Birthing the Children of God: Echoes of Theogony in Romans 8.19–23

Abstract

In depicting an apocalyptic expectation of the revelation of God's children (Rom 8.19–23), Paul personifies ‘creation’: awaiting the revelation of these children, she ‘groans and suffers pains of childbirth’. While Paul's vision is framed with scriptural allusions, Greek and Roman images of Earth Mother also provide a relevant juxtaposition. This study recovers such a context by surveying sources ranging from Hesiod's Gaia to the Roman Terra Mater. Philo provides an especially relevant comparative model, as he relates biblical cosmology to Greek mythological sources and asserts that earth's role as mother is also attested in Genesis. In light of these comparisons, fresh insights emerge: maternal creation gives birth to a new divine era, yet for Paul this remains a future hope rather than a past (mythological) or present (political) occurrence.

Children in the New Testament

“…The language of parent-child(ren) is also applied to the relation to God and the people of God, including both the Jewish people of Israel and those—both Jews and Gentiles—who follow Jesus and/or profess him as Lord, with the common phrase ‘children of God’ (W.W. Müller 1995; P. Müller 2001; Müller 2002; Watson 2001; Rhoads 2004; Towner 2008; Friesen 2017). Although the masculine υἱός is used, linguistically this word covers both genders in the plural form and thus it is possible to speak of this relationship either in terms of sonship or descent more generally.…”