Journal: Southeastern Theological Review
Volume: STR 06:1 (Summer 2015)
Article: Revisiting Hab. 2:4 And Its Place In The New Testament Eschatological Vision
Author: James A. E. Mulroney

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Revisiting Hab. 2:4 And Its Place In The New Testament Eschatological Vision

James A. E. Mulroney

University of Edinburgh

I.

It is widely agreed that the Apostle Paul quoted Ambakoum1 2:4b in Rom 1:17b because it was a messianic text that supported the core thesis of his epistle: the righteous (one) shall live by faith, and not by works of the law. It has been argued that this central article—to live by faith—is then unpacked throughout the rest of the epistle as the author explains what this means in light of the coming of Christ. The apostle’s citation is often handled as if it were a proof-text, being lifted out of Ambakoum to suit the purpose of the epistle. Support for the messianic background comes from studies by Dodd and Strobel, which have asserted that, in the former, Paul was working out of a messianic interpretative tradition of the passage,2 and in the latter, the translator of Ambakoum introduced a messianic reference at Amb 2:3a.3

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In addition to the reference of a coming, unnamed individual in Amb 2:3a, modern studies also indicate the use of ὁ δίκαιος as an epithet for the messiah,4 and the syntagmatic movement of the personal pronoun in Amb 2:4b (noting the difference in MT).5 On

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account of these things, and because this righteous person will live “by faith”, it is argued that the OG text indicates the coming of a (the) messiah.6 Amb 2:3–4 is thus listed as part of the Second Temple milieu of messianic expectation,7 and is said to be confirmed by Paul’s appropriation of the text in Romans and Galatians.8

In this study I will explore this messianic claim more closely.9 First, I will discuss the method surrounding how one finds, or identifies, this theological feature (a messianic one) on the level of text-production in the Septuagint. Second, I will then make a lit...