christ sheds light on the Old Testament.

Watson argues that “Paul’s theology is intertextual in form, in the sense that it is constituted by its relation to an earlier corpus of texts that function as communally normative scripture.” He goes further, saying that Paul cites “individual texts not in an ad hoc manner but on the basis of a radical construal of the narrative shape of the Pentateuch as a whole.”5 Wright argues further, “When we look at Scripture as a wh...