Abraham’s Paternity and God’s Promise: Another Look at the Context and Syntax of Romans 4.1

Abstract

The complexity of Paul’s engagement with the Abrahamic narrative in Rom. 4 arises immediately in Rom. 4.1. The challenging syntax of Rom. 4.1 has resulted in distinct views on the apostle’s engagement with the patriarch and the purpose of his argument in Rom. 4. My intention is to reconsider Rom. 4.1 based on a wider structural analysis of Rom. 3.27–4.22. Building especially on the work of Douglas Campbell and Joshua Jipp, I argue that Rom. 4.1 should be read in connection (conceptually and structurally) with Rom. 4.16-22. I then contend that the lexical and thematic parallels between Rom. 4.1 and 4.16-22 provide clarity with respect to the syntactical complexity of Rom. 4.1. This analysis suggests that, in Rom. 4.1, Paul considers what Abraham discovered with respect to his action according to the flesh (Ishmael) and God’s action according to the promise (Isaac).