To read a passage repeatedly, to examine its ambiguities, to probe its place in a larger text, to reflect on its relationship to other texts by the same author and its place within the canon of Scripture—all of these are acts of committed relationship. As in all committed relationships, the desire to understand is rightly characterized as love. And that desire involves more than a few moments of bewilderment along with insight. When it comes to the Epistle to the Romans, John Chrysostom’s question, "What are you saying, Paul?" is both a rhetorical flourish and an apt expression of the hermeneutical task.
Readings in Romans brings together representative studies from Beverly Roberts Gaventa’s years of committed relationship with Romans. From the programmatic to specifically exegetical, from those wrestling with the consequences of exegesis—questions of divine power, human freedom, and the identity of Israel vis-á-vis the church—to self-conscious engagement with theologians and writers in conversation with Romans such as Karl Barth and Simone Weil, these essays highlight the contours of Gaventa’s extensive and thoughtful work on the apostle and especially his most influential letter. In this way they serve as an encapsulation of her scholarly contributions on Romans and, at the same time, a testimony of devotion to the radical understanding of God to which Paul himself witnesses.
An essential companion to Gaventa’s definitive commentary on Romans, this volume will assist scholars and students of the New Testament and Christian theology by gathering into one place writings scattered across myriad publications. More than that, Readings in Romans invites all students of Paul to explore the deep coherence, rich texture, and enduring challenge of one of Christianity’s most defining documents.
Part 1 Proclamation, Power, and Praise1 "To Preach the Gospel": Romans 1:15 and the Purposes of Romans2 The "Glory of God" in Paul’s Letter to the Romans3 Power and Kenosis in Paul’s Letter to the Romans4 From Toxic Speech to the Redemption of Doxology in Paul’s Letter to the RomansPart 2 The Human, the Cosmos, and the Powers5 The Shape of the "I": The Psalter, the Gospel, and the Speaker in Romans 76 Neither Height nor Depth: Discerning the Cosmology of Romans7 Interpreting the Death of Jesus ApocalypticallyPart 3 God, Israel, and the Gentiles8 On the Calling-into-Being of Israel: Romans 9:6-299 Thinking from Christ to Israel: Romans 9-11 in Apocalyptic Context10 Questions about Nomos, Answers about Christos: Romans 10:4 in Context11 Who Is "Israel" in Romans 9:30-10:21?: A Neglected QuestionPart 4 Romans in Conversation12 Where Is the "God of Israel" in Paul’s Reading of the Gospel?13 Reading Romans on the Brink: The Continuing Challenge of Barth’s Römerbrief14 "That Grace Should Come into Its Own": Romans 12:1-8 in and with Karl Barth’s Römerbrief15 Which Humans? What Response?: A Reflection on Pauline Theology16 Reading Romans 13 with Simone Weil: Toward a More Generous Hermeneutic17 Reading for the Subject: The Paradox of Power in Romans 14:1-15:6Part 5 Divine Power and Its Consequences18 Freedom in Apocalyptic Perspective: A Reflection on Paul’s Letter to the Romans19 The Rhetoric of Violence and the God of Peace in Paul’s Letter to the Romans20 Places of Power in Paul’s Letter to the Romans
Beverly Roberts Gaventa is Helen H. P. Manson Professor Emerita of New Testament Literature and Exegesis, Princeton Theological Seminary. Following her retirement at Princeton, she served as Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Baylor University.