Romans 15:10-12

Romans 15:10-Paul Cites Deuteronomy 32:43 To Support His Conviction That The Father’s Redemptive Purpose Through His Son Includes Gentiles And Jews

By way of review, the apostle Paul in Romans 15:1 issues both a command and a prohibition. Romans 15:1, “Now, we who are strong are, as an eternal spiritual truth under obligation to patiently and sympathetically endure the weak’s scruples and in addition not please ourselves for our own benefit.” The command reminds the strong that they are under obligation to patiently and sympathetically endure the scruples of the weak and the prohibition that they are not to please themselves for their own benefit. The apostle Paul in Romans 15:2 wants his readers who were strong to meditate upon the command in this verse to continue making it their habit of pleasing the weak for their benefit, for the purpose of that which is good in character, specifically, their edification, i.e. their spiritual growth. Romans 15:2, “Each and every one of us without exception must continue to make it their habit of pleasing his neighbor for their benefit for the purpose of that which is good in character specifically, edification.” This command does not mean that the strong are to conform to the scruples of the weak or that the strong are to let the weak control the local assembly since this would not further the spiritual growth of the weak. Rather, this command means that the strong are to refrain from exercising their freedom in Christ with respect to eating and drinking while in the presence of the weak for the purpose of their spiritual growth. The strong would hinder the spiritual growth of the weak by exercising their freedom since this would tempt the weak to live according to the convictions of the strong rather than their own and thus they would sin in their own mind and lose fellowship with God. Paul simply wants the strong to be considerate of the scruples of the weak by operating in God’s love, which involves self-denial and self- sacrifice for the benefit of the weak. Romans 15:1-2 emphasizes with the strong that even though they have the freedom to eat unclean meats and drink wine offered in pagan sacrifices, they must be willing at all times to deny themselves of this freedom for the sake of their spiritual brother or sister in Christ who is weak. God’s love does insist upon its own rights but rather denies oneself of his rights for the sake of others. Romans 15:3 presents the reason why the strong obey the command in Romans 15:2.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1

Romans 15:3, “Because, even the one and only Christ never pleased Himself for His own benefit on the contrary just as it stands written for all of eternity, ‘The insults from those who insult You fell upon Me.’” The causal clause “ because the one and only Christ never pleased Himself for His own benefi t” speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ devotion to the Father’s will for the sake of saving sinners. It speaks of His self-denial and self-sacrifice in order to execute the Father’s will by suffering a substitutionary spiritual and physical death on the cross in order to deliver sinful humanity from the sin nature, personal sins, real spiritual death, physical death, eternal condemnation, the devil and his cosmic system. To support this causal clause Paul cites verbatim the Septuagint translation of Psalm 69:9b (68:10b in LXX). He uses this quotation to present Jesus Christ as the perfect example for the strong to follow of not pleasing oneself but the Father for the good of others. The Lord Jesus Christ is their perfect example of self-denial and self-sacrifice as the governing principle when conduct themselves in the presence of the weak. Our Lord’s example teaches the strong to set aside one’s personal freedom and comfort to help those who are weak with respect to conviction grow to spiritual maturity. Psalm 69:9 records David lamenting the fact that people were insulting God and that he was the victim of these insults as well. In this Psalm, King David laments his unjust treatment from men because of his devotion to God. In the same way and to an infinitely greater degree Jesus Christ suffered unjust treatment from sinners because of His devotion in doing the Father’s will. Sinners insulted God the Father and the Son became the victim of those insults Himself. Paul does mention Christ bearing the wrath of God to bring sinners to God since this was not overtly apparent to sinners of course. Rather, he mentions Christ bearing the insults of men, which was clearly demonstrated and understood by all who witnessed His ministry and passion. Just as David had a consuming zeal for the house of God, which resulted in his being the object of insults from those who hated the God of Israel, so Christ to an infinitely greater degree possess a consuming zeal for the Father’s house, which resulted in His being the object of insults from those who hated the Father. Therefore, if Christ could endure insults directed at the Father for the sake of saving sinners, the strong can certainly refrain from exercising their freedom with respect to eating and drinking while in the presence of the weak so as to build up the weak spiritually. So Paul’s point in quoting this Psalm is to emphasize with the strong that if Jesus Christ Himself could deny self and self-sacrificially endure the humiliation

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2 of the cross to save souls, then certainly they can deny themselves and refrain from exercising their freedom with respect to food while in the presence of the weak. Then, in Romans 15:4a, Paul reveals to the Romans that he cited Psalm 69:9 in Romans 15:3b as support for the statement in Romans 15:3a that Christ never pleased Himself for His own benefit because the Old Testament Scriptures were written for their instruction. He teaches that the purpose of this instruction in the Old Testament Scriptures was so that by means of perseverance as well as by means of encouragement, which are both produced by the Scriptures, they may experience confidence that they have been blessed, are being blessed and will be blessed in the future. Romans 15:4, “For you see, whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction in order that by means of perseverance, which is divine in quality and character as well as by means of encouragement, which is divine in quality and character, which are produced by the Scriptures we may experience confidence, which is divine in quality and character.” Romans 15:5 begins a new paragraph within the main division that appears in Romans 12:1-15:13. It marks a transition from a discussion in Romans 15:1-4, which instructs the strong to imitate Christ’s self-denial and self-sacrifice when conducting themselves in the presence of the weak to a discussion in Romans 15:5- 12 regarding unity between and Jew and Gentile. The passage is not a prayer but rather Paul’s Spirit inspired desire that the Holy Spirit who produces perseverance and encouragement, cause the Roman believers as a corporate unit to continue making it their habit of thinking the same with one another according to the teaching of Christ, who is Jesus. Though it is not technically a prayer since the Father is not addressed by Paul, it is the content of Paul’s prayer for the Roman believers, which was revealed by him her to encourage the Romans. Romans 15:5, “Now, may God the Holy Spirit who produces perseverance as well as encouragement cause all of you for your benefit to continue making it your habit of thinking the same with one another according to the teaching of Christ, who is Jesus.” The verse instructs the Roman believers that the teaching of Christ is the standard by which the Holy Spirit causes the Roman believers to think the same with one another. The Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples to love one another as He loved them (John 13:34). Obedience to this teaching enables the Holy Spirit to cause believers to think the same with one another since He makes understandable the teaching of Christ and guides the believer in applying this teaching and reproduces the character of Christ in the believer who obeys this command. Therefore, unity among believers is the direct result of believers obeying the Spirit who speaks to the believer through the teaching of the Lord Jesus.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3

The believer’s mental attitude must be based upon the teaching of the Lord Jesus, otherwise the Spirit can not unite believers since He unites believers in their thinking with one another according to the standards of the Lord Jesus Christ, which are revealed through His teaching. The believer is commanded to be filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18 and to let the Word of Christ richly dwell in their soul in Colossians 3:16. They are synonymous since both bear the same results since the Holy Spirit inspired the Word of Christ. Ephesians 5:18 emphasizes the Spirit’s role in fellowship whereas Colossians 3:16 emphasizes the Word of God’s role. Both passages address the believer’s thinking. Believers can only think the same with one another or in other words can only be unified in their thinking if they are thinking like Christ and that can only happen if they are obeying the commands of Ephesians 5:18 and Colossians 3:16. Paul has already made clear that the Lord Jesus taught that all foods are clean. Thus, in Romans 15:5, by teaching that unity of thinking among believers is the result of the Holy Spirit causing believers to think the same according to the teaching of Christ Jesus implies that the weak need to be further educated in the Word of Christ. So in Romans 15:5, Paul reveals his Spirit inspired desire that the Holy Spirit, who produces perseverance as well as encouragement, would cause the Roman believers as a corporate unit to continue making it their habit of thinking the same with one another according to the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Romans 15:6 presents the purpose of this desire, which is that the Roman believers would unanimously, with one voice, continue making it their habit of glorifying the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in the sense of worshipping Him. Romans 15:6, “In order that unanimously, with one voice, all of you may continue making it a habit of glorifying the God and Father of our Lord, namely, Jesus, who is the Christ.” Then, in Romans 15:7, the apostle Paul issues a command that is direct at both the weak and the strong in Rome that is a self-evident inference or conclusion based upon his teaching in Romans 14:1-15:6 and is summarization of what he has taught in this passage. He commands them both to continue making it their habit of welcoming one another into their fellowship because the one and only Christ also welcomed all of them into fellowship with Himself the moment they were declared justified through faith in Him. The purpose for which he wants them to obey this command is that it would glorify the Father in the sense that it would manifest the love of God. Romans 15:7, “Therefore, all of you continue making it your habit of welcoming one another into your fellowship because the one and only Christ also welcomed all of you into fellowship with Himself for the purpose of glorifying God the Father.”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4

There are two basic options for the syntax of Romans 15:8-9, which is awkward: (1) Romans 15:8 and 9a are two parallel assertions that are dependent upon lego , “ I affirm ,” which would render the two verses: I affirm: (a) That Christ is serving the circumcision because of God’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the covenant promises to the patriarchs of Israel. (b) That the Gentiles glorify God because of His mercy. (2) Romans 15:8b and 9a are two parallel purpose expressions that are dependent upon Romans 15:8a, which would render the two verses: I affirm, Christ is serving the circumcision because of God’s faithfulness: (a) In order to fulfill the promises to the patriarchs (b) consequently that the Gentiles glorify God because of His mercy. The syntax is awkward since Paul is attempting maintain his argument throughout the Roman epistle, which he presents in Romans 1:16. Romans 1:16, “For I am never ashamed of the gospel for it is as an eternal spiritual truth God’s power resulting in deliverance for the benefit of everyone who as an eternal spiritual truth believe, to the Jew first and then to the Greek.” The argument expressed in Romans 1:16 and developed throughout the rest of the epistle is that the Gentiles are included in the plan of salvation along with the Jews but that the Jews have the salvation-historical priority since salvation comes to the Gentiles through Christ fulfilling the covenant promises to Israel’s patriarchs. Therefore, in Romans 15:8-9a, Paul maintains the integrity of this argument by using parallel statements to describe in what way the Jews and Gentiles benefited from Christ fulfilling the Father’s plan of salvation. In relation to the Jews, Christ became a servant to the Jews because God the Father is faithful to His promises to Israel’s patriarchs thus the first purpose for His coming is to fulfill these covenant promises to the patriarchs. In relation to the Gentiles, Christ became a servant to the Jews that the Gentiles would glorify the Father because of His mercy. Therefore, in Romans 15:8-9a, Paul is implicitly reminding the weak who were primarily Jewish that God has accepted into His family the strong who were primarily Gentile. He is also reminding the strong who were primarily Gentile that their salvation rests upon the covenant promises that God made to the patriarchs of the Jews. Thus, Paul is echoing his teaching in Romans 11. In Romans 15:8, Paul presents the first of two purposes for Christ becoming a servant to the Jew, namely, it was because of the Father’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the Father’s promises to the patriarchs of Israel. Romans 15:8, “For, I affirm, Christ is serving the circumcision because of God the Father’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the promises, which belong to the fathers.”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5

The Lord Jesus Christ is described by Paul as a “servant” to the Jews which He manifested by fulfilling the Messianic promises and the promises made by God to the patriarchs of Israel and redeeming Israel from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13; 4:4b-5a). The Lord said that He was sent by the Father to “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). This was true because He came to serve Israel by fulfilling the promises of her patriarchs. In Romans 15:8, Paul teaches that Christ became a servant to the Jews because of the Father’s faithfulness. Christ came to fulfill the promises that God made with the patriarchs of Israel and are contained in the four unconditional covenants to Israel. These promises would also include Messianic promises as well. Faithfulness is one of the attributes of God as related to moral beings (Deut. 7:9; 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 John 1:9). It is one of the relative attributes of God meaning that it is related to God’s relationship to men. The four great unconditional covenants to Israel: (1) Abrahamic (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:16; 22:15-18; 26:4; 28:14; 35:11; Ex. 6:2-8). (2) Palestinian (Gen. 13:15; Ex. 6:4, 8; Num. 34:1-12; Deut. 30:1-9; Jer. 32:36-44; Ezek. 36:21-38). (3) Davidic (2 Sam. 7:8-17; Ps. 89:20-37) (4) New (Jer. 31:31-34; cf. Heb. 8:8-12; 10:15-17). We must reiterate that these four unconditional covenants (Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic and New) are all related to Israel and not the church. The nation of Israel was “directly given” the covenants according to Romans 9:1-5. Romans 9:1-5, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, {separated} from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the {temple} service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” However, the church and regenerate Gentiles who live outside the church age participate in the blessings of these covenants since she is the bride of Jesus Christ, the king of Israel (See Galatians 3). Galatians 3:13-14, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us -- for it is written, ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE’ in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith .” Ephesians 3:1-13 teaches that it was a mystery that the Gentiles through faith in Christ would become fellow heirs with Jewish believers, fellow members of the body of Christ and fellow partakers of the four unconditional covenants of promise to Israel.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 6

So in Romans 15:9a, the apostle Paul presents the second purpose for Christ serving the Jews, namely, that the Gentiles would glorify the Father because of His grace. Romans 15:9, “So that the Gentiles glorify God the Father because of grace . As it stands written for all of eternity, ‘Because of this, I myself will, as a certainty, give praise to You among the Gentiles. Also, I will, as a certainty, sing praise to the character and nature of Your person.’” The second purpose is a direct consequence or result of Christ fulfilling the first purpose. By fulfilling the promises to the patriarchs of Israel, Christ provided the Gentiles the opportunity to experience eternal salvation through faith in Him since the promises to the patriarchs included blessings for the Gentiles and not just Israel. Therefore, Paul is saying that Christ welcomed the weak and the strong because He became a servant to the Jew because of God’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the Father’s promises to the patriarchs. Thus, consequently, a second purpose was fulfilled, namely that the Gentiles would glorify the Father because of His grace. Christ welcomed the weak, who were primarily Jewish, into fellowship with Himself because of the Father’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the covenant promises to the patriarchs of Israel. He welcomed the strong, who were primarily Gentile, into fellowship with Himself in order that they would glorify the Father because of His grace policy. To support all of this Paul cites Psalm 18:49 that the Father’s redemptive purpose through His Son includes Gentiles along with Jews. Romans 15:9, “So that the Gentiles glorify God the Father because of grace. As it stands written for all of eternity, ‘Because of this, I myself will, as a certainty, give praise to You among the Gentiles. Also, I will, as a certainty, sing praise to the character and nature of Your person .’” Next, we will note Romans 15:10 and in this passage the apostle cites Deuteronomy 32:43 to support his affirmation that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son not only includes the Jews but also the Gentiles. Romans 15:10, “Again he says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.’” In Romans 15:9b, Paul introduces a series of four Old Testament quotations, which all mention the Gentiles and the first three speak of the praise of God. The second quotation in Romans 15:10 is from Deuteronomy 32:43 and links Gentiles and Jews together in the praise of God. The third is found in Romans 15:11 and is taken from Psalm 117:1. Romans 15:12 contains the fourth quotation, which is from Isaiah 11:10 teaches that the Gentiles confidence in God is based upon the Jewish Messiah. Therefore, the quotations are employed by Paul to support his teaching in Romans 15:8-9a that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son includes both the Jews and the Gentiles.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7

The apostle cites from each of the three major division of the Old Testament. He quotes from the “writings” in verses 9b and 11, the “law” in verse 10 and the “prophets” in verse 12 to demonstrate that the inclusion of the Gentiles with the Jews in praising God is a part of God’s plan of salvation. Thus the offer of salvation is universal (See Luke 24:44). The first quotation that appears in Romans 15:9b is almost an exact translation from the Septuagint translation of Psalm 17:50, which in our English Bibles is Psalm 18:49. Paul cites this verse from the Septuagint almost exactly with the exception with of κύριε , which he omits since he is attributing the quotation to Christ or in other words, the quotation is Messianic though David is speaking about praising God himself among the Gentiles as a result of his victories over the heathen during his lifetime. It also speaks of David praising God among the Gentiles during Christ’s millennial reign. So the words quoted from Psalm 17:50 of the Septuagint are attributed to Christ Himself and portrays Him as giving praise to the Father among the Gentiles when the Gentiles praise the Father through Him, thus, David is a type of Christ in this Psalm. Therefore, all of these Old Testament quotations that appear in Romans 15:9b- 12 are designed to teach the weak Christian who is primarily Jewish to welcome into fellowship with themselves their strong brother or sister in Christ and vice versa. The weak and the strong should welcome each other since both will be praising the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for their so great salvation. Now in Romans 15:10, Paul continues to support his affirmation that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son not only includes the Jews but also the Gentiles by citing Deuteronomy 32:43. Romans 15:10, “Again he says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.’” Not translated is the “connective” use of the conjunction kai ( καί ) (kah), which is simply connecting the previous citation from Psalm 18:49 that appears in Romans 15:9b with the one to follow here in Romans 15:10 from Deuteronomy 32:43. We will translate the word “ And .” “Again ” is the adverb palin ( πάλιν ) (pah-lean). The noun palin in classical Greek as well as in the Septuagint is used chiefly in two senses: (1) With reference to repeated action, again. (2) Rhetorically, in the sense of furthermore or moreover indicating that a statement is to be added at this point in the argument. Both of these meanings are carried over into the Greek New Testament. The word is employed 141 times by the New Testament writers. Liddell and Scott (page 1292): (1) Of place, back, backwards, mostly joined with verbs of going, coming, to express contradiction (2) Of time, again, once more, in turn.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 8

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains defines palin as “a marker of an additive relation involving repetition—‘and, also, again’” (89.97). The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised: (1) Again, back again (2) Again, by repetition (3) Again, in continuation, further (4) Again, on the other hand (page 299). The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon: (1) Anew, again (2) Joined to verbs of all sorts, it denotes renewal or repetition of the action (3) With other parts of speech (4) Explained by the addition of more precise specifications of time (5) Again, i.e., further, moreover (6) In turn, on the other hand (page 475). Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, “ Palin , the regular word for ‘again,’ is used chiefly in two senses, (a) with reference to repeated action; (b) rhetorically, in the sense of ‘moreover’ or ‘further,’ indicating a statement to be added in the course of an argument, e. g., (Matt. 5:33); or with the meaning ‘on the other hand, in turn,’ (Luke 6:43; 1 Cor. 12:21; 2 Cor. 10:7; 1 John 2:8). In the first chapter of Hebrews, (v. 5), palin simply introduces an additional quotation; in (v. 6) this is not so. There the RV rightly puts the word ‘again’ in connection with ‘He bringeth in the firstborn into the world,’ ‘When He again bringeth, etc.’ That is to say, palin is here set in contrast to the time when God first brought His Son into the world. This statement, then, refers to the future second advent of Christ. The word is used far more frequently in the Gospel of John than in any other book in the New Testament.” A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition: (1) pertaining to return to a position or state, back (2) pertaining to repetition in the same (or similar) manner, again, once more, anew (3) marker of discourse or narrative item added to items of a related nature, also, again, furthermore, thereupon (4) marker of contrast or an alternative aspect, on the other hand, in turn (pages 752-753). In Romans 15:10, the adverb palin means “furthermore” since it functions as a marker of an discourse item added to items of a related or similar nature. It marks the quotation from Deuteronomy 32:43 as related to the previous Scripture quotation in Romans 15:9b from Psalm 18:49 in that it further supports Paul’s affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that the Father’s plan of salvation accomplished through His Son includes not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The word is modifying the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb lego , “ He says ,” which refers to the Old Testament and should be rendered “ it says ” since David is not speaking in the quotation because the quotation is from Moses in Deuteronomy 32:43. (See ESV, NET, LEB and NIV) Therefore, we will translate the adverb palin with the English adverb “furthermore .”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 9

Romans 15:10, “Again he says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.’” “He says ” is the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb lego ( λέγω ) (leh-go), which refers to the “content” of what the Lord communicated through Moses in Deuteronomy 32:43 and is quoted by Paul in Romans 15:10. The third person singular form of the verb means “it” referring to the Old Testament Scriptures rather than “he” referring to David since David is not speaking in this quotation since it is a quotation from Moses in Deuteronomy 32:43. Also further indicating that the third person singular form refers to the Old Testament is the perfect middle indicative form of the verb grapho in Romans 15:9b. The perfect tense of the verb lego is a “perfective” present, which is used to emphasize the results of a past action. Therefore, the “perfective present” of the verb lego emphasizes that even though Deuteronomy 32:43 was written in the past, it still speaks today. It says that this quotation is binding on Paul’s readers since it confirms his teaching in Romans 15:8-9a that the Father’s plan of salvation accomplished through His Son involves not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The active voice indicates that the Old Testament as the subject produced the action of saying that regenerate Gentiles would rejoice with regenerate Jews e. The indicative mood is “declarative” presenting this assertion as an unqualified statement of fact. We will translate lego , “ it says .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:10, “And, furthermore, it says…” Romans 15:10, “Again he says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.’” Paul is quoting exactly from the third line of the Septuagint translation of Deuteronomy 32:43: εὐφράνθητε, ἔθνη, μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ, which is quoting the first line in the Hebrew text. This text is similar to the Septuagint translation of Psalm 17:50 (18:49 in the English Bible) in that it calls for God’s people to rejoice over His acts in subduing nations and His enemies. This line from Deuteronomy 32:43 is taken from a song Moses wrote shortly before his death. In the passage, God was giving him prophetically a new understanding of His judgments as well as His blessings. In this song, Moses was giving a prophetic recitation of the history of the nation of Israel until the coming of the millennial kingdom. He was calling on Gentile nations to rejoice with the Jews as they learned of God’s power and glory. This will be fulfilled during the millennial reign of Christ when both regenerate Gentiles and Jews will rejoice over the fact that they have been saved through power of the Spirit who appropriated for them the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection the moment they were declared justified through faith in Christ. Paul quotes the passage because he is not concerned about the cause of Moses calling the nations to rejoice with him and Israel but rather the call for the Gentiles

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 10 to rejoice with Israel. This would emphasize with his readers who were composed of both regenerate Jews and Gentiles that they must maintain their unity with each other and welcome each other into fellowship with one another since God is calling Gentiles to rejoice with the Jews. It would emphasize with his readers that they are to rejoice with each other since both have been declared justified through faith in Christ and have received eternal life and are now members of one another. Romans 15:10, “Again he says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.’” “Rejoice ” is the second person plural aorist passive imperative form of the verb euphraino ( εὐφραίνω ) (ef-fray-no). This verb in the active voice in classical Greek means “to cheer” or “to gladden.” In the passive voice it means “to be glad” or “to rejoice.” This word was associated especially with banquets and their consequent merriment. It appears 229 times in the Septuagint, which is a synonym of agalliao and chairo , to describe rejoicing on the part of various individuals. Many times it translated the Hebrew sameach . Euphraino is used in four ways in the Septuagint: (1) The enemies of God’s people “rejoice” when Israel or the righteous are defeated or caused to suffer (Psalm 35:15 [LXX 34:15]; Judges 16:23). (2) Joy is expressed in God’s ability and willingness to help or save an individual (Psalm 5:11; 9:2; 16:9 [LXX 15:9]; 32:11 [31:11]; 40:16 [39:16]. (3) The verb is used in relation to the religious activities of Israel including sacrifices and feasts (Deuteronomy 12:7; 14:26; 16:11; 26:11; 27:7). (4) Growing out of the “rejoicing” in religious activities is the use of the verb in eschatological contexts (Psalm 96:11 [LXX 95:11]; 97:1 [96:1]). The verb occurs only 14 times in the Greek New Testament where it is associated with rejoicing at a banquet (Luke 15:11-32), and is used to depict individuals selfishly eating and drinking (Luke 12:19; 16:19). The word appears in Revelation 11:10 of the unsaved during the tribulation rejoicing over the death of the two prophets of Israel. The term is used of the inhabitants of heaven rejoicing over Satan being cast out of heaven and thrown to the earth by Michael (Revelation 12:12). The verb is used of the inhabitants of heaven including the saints, prophets and apostles being told to rejoice by God for the destruction of Babylon during the tribulation. It is also used by Stephen in Acts 7:41 when he was describing the Exodus generation worshipping the golden calf. The term was used for “rejoicing” over salvation (Acts 2:26). Louw and Nida define euphraino , “to cause someone to be or become happy or glad—‘to make glad, to cheer up, to cause to be happy.’” (25.131) (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based upon Semantic Domains). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition lists the following meanings for the word: (1) to cause to

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 11 be glad, gladden, cheer (up) (2) to be glad or delighted, be glad, enjoy oneself, rejoice, celebrate (3) to observe a special occasion with festivity, celebrate (Page 414-415). Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament: (1) active make glad, cheer up someone (2) passive, of social and festive enjoyment be merry, enjoy oneself; of religious and spiritual jubilation rejoice, celebrate, be jubilant (Page 181). In Romans 15:10, the verb euphraino means “to rejoice.” The second person plural form refers to each and every regenerate Gentile. The aorist imperative form of the verb is a “constative aorist imperative” meaning that this is a solemn or categorical command. The stress is not “begin an action,” nor “continue to act.” Rather, the stress is on the solemnity and urgency of the action; thus “I solemnly charge you to act—and do it now!” This is the use of the aorist in general precepts. The aorist is often used to command an action that has been going on. Thus, in this case, both the solemn nature of the command and its urgency are emphasized. Now, in context, Paul is using this verb in a citation from Deuteronomy 32:43, which supports his affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that the Father’s redemptive purpose through His Son includes not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The implication for Paul’s readers is that the weak who were primarily Jewish and the strong who were primarily Gentile were to continue being united by welcoming each other into their fellowship. The Old Testament predicts that Gentile believers will be united in their worship of the Lord Jesus Christ with Jewish believers during the millennial reign. Therefore, the constative aorist imperative form of the verb euphraino indicates that Paul’s readers who were born-again Gentiles were “to make it their top priority” to rejoice with born-again Jews “and do it now!” It expresses urgency indicating to Paul’s readers that God does not want division between the weak and strong, between Jew and Gentile but that they are to join together to worship God for their so great salvation since both were saved through faith alone in Christ alone. The passive voice is a “divine passive.” The passive voice means that the subject receives the action of the verb from either an expressed or unexpressed agency. The subject of this command is born-again Gentiles. The unexpressed agency is God’s grace policy as indicated by Paul’s statement in Romans 15:8-9a that Christ serves the Jews because of the Father’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the covenant promises to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles glorify the Father because of His grace. Therefore, the regenerate Gentiles were to make it their top priority to rejoice because they are the beneficiaries of God’s grace policy. We will translate euphraino , “ I solemnly charge all of you to make it your top priority to rejoice and do it now !”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 12

Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:10, “And, furthermore, it says, ‘I solemnly charge all of you to make it your top priority to rejoice and do it now…’” Romans 15:10, “Again he says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.’” “O Gentiles ” is the vocative neuter plural form of the noun ethnos ( ἒθνος ) (eff- noce), which refers to all those individuals who are “not” of Jewish racial descent and thus “not” members of the covenant people of God, Israel. The word functions as a vocative of simple address meaning the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures is addressing born-again Gentiles with this command. We will translate the word “Gentiles .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:10, “And, furthermore, it says, ‘I solemnly charge all of you Gentiles to make it your top priority to rejoice and do it now…’” Romans 15:10, “Again he says, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.’” “With His people ” is composed of the preposition meta ( μετά ) (meh-tah), “with ” and the articular genitive masculine singular form of the noun laos ( λαός ) (lah-oce), “ people ” and genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός ) (owf-toce), “ His .” The noun laos is in the singular meaning “nation” and is a reference to the nation of Israel and functions as the object of the preposition meta , “with,” which functions itself as a marker of association indicating that the Holy Spirit through Deuteronomy 32:43 is commanding Gentile believers to rejoice “together with” or “in association with” Jewish believers. The definite article preceding the word is used with the personal pronoun autos , “His ” to denote possession. The intensive personal pronoun refers to the Father and functions as a “genitive of possession,” which indicates that Israel “belongs to” or is “owned” by the Father. Therefore, we will translate the prepositional meta tou laou autou ( μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ), “ together with His nation .” Completed corrected translation of Romans 15:10, “And, furthermore, it says, ‘I solemnly charge all of you Gentiles to make it your top priority to rejoice together with His nation and do it now.’” To summarize, the apostle Paul in Romans 15:10 quotes exactly from the third line in the Septuagint translation of Deuteronomy 32:43 to support his affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son not only includes the Jews but also Gentiles.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 13

Romans 15:11-Paul Cites Psalm 117:1 To Support His Conviction That The Father’s Redemptive Purpose Through His Son Includes The Jews And The Gentiles

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 14

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 15 of the cross to save souls, then certainly they can deny themselves and refrain from exercising their freedom with respect to food while in the presence of the weak. Then, in Romans 15:4a, Paul reveals to the Romans that he cited Psalm 69:9 in Romans 15:3b as support for the statement in Romans 15:3a that Christ never pleased Himself for His own benefit because the Old Testament Scriptures were written for their instruction. He teaches that the purpose of this instruction in the Old Testament Scriptures was so that by means of perseverance as well as by means of encouragement, which are both produced by the Scriptures, they may experience confidence that they have been blessed, are being blessed and will be blessed in the future. Romans 15:4, “For you see, whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction in order that by means of perseverance, which is divine in quality and character as well as by means of encouragement, which is divine in quality and character, which are produced by the Scriptures we may experience confidence, which is divine in quality and character.” Romans 15:5 begins a new paragraph within the main division that appears in Romans 12:1-15:13. It marks a transition from a discussion in Romans 15:1-4, which instructs the strong to imitate Christ’s self-denial and self-sacrifice when conducting themselves in the presence of the weak to a discussion in Romans 15:5- 12 regarding unity between and Jew and Gentile. The passage is not a prayer but rather Paul’s Spirit inspired desire that the Holy Spirit who produces perseverance and encouragement, cause the Roman believers as a corporate unit to continue making it their habit of thinking the same with one another according to the teaching of Christ, who is Jesus. Though it is not technically a prayer since the Father is not addressed by Paul, it is the content of Paul’s prayer for the Roman believers, which was revealed by him her to encourage the Romans. Romans 15:5, “Now, may God the Holy Spirit who produces perseverance as well as encouragement cause all of you for your benefit to continue making it your habit of thinking the same with one another according to the teaching of Christ, who is Jesus.” The verse instructs the Roman believers that the teaching of Christ is the standard by which the Holy Spirit causes the Roman believers to think the same with one another. The Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples to love one another as He loved them (John 13:34). Obedience to this teaching enables the Holy Spirit to cause believers to think the same with one another since He makes understandable the teaching of Christ and guides the believer in applying this teaching and reproduces the character of Christ in the believer who obeys this command. Therefore, unity among believers is the direct result of believers obeying the Spirit who speaks to the believer through the teaching of the Lord Jesus.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 16

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 17

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 18

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 19

So in Romans 15:9a, the apostle Paul presents the second purpose for Christ serving the Jews, namely, that the Gentiles would glorify the Father because of His grace. Romans 15:9, “So that the Gentiles glorify God the Father because of grace . As it stands written for all of eternity, ‘Because of this, I myself will, as a certainty, give praise to You among the Gentiles. Also, I will, as a certainty, sing praise to the character and nature of Your person.’” The second purpose is a direct consequence or result of Christ fulfilling the first purpose. By fulfilling the promises to the patriarchs of Israel, Christ provided the Gentiles the opportunity to experience eternal salvation through faith in Him since the promises to the patriarchs included blessings for the Gentiles and not just Israel. Therefore, Paul is saying that Christ welcomed the weak and the strong because He became a servant to the Jew because of God’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the Father’s promises to the patriarchs. Thus, consequently, a second purpose was fulfilled, namely that the Gentiles would glorify the Father because of His grace. Christ welcomed the weak, who were primarily Jewish, into fellowship with Himself because of the Father’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the covenant promises to the patriarchs of Israel. He welcomed the strong, who were primarily Gentile, into fellowship with Himself in order that they would glorify the Father because of His grace policy. To support all of this Paul cites Psalm 18:49 that the Father’s redemptive purpose through His Son includes Gentiles along with Jews. Romans 15:9, “So that the Gentiles glorify God the Father because of grace. As it stands written for all of eternity, ‘Because of this, I myself will, as a certainty, give praise to You among the Gentiles. Also, I will, as a certainty, sing praise to the character and nature of Your person .’” Next, Paul in Romans 15:10 cites Deuteronomy 32:43 to support his affirmation that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son not only includes the Jews but also the Gentiles. Romans 15:10, “And, furthermore, it says, ‘I solemnly charge all of you Gentiles to make it your top priority to rejoice together with His people and do it now.’” Next, in Romans 15:11, Paul cites Psalm 117:1 to support his affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son not only includes the Jews but also the Gentiles. Romans 15:11, “And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.’” “And ” is the “connective” use of the conjunction kai ( καί ) (kah), which is simply connecting the previous citation from Deuteronomy 32:43 that appears in

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 20

Romans 15:10 with the one to follow here in Romans 15:11 from Psalm 117:1. We will translate the word “ And .” “Again ” is the adverb palin ( πάλιν ) (pah-lean), which means “likewise” since it functions as a marker of an discourse item added to items of a related or similar nature. It marks the quotation from Psalm 117:1 that is related to the previous Scripture quotation in Romans 15:10 from Deuteronomy 32:43 in that it further supports Paul’s affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that the Father’s plan of salvation accomplished through His Son includes not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The word is modifying the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb lego , “ He says ,” which is omitted but implied and refers to the Old Testament. Therefore, we will translate the adverb palin with the English adverb “likewise .” Paul is quoting from the Septuagint translation of Psalm 116:1, which is Psalm 117:1 in our English Bibles. Psalm 117:1a, “Praise the Lord, all you nations!” (NET Bible) Interestingly, Psalm 117:2 presents the reason for the praise is God grace (chesedh ) and faithfulness, which is why Paul chose this Psalm. He chose this Psalm since he teaches in Romans 15:8-9a that Christ has become a servant to the Jews because of the Father’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the promises to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles glorify the Father because of His grace policy. Psalm 117:2, “Because His grace overcomes us and His faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord! (My translation) The Hebrew text of Psalm 117:1: Literal translation of the Hebrew text of Psalm 117:1: “Praise Yahweh all the nations, praise Him all the peoples.” The Septuagint translation of Psalm 116:1: Αἰνεῖτε τὸν κύριον, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, ἐπαινέσατε αὐτόν, πάντες οἱ λαοί. Literal translation of the Septuagint translation of Psalm 116:1: “Praise the Lord all the nations, let all the peoples praise Him.” The Greek text of Romans 15:11: ιο ιοο Literal translation of the Greek text of Romans 15:11: “Praise all the nations the Lord and let all the peoples praise Him.” Though Paul is following the Septuagint translation of Psalm 116:1, there are some differences from his text and the Septuagint. First of all, he transposes τὸν κύριον, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη . This is to place more emphasis upon the Gentiles since in context Paul is using this quotation along with the others to support his affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son includes not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. He also inserts between the statements. Lastly, he uses ι rather than

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 21

Septuagint’s ἐπαινέσατε . The former is the third person plural aorist active imperative form of the verb epaineo whereas the latter is the second person plural aorist active imperative form of the word. Paul chooses the former in order to convey a sense of urgency since the third person plural imperative has the idea of “they must” and thus enhances the sense of urgency since the aorist imperative form conveys this idea meaning “I solemnly charge you to act—and do it now!” Romans 15:11, “And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.’” “Praise ” is the second person plural present active imperative form of the verb aineo ( αἰνέω ) (eh-nay-owe), which means “to praise” since it denotes the joyful praise of the Lord Jesus Christ through song in the sense of singing of the excellence of His person. In the Septuagint translation of Psalm 116:1, the verb aineo translates the Hebrew verb hallel ( ) (haw-lal) whose root is connected to the idea of singing. The verb hallel may be related to the Akkadian alalu “a shout for joy,” alalu “to sing a song for joy,” elelu “jubilation” or the Arabic halla “to sing joyfully.” Therefore, the verb aineo means “to praise joyfully in song” the Lord Jesus Christ for who He is and what He has done. The second person plural form of the verb refers to the Gentiles as a corporate unit and is used in a distributive sense meaning “each and every one of” you Gentiles. Now, in context, Paul is using this verb in a citation from the Septuagint translation of Psalm 116:1, which supports his affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that the Father’s redemptive purpose through His Son includes not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The implication for Paul’s readers is that the weak who were primarily Jewish and the strong who were primarily Gentile were to continue being united by welcoming each other into their fellowship. Therefore, the present imperative of the verb aineo is directed at Paul’s readers who were Gentiles who composed the majority of strong believers in Rome. The present imperative form of the verb is a “customary present imperative” whose force is for Paul’s Gentile Christian readers in Rome to simply continue joyfully praising the Lord Jesus Christ in song for who He is and what He has done for them. In context, they were to praise the Lord for becoming a servant to the Jews because of the Father’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the covenant promises to the patriarchs so that they, the Gentiles could glorify the Father because of His grace. The customary present imperative is a command for action to be continued, action that may or may not have already been going on. It is often a character building command to the effect of “make this your habit,” “train yourself in this, discipline yourself.” This is the use of the present imperative in general precepts.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 22

The present imperative of aineo means, “to continue or make it your habit of” praising the Lord Jesus. The present imperative of the verb is used of a general precept for habits that should characterize one’s attitude and behavior. Therefore, it denotes that Paul’s Gentile Christian readers were to be characterized as those who joyfully praise the Lord Jesus for who He is as the God-man and what He has done in providing their so great salvation and manifesting the Father’s grace policy towards them. Paul’s statements in Romans 1:8, 15:14-15 and 16:19 indicate that they were in fact already doing this. Therefore, the present imperative form of the verb indicates that Paul’s command is simply giving his Gentile readers a reminder to continue doing what they were doing and was designed to protect their fellowship with God, with the weak, who were primarily Jewish and their testimony among the unsaved. The active voice of the verb indicates that the Gentile believers in Rome were responsible to obey this command. We will translate the verb aineo , “ all of you continue making it your habit of joyfully singing praise to .” Romans 15:11, “And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.’” “All you Gentiles ” is composed of the composed of the vocative neuter plural form of the adjective pas ( πᾶς), “ all you ” and the articular vocative neuter plural form of the noun ethnos ( ἒθνος ) (eff-noce), “ Gentiles .” The noun ethnos refers again to all those individuals who are “not” of Jewish racial descent and thus “not” members of the covenant people of God, Israel and thus Paul’s Gentile Christian readers in Rome. The word functions as a vocative of simple address meaning the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures is addressing born-again Gentiles with this command. The articular construction of the word is anaphoric meaning that the word is used in Romans 15:10 and its meaning and usage in that verse is being retained here in Romans 15:11. It is also generic identifies born-again Gentiles who belong to the human race as being distinguished from born-again Jews. We will translate the word “ Gentiles .” The adjective pas is modifying the noun ethnos , “Gentiles’ and is used in a distributive sense referring to each and every one of Paul’s Gentile Christian readers in Rome. The word denotes “no exceptions,” which would make clear to Paul’s Gentile Christian readers that each and every one of them with no exceptions must continue to make it their habit of joyfully singing the praises of the Lord Jesus Christ for their so great salvation. We will translate pas , “ each and every .”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 23

Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:11, “And likewise, ‘Each and every one of you Gentiles continue making it your habit of joyfully singing praise to…’” Romans 15:11, “And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.’” “The Lord ” is the articular accusative masculine singular for of the noun kurios (κύριος ) (ker-dee-oce), which refers to the Lord Jesus Christ since the word is always used of him in Romans 12:1-15:13 and the statement in Romans 15:12 refers to Him. The noun kurios indicates the following: (1) Jesus of Nazareth’s equality with the Father and the Spirit. (2) His joint-rulership with the Father over the entire cosmos. (3) His highest ranking position as Chief Administrator in the divine government. (4) His absolute sovereign authority as Ruler over all creation and every creature. (5) His strategic victory over Satan and the kingdom of darkness in the angelic conflict. In His deity, Jesus Christ is “ Lord ” (See Luke 20:42), however in His human nature He received this title as a result of His obedience to the Father’s will, which called for Him to suffer spiritual death on the cross as a substitute for every member of the human race-past, present and future (See Philippians 2:5-11). The articular construction of the noun kurios emphasizes that the Lord Jesus Christ is in a class by Himself. In 1 Timothy 6:15 and Revelation 19:16, Jesus Christ is called the “ King of kings and Lord of lords .” It emphasizes that there are many lords in the world but that Jesus Christ is in a class by Himself in that He is sovereign over these other human or angelic lords. The word functions as an accusative direct object meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb aineo indicating that Paul’s Gentile Christian readers in Rome were to continue to making it their habit of praising the Lord Jesus Christ. We will translate the expression to kurion ( τὸν κύριον ), “ the Lord .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:11, “And likewise, ‘Each and every one of you Gentiles continue making it your habit of joyfully singing praise to the Lord…’” Romans 15:11, “And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.’” “And ” is the “adjunctive” use of the conjunction kai ( καί ) (kah), which introduces an “additional” group, i.e. Paul’s Jewish Christian readers in Rome who are to shower the Lord Jesus Christ with praise. We will translate the word “ also .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:11, “And likewise, ‘Each and every one of you Gentiles continue making it your habit of joyfully singing praise to the Lord. Also…’”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 24

Romans 15:11, “And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.’” “Let…praise ” is the third person plural aorist active imperative form of the verb epaineo ( ἐπαινέω ) (ep-eh-neh-owe), which is a compound word composed of the verb aineo , “to praise” and the preposition epi , which intensifies the meaning of the verb. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament defines the word as “expressing a high evaluation of someone’s actions, praise, commend, approve of” (Page 158). The word appears 27 times in the Septuagint where almost as a rule epaineo is a translation of halal referring to man’s praise or commendation of another person or of himself. When it is translating shabach , the word generally is a reference to man’s praise of God (Psalm 63:3 [LXX 62:3]; 117:1 [116:1]). Schultz writes, “ Epaineo and epainos are used for the praise of God by His people and also for the praise of the righteous by God and man.” (The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Colin Brown, General Editor, volume 3, page 817; Regency, Reference Library, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1967, 1969, 1971) Now, in Romans 15:11, as we have noted, Paul is citing the Septuagint translation of Psalm 116:1, which in our English Bibles is 117:1. In the Septuagint translation of Psalm 116:1, the verb epaineo translates the Hebrew shabach ( ) (shaw-bakh) whereas aineo translates the Hebrew verb hallel ( ) (haw-lal) whose root as we noted earlier is connected to the idea of singing. The verb hallel may be related to the Akkadian alalu “a shout for joy,” alalu “to sing a song for joy,” elelu “jubilation” or the Arabic halla “to sing joyfully.” The verb shabach is used in the majority of instances in the Old Testament to praise God for His mighty acts and deeds. (See Harris, Laird R.; Archer, Gleason L. Jr.; Waltke, Bruce K. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2 volumes; numbers 2313; The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago 1980) Hallel is used the majority of times to praise God’s person or His character and nature and sometimes His acts. Therefore, in Romans 15:11, it appears that Paul chooses aineo to denote praising the Lord Jesus Christ joyfully in song since the Septuagint uses it in Psalm 116:1 to translate the Hebrew hallel whose root is connected to the idea of singing. He chooses epaineo to acknowledge the deity of Christ and to emphasize the mighty acts of the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of born- again Jews since the word is used in the Septuagint to praise God rather than man for His mighty acts. Since the verb epaineo is the intensified form of aineo , it means “to extol, praise highly or “shower with praise.”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 25

The third person plural form refers to regenerate Jews since the verb epaineo is used with the noun laos , whose articular construction is anaphoric meaning that the word was used in Romans 15:10 and its meaning in that verse is being retained again in Romans 15:11 and should be translated with the pronoun “His.” Paul chooses the third person plural form in order to convey a sense of urgency since the third person plural imperative has the idea of “they must” and thus enhances the sense of urgency since the aorist imperative form conveys this idea meaning “I solemnly charge you to act—and do it now!” The aorist imperative form of the verb epaineo is a “constative aorist imperative” meaning that this is a solemn or categorical command. The stress is not “begin an action,” nor “continue to act.” Rather, the stress is on the solemnity and urgency of the action; thus “I solemnly charge you to act—and do it now!” This is the use of the aorist in general precepts. The aorist is often used to command an action that has been going on, thus, in this case, both the solemn nature of the command and its urgency are emphasized. Now, in context, Paul is using this verb epaineo in a citation from Psalm 117:1, which supports his affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that the Father’s redemptive purpose through His Son includes not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The implication for Paul’s readers is that the weak who were primarily Jewish and the strong who were primarily Gentile were to continue being united by welcoming each other into their fellowship. Therefore, the constative aorist imperative form of the verb epaineo indicates that Paul’s readers who were born-again Jews were “to make it their top priority” to shower the Lord Jesus Christ with praise for His mighty acts on their behalf “and do it now!” It expresses urgency indicating to Paul’s Jewish readers that God does not want division between the weak and strong, between Jew and Gentile but to join together in worship God for their so great salvation since both were saved through faith alone in Christ alone. The active voice of the verb indicates that the Jewish believers in Rome were responsible to obey this command. We will translate epaineo , “ I solemnly charge all of you to make it your top priority to shower with praise and do it now !” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:11, “And likewise, ‘Each and every one of you Gentiles continue making it your habit of joyfully singing praise to the Lord. Also, I solemnly charge all of you to make it your top priority to shower with praise and do it now…’” Romans 15:11, “And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.’” “Him ” is the accusative masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός ) (awf-toce), which refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. Autos

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 26 functions as an accusative direct object meaning that it is receiving the action of the verb epaineo . Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:11, “And likewise, ‘Each and every one of you Gentiles continue making it your habit of joyfully singing praise to the Lord. Also, I solemnly charge all of you to make it your top priority to shower Him with praise and do it now…’” Romans 15:11, “And again, ‘Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.’” “All the peoples ” is composed of the vocative neuter plural form of the adjective pas ( πᾶς), “ all ” and the articular nominative masculine plural form of the noun laos ( λαός ) (lah-oce), “ people ” The noun laos is in the plural meaning “people” and is a reference to Israel as indicated by its articular construction, which is anaphoric meaning that the word was used in Romans 15:10 indicating that its referent is being retained here in Romans 15:11. The articular construction can thus function as a possessive pronoun meaning “His.” The adjective pas is used in a distributive sense referring to each and every one of Paul’s Christian readers in Rome who were Jewish indicating that there were “no exceptions” making clear to them that each and every one of them with no exceptions was to shower the Lord with praise. Therefore, we will translate the expression pantes hoi laoi ( πάντες οἱ λαοί ), “ each and every one of His people .” Completed corrected translation of Romans 15:11, “And likewise, ‘Each and every one of you Gentiles continue making it your habit of joyfully singing praise to the Lord. Also, I solemnly charge all of you to make it your top priority to praise Him each and every one of His people and do it now.’” In addition to Psalm 18:49 in Romans 15:9b and Deuteronomy 32:43 in Romans 15:10, Paul cites the Septuagint translation of Psalm 116:1 in Romans 15:11 to further support his affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son includes not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The passage contains two commands with the first addressed to Paul’s Gentile Christian readers in Rome directing each and every one of them to continue making it their habit of joyfully singing praise to the Lord Jesus Christ for who He is as the God-man and what He has done to provide them their so great salvation. The second is addressed to Paul’s Jewish Christian readers in Rome directing each and every one of them with a great sense of urgency to make it their top priority to continue showering the Lord Jesus Christ with praise for who He is as the God- man and what He has done for them in providing them their so great salvation.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 27

Romans 15:12-Paul Cites Isaiah 11:10 To Support His Conviction That The Father’s Redemptive Purpose Through His Son Includes The Jews And The Gentiles

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 28

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 29 of the cross to save souls, then certainly they can deny themselves and refrain from exercising their freedom with respect to food while in the presence of the weak. Then, in Romans 15:4a, Paul reveals to the Romans that he cited Psalm 69:9 in Romans 15:3b as support for the statement in Romans 15:3a that Christ never pleased Himself for His own benefit because the Old Testament Scriptures were written for their instruction. He teaches that the purpose of this instruction in the Old Testament Scriptures was so that by means of perseverance as well as by means of encouragement, which are both produced by the Scriptures, they may experience confidence that they have been blessed, are being blessed and will be blessed in the future. Romans 15:4, “For you see, whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction in order that by means of perseverance, which is divine in quality and character as well as by means of encouragement, which is divine in quality and character, which are produced by the Scriptures we may experience confidence, which is divine in quality and character.” Romans 15:5 begins a new paragraph within the main division that appears in Romans 12:1-15:13. It marks a transition from a discussion in Romans 15:1-4, which instructs the strong to imitate Christ’s self-denial and self-sacrifice when conducting themselves in the presence of the weak to a discussion in Romans 15:5- 12 regarding unity between and Jew and Gentile. The passage is not a prayer but rather Paul’s Spirit inspired desire that the Holy Spirit who produces perseverance and encouragement, cause the Roman believers as a corporate unit to continue making it their habit of thinking the same with one another according to the teaching of Christ, who is Jesus. Though it is not technically a prayer since the Father is not addressed by Paul, it is the content of Paul’s prayer for the Roman believers, which was revealed by him her to encourage the Romans. Romans 15:5, “Now, may God the Holy Spirit who produces perseverance as well as encouragement cause all of you for your benefit to continue making it your habit of thinking the same with one another according to the teaching of Christ, who is Jesus.” The verse instructs the Roman believers that the teaching of Christ is the standard by which the Holy Spirit causes the Roman believers to think the same with one another. The Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples to love one another as He loved them (John 13:34). Obedience to this teaching enables the Holy Spirit to cause believers to think the same with one another since He makes understandable the teaching of Christ and guides the believer in applying this teaching and reproduces the character of Christ in the believer who obeys this command. Therefore, unity among believers is the direct result of believers obeying the Spirit who speaks to the believer through the teaching of the Lord Jesus.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 30

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 31

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 32

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 33

So in Romans 15:9a, the apostle Paul presents the second purpose for Christ serving the Jews, namely, that the Gentiles would glorify the Father because of His grace. Romans 15:9, “So that the Gentiles glorify God the Father because of grace . As it stands written for all of eternity, ‘Because of this, I myself will, as a certainty, give praise to You among the Gentiles. Also, I will, as a certainty, sing praise to the character and nature of Your person.’” The second purpose is a direct consequence or result of Christ fulfilling the first purpose. By fulfilling the promises to the patriarchs of Israel, Christ provided the Gentiles the opportunity to experience eternal salvation through faith in Him since the promises to the patriarchs included blessings for the Gentiles and not just Israel. Therefore, Paul is saying that Christ welcomed the weak and the strong because He became a servant to the Jew because of God’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the Father’s promises to the patriarchs. Thus, consequently, a second purpose was fulfilled, namely that the Gentiles would glorify the Father because of His grace. Christ welcomed the weak, who were primarily Jewish, into fellowship with Himself because of the Father’s faithfulness in order to fulfill the covenant promises to the patriarchs of Israel. He welcomed the strong, who were primarily Gentile, into fellowship with Himself in order that they would glorify the Father because of His grace policy. To support all of this Paul cites Psalm 18:49 that the Father’s redemptive purpose through His Son includes Gentiles along with Jews. Romans 15:9, “So that the Gentiles glorify God the Father because of grace. As it stands written for all of eternity, ‘Because of this, I myself will, as a certainty, give praise to You among the Gentiles. Also, I will, as a certainty, sing praise to the character and nature of Your person .’” Next, Paul in Romans 15:10 cites Deuteronomy 32:43 to support his affirmation that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son not only includes the Jews but also the Gentiles. Romans 15:10, “And, furthermore, it says, ‘I solemnly charge all of you Gentiles to make it your top priority to rejoice together with His nation and do it now.’” Lastly, Paul in Romans 15:11 cites Psalm 117:1 to support his affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son not only includes the Jews but also the Gentiles. Romans 15:11, “And likewise, ‘Each and every one of you Gentiles continue making it your habit of joyfully singing praise to the Lord. Also, I solemnly charge all of you to make it your top priority to praise Him each and every one of His people and do it now.’”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 34

Next, in Romans 15:12, Paul cites Isaiah 11:10 to lend further support for his affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son not only includes the Jews but also the Gentiles. Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” “And ” is the “connective” use of the conjunction kai ( καί ) (kah), which is simply connecting the previous citation from Psalm 117:1 that appears in Romans 15:11 with the one to follow here in Romans 15:12 from Isaiah 11:10. We will translate the word “ And .” “Again ” is the adverb palin ( πάλιν ) (pah-lean), which means “again” since it functions as a marker of an discourse item added to items of a related or similar nature. It marks the quotation from Isaiah 11:10 that is related to the previous Scripture quotation in Romans 15:11 from Psalm 117:1 in that it further supports Paul’s affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that the Father’s plan of salvation accomplished through His Son includes not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The word is modifying the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb lego , “ He says ,” which refers to the Old Testament. Therefore, we will translate the adverb palin with the English adverb “ again .” “Isaiah ” is the nominative masculine singular form of the proper name Hesaias ( JHsaiv+a$ ) (hay-sah-ee-as), which refers to one of the three “major” prophets of Israel who served the Lord during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (792- 740 B.C.) and whose name means, “Yahweh’s saves.” The word functions as a “nominative subject” meaning that it is performing the action of the verb lego , “ says .” “Says ” is the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb lego ( λέγω ) (leh-go), which refers to the “content” of what the Lord communicated through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 11:10 and is quoted by Paul in Romans 15:11. The perfect tense of the verb lego is a “perfective” present, which is used to emphasize the results of a past action. Therefore, the “perfective present” of the verb lego emphasizes that even though Isaiah 11:10 was written in the past, it still speaks today. It says that this quotation is binding on Paul’s readers since it confirms his teaching in Romans 15:8-9a that the Father’s plan of salvation accomplished through His Son involves not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The active voice indicates that the quotation from Isaiah 11:10 as the subject produced the action of saying that the Jewish Messiah would rule over regenerate Gentiles and they would place their confidence in Him. The indicative mood is “declarative” presenting this assertion as a non- contingent or unqualified statement. We will translate lego , “ says .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:12, “And again, Isaiah says…”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 35

Paul is quoting from the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 11:10. Isaiah 11:10, “At that time a root from Jesse will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, and his residence will be majestic.” (NET Bible) Isaiah 11:10, “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.” (ESV) Isaiah 11:10, “Then in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.” (NASU) Paul omits ι ι ι in the Septuagint, which translates the Hebrew which is translated as “ his residence will be majestic ” (NET), “ and his resting place shall be glorious ” (ESV), “ and His resting place will be glorious ” (NASU). The Hebrew text: My translation of Hebrew text of Isaiah 11:10: “And it shall be in that day the root from Jesse who shall stand as a signal flag for the nations-Him, the nations will seek.” The Septuagint translation of Isaiah 11:10 that Paul quotes from in Romans 15:12: Καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἡ ῥίζα τοῦ Ιεσσαι καὶ ὁ ἀνιστάμενος ἄρχειν ἐθνῶν, ἐπ̓ αὐτῷ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσιν. My translation of the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 11:10: “And there shall be in that day the root from Jesse and He will arise to rule over the nations. The nations will place their confidence upon Him.” The quotation from Isaiah 11:10 in Romans 15:12: ι ε ιε ρει , η ιι . Paul quotes nearly exactly from the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 11:10 in that he omits ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, “in that day,” which comes immediately after ι in the Septuagint. The LXX speaks of the root of Jesse “arising to rule over the nations who place their confidence upon Him” whereas the Hebrew text speaks of the root of Jesse, i.e. the Messiah “standing as a signal flag to the nations” and of Him the nations “will seek after.” So the statement that the root of Jesse will arise to rule is a paraphrase of the Hebrew statement that the root of Jesse will stand as a signal flag to the nations. Paul chooses the LXX translation rather than the Hebrew since it suits his purposes better than the Hebrew but nevertheless, the basic meaning of both texts is the same since the LXX is an acceptable paraphrase of the Hebrew (Dunn, page 850; Sanday-Headlam, page 399). Both would allow him to support his argument in Romans 15:8-9a.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 36

Moo citing Hays writes, “Increasing the appropriateness of the quotation for Paul is the immediately following reference in Isaiah 11 to God’s gathering of the “remnant’ from Israel from among the nations.” (Hays, page 73; Moo, page 880). The “root of Jesse” means that the Messiah not only descends from King David but also is the real source of the Davidic line. The fact that He will stand as a banner or a signal flag for the nations means that He is the assurance of victory that the nations can rally around. The Hebrew term for “banner” or “signal flag” appears in Exodus 17:15 in the statement “the Lord is my banner,” which is another hint that the Messiah will be God and not an ordinary man. So when the house of David has recovered its glory in the person of the Messiah, the nations will seek after Him for guidance. Jerusalem will be His residence during the millennium and Isaiah says it will be glorious. Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” “There shall come ” is the third person singular future middle indicative form of the verb eimi ( εἰμί ) (ee-mee), which means, “to live” and is used of the root, which is a designation for Israel’s Messiah who will be a descendant of Jesse, the father of King David. The word speaks of the Son of God causing Himself to live referring of course to the resurrection. It does not refer to an event taking place since the root is a person. It is not referring to the existence of the root since the word is in the middle voice, which would indicate that the Lord caused Himself to exist, which is not correct theologically since His nature is eternal. Rather the word is used in the causative middle voice referring to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ will cause Himself to live indicating His resurrection from the dead by the exercise of His divine omnipotence (See John 2:19). The word refers to the resurrection of the incarnate Son of God since the expression “the root of Jesse” speaks of Jesus Christ from the perspective of His human nature emphasizing that in His human nature, Christ was a descendant of King David. Further indicating that eimi in Romans 15:12 means “to cause oneself to live” is that the expression kai ho anistamenos archein ethnon ep’ auto ethne elpiousin ( ιε ρει , η ιι ), “ and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope ” is an appositional clause defining the expression estai he rhiza tou Iessai ( ἔσται ἡ ῥίζα τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ), “There shall come the root of Jesse .” That the latter expression is an appositional is indicated by the fact that it is ambiguous and begs to be defined. The articular nominative masculine singular present middle participle form of the verb anistemi, which means “to cause oneself live again after having once died” defining for the reader the verb eimi making

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 37 clear to them what it means that the root will cause itself or Himself to live. Anistemi makes clear to the reader that Paul is speaking of the resurrection. The meaning “to live” for the verb eimi appears in Romans 12:3. Romans 12:3, “In fact, by means of the spiritual gift, which was assigned to me for the benefit of myself and others I say for the benefit of each and every person, namely those who are at this particular time living among all of you not to think more highly of oneself than what one is, as an eternal spiritual truth, obligated to think. On the contrary, make it a habit to think so that you think properly about yourselves consistent with the objective standard God the Father distributed to each and every person without exception for their benefit, namely justifying faith.” In Romans 15:12, the third person singular form is referring to the root, which is a designation for Israel’s Messiah. The future tense is a “predictive” future tense indicating that something will take place or come to pass. Therefore, it indicates Isaiah predicting that the Messiah “will as a certainty” cause Himself to live by rising from the dead. The middle voice is a causative middle meaning that the subject has something done for or to himself implying ultimate source and results. The subject in our passage is the root, which is a designation for the Messiah. The causative middle indicates that the Messiah will thus cause Himself to live and is the ultimate source behind the action. Of course, this implies that He is God since only God can cause Himself to live again after being dead and all human beings are dependent upon God for their resurrection. The indicative mood is “declarative” presenting this assertion as a non- contingent or unqualified statement. We will translate the verb eimi , “ will, as a certainty, cause Himself to live .” Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” “The root ” is the articular nominative feminine singular form of the noun rhiza (ῥίζα ) (or-ree-zah). This word is used literally of a “plant, root” or “scion,” a “shoot” growing from the root. Metaphorically it refers to that from which anything springs, the “root” or “origin” of anything, the “offspring” of anything. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition lists the following meanings for the word: (1) the underground part of a plant, root (2) that which grows from a root, shoot, scion, in our literature in imagery descendant (3) foot of a mountain or hill (Pages 905-906). Louw and Nida list the following usages for the word: (1) the underground part of a plant—‘root’ (3.47) (2) (a figurative extension of meaning of ῥίζα ‘root,’ 3.47) a descendant, with probable connotations of continuing relation—‘descendant,

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 38 offspring’ (10.33) (3) (a figurative extension of meaning of ῥίζα ‘root,’ 3.47) that which constitutes a basic source or reason for an event or state—‘source, cause, reason’ (89.17) (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains). Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament defines the word “root”: (1) literally of plants; figuratively cause, reason; metaphorically origin, source (2) figuratively and Hebraistically, of a descendant, as a shoot or sprout offspring, scion (Page 342). This is the fourth time that we have seen this word in the Roman epistle. It appears three times in Romans chapter eleven. Romans 11:16-18, “Now, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that the first portion is, as an eternal spiritual truth holy and of course, we agree it is because it is taught in the Scriptures, then the lump is, as an eternal spiritual truth also. Furthermore, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that the root is, as an eternal spiritual truth holy and of course, we agree it is because it is taught in the Scriptures, then the branches are, as an eternal spiritual truth, also. However, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that some, which are a part of the branches were broken off but because you are a wild olive, you were grafted in among them so that you became joint-partakers of the olive tree’s root, which produces abundant oil and of course, we agree that this is a fact of history. Do not assume arrogant superiority over the branches. However, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that you are assuming arrogant superiority then remember that you, as an eternal spiritual truth, by no means sustain the root. But rather on the contrary, the root, as an eternal spiritual truth, sustains you.” In Romans 11:16, 17 and 18, the noun rhiza which refers to the patriarchs, especially, Abraham as indicated once again by Paul’s statements in Romans 11:17-24. Romans 11:17-24, “However, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that some, which are a part of the branches were broken off but because you are a wild olive, you were grafted in among them so that you became joint-partakers of the olive tree’s root, which produces abundant oil and of course, we agree that this is a fact of history. Do not assume arrogant superiority over the branches. However, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that you are assuming arrogant superiority then remember that you, as an eternal spiritual truth, by no means sustain the root. But rather on the contrary, the root, as an eternal spiritual truth, sustains you. Therefore, you will contend, ‘Branches were broken off in order that I myself could be grafted in.’ Absolutely! They were broken off because

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 39 of their unbelief but you are inserted because of your faith. Do not think arrogantly but rather make it a habit to reverence God the Father. Because, if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that God the Father by no means spared some of the natural branches and of course, we agree that He didn’t, then, neither will He spare you. Therefore, I solemnly charge you now to consider God’s kindness and uncompromising justice! On the one hand towards those who fell into complete ruin-uncompromising justice while on the other hand towards you-God’s kindness, if you continue to respond to His kindness otherwise you too will be cut off. However, if they also, as an eternal spiritual truth, do not continue in the sphere of unbelief then they will be grafted in because God the Father is, as an eternal spiritual truth able to graft them in again. Because if, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that you were cut off from that which is by nature a wild olive tree and in addition were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree and of course, we agree that this is true then how much more will these which are natural be grafted into their own olive tree?” “The branches ” ( klados ) refer to the biological descendants of Abraham who like Abraham had faith in the Lord. This is indicated in that they are on the olive tree in contrast to the “ branches broken off ” in Romans 11:17, which refers to the unsaved biological descendants of Abraham. This is indicated by the statement in Romans 11:20 “ they were broken off for their unbelief .” In Romans 11:17-24, “ the branches ” are connected to an “ olive tree ,” which in the Old Testament was a figure for the nation of Israel (See Jeremiah 11:16-17; Hosea 14:4-6). Thus, “ the branches ” of the “ olive tree ” is a reference to born- again Jews since the latter is used in Jeremiah 11:16-17 and Hosea 14:4-6 as a figure for Israel and unbelieving Jews are broken off. Now we know that the Jews originated from Abraham and that branches originate from the root of a tree. Therefore, “ the branches ” are analogous to born- again Jews and since they come from “ the root ,” then rhiza , “ root ,” which parallels aparche , “ the first portion ” must refer to Abraham as well. Further indicating that rhiza , “ the root ” is a reference to Abraham is Paul’s statement in Romans 4:16 where he teaches that the patriarch is the spiritual “father” or “progenitor” of both Jews and Gentiles who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Romans 4:16, “On account of the following, it (the promise of inheriting the world) is, as an eternal spiritual truth by means of faith as a source in order that it might be fulfilled in accordance with grace with the result that the promise is, as an eternal spiritual truth, guaranteed to each and every one of the descendants. Not only for the benefit of those descended from the jurisdiction of the Law, absolutely not but also for the benefit of those

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 40 descended from Abraham’s faith who is, as an eternal spiritual truth, the spiritual father of each and every one of us.” In Romans 15:12, the noun rhiza means “scion, shoot, sprout, that which springs from the root” and does not mean “root” itself since this is the meaning of the Hebrew term shoresh ( ) (show-resh), which it is translating. This Hebrew noun is used in the Old Testament as a Messianic designation (Isaiah 11:1, 10; 53:2). In Romans 15:12, the noun rhiza is used figuratively and Hebraistically of a descendant of Jesse and refers to the Lord Jesus Christ indicating that He is the descendant that fulfills God’s promise to David that a descendant of his will sit on his throne forever. This usage of the word rhiza in Romans 15:12 also appears in Revelation 5:5 and 22:16. Revelation 5:5, “Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; thus he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (NET Bible) Revelation 22:16, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star!” (NET Bible) The “Davidic” covenant deals with the dynasty that will rule the nation of Israel as indicated in 2 Samuel 7:16 where God promised David that a descendant of his would sit on his throne forever. 2 Samuel 7:16, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” God promised David that a descendant of his would sit on his throne forever. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David, will literally fulfill this covenant during His millennial reign. The Davidic Covenant contains four promises: (1) A Davidic House: Posterity of David will never be destroyed. (2) A Davidic Throne: Kingdom of David shall never be destroyed. (3) A Davidic Kingdom: David’s Son (Christ) will have an earthly sphere of rule. (4) It Shall Be Unending. The “sign” of the Davidic Covenant is a Son (Lord Jesus Christ). Provisions of the Davidic Covenant: (1) David is to have a child, yet to be born, who will succeed him and establish his kingdom (2) This son (Solomon), instead of David, will build the temple. (3) The throne of his kingdom will be established forever. (4) The throne will not be taken away from him (Solomon) even though his sins justify God’s discipline. (5) David’s house, throne and kingdom will be established forever. The essential features of the Davidic Covenant are found in three words in 2 Samuel 7:16: (1) House (physical descendants): A line stemming from David would continue indefinitely and would be the divinely recognized royal line. (2)

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 41

Kingdom (political body): the political body that David would rule and over which David’s descendants would successively reign. (3) Throne (right to rule): refers to the authority as king vested in him. The word “ forever ” refers to any time during which the descendants of Abraham would exist. Even though there might be temporary interruptions in the exercise of royal authority because of divine discipline, the authority would never transfer to another line. As in the case of the Abrahamic covenant, this covenant with David is restated and reconfirmed elsewhere in Scripture. The Davidic covenant is also confirmed in the following passages: Isa. 9:6-7; Jer. 23:5-6; 30:8-9; 33:14-17, 20-21; Ezek. 37:24-25; Dan. 7:13-14; Hos. 3:4-5; Amos 9:11; Zech. 14:4, 9. One of the royal titles that the Lord Jesus Christ possesses is that of the “Son of David,” which denotes His rulership over the nation of Israel (Matt. 1:1; 20:30; Mark 10:47-48; Luke 1:32; 2 Tim. 2:8; Rev. 3:7; 5:5; 22:16). The Bible anticipates a future literal fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant. The prophetic implications of the Davidic Covenant: (1) Israel must be preserved as a nation. (2) Israel must have a national existence and be brought back into the land of her inheritance. (3) David’s descendant, the Lord Jesus Christ, must return to the earth, bodily and literally, in order to reign over David’s covenanted kingdom. (4) A literal earthly kingdom must exist over which the returned Messiah will reign. (5) This kingdom must become an eternal kingdom. In Romans 15:12, the noun rhiza functions as a nominative subject as signified by its articular construction indicating that the root of Jesse, the Messiah as the subject will perform the action of causing Himself to live by raising from the dead. We will translate the word “ the root .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:12, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘the root will, as a certainty, cause Himself to live…’” Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” “Of Jesse ” is the articular genitive masculine singular form of the noun Iessai (Ἰεσσαί ) (yes-seh), which refers to King David’s father (Matthew 1:5-6; Luke 3:32; Acts 13:22). The articular construction of the word emphasizes that Jesse is well- known to Paul’s readers. The word functions as a genitive of source indicating that this root or descendant “originates with” King David’s father, Jesse. We will translate it “ springing from Jesse .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:12, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘the root springing from Jesse will, as a certainty, cause Himself to live…’” Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’”

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 42

“And ” is the “appositional” use of the conjunction kai ( καί ) (keh), which introduces a statement that “defines” in specific terms the previous statement that the root springing from Jesse will cause Himself to live. The word is introducing a statement that defines what the previous statement means when it says that the root springing from Jesse will cause Himself to live. That kai is introducing an appositional clause is indicated by the fact that the expression estai he rhiza tou Iessai ( ἔσται ἡ ῥίζα τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ), “ the root springing from Jesse will cause Himself to live ” is ambiguous and begs to be defined. The articular nominative masculine singular present middle participle form of the verb anistemi , which means “to cause oneself live again after having once died” defines the meaning of the verb eimi , “to cause oneself to live” making clear to the reader what Paul means when he says that the root will cause Himself to live. Anistemi speaks of the resurrection. This use of kai appears in Romans 2:15, 5:14, 17, 7:10, 10:9 and 11:12. The ESV, the Lexham English Bible and Kenneth Wuest’s Expanded Translation, all interpret the word the same way translating with the English adverb “even.” We will translate the word, “ specifically .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:12, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘the root springing from Jesse will, as a certainty, cause Himself to live, specifically…’” Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” “He who arises ” is the articular nominative masculine singular present middle participle form of the verb anistemi ( ἀνίστημι ) (ah-nee-sta-mee), which means “to cause oneself live again after having once died.” This usage of the word in the Greek New Testament for Christ’s resurrection appears in Mark 8:31, 9:9, 10, 31, Luke 18:33, Luke 24:7, John 20:9, Acts 2:24 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14. The verb functions as a “substantive” participle as indicated by the definite article preceding it, which functions as a substantiver meaning that it converts the participle into a substantive. Therefore, this can be reflected by translating the article with a relative pronoun phrase such as, “ the one who .” The middle voice of the verb anistemi is also a causative middle meaning that the subject has something done for or to himself implying ultimate source and results. The subject in our passage is the root, which is a designation for the Messiah. The causative middle indicates that the Messiah will thus cause Himself to rise again from the dead and is the ultimate source behind this action. The present tense of the verb is a futuristic present used to describe a future event and connotes certainty. It is used here to describe an event that is wholly subsequent to the time of speaking although as if it were present. Therefore, the futuristic present tense of the verb anistemi is used to describe the resurrection of Christ from the perspective of when Isaiah lived when he wrote this prophecy

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 43 emphasizing the certainty of it taking place. We will translate the articular participle form of anistemi , “ the one who will, as a certainty, cause Himself to rise again .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:12, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘the root springing from Jesse will, as a certainty, cause Himself to live, specifically, the one who will, as a certainty, cause Himself to rise again…’” Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” “To rule ” is the present active infinitive form of the verb archo ( ἄρχω ) (ahr- koe), which means “to rule or govern, with the implication of preeminent position and status” (Louw and Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, 37.54). The Lord Jesus Christ is the word’s subject and the Gentiles are its object. Therefore, the word speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ “ruling over” the Gentiles. The infinitive form of this verb is an infinitive of purpose indicating the goal or the purpose of the action of the controlling verb, which is anistemi indicating that Christ rose again from the dead “in order that” He would rule over the Gentiles. The present tense of the verb is a futuristic present used to describe a future event and connotes certainty. It is used here to describe an event that is wholly subsequent to the time of speaking although as if it were present. Therefore, the futuristic present tense of the verb is used to describe Christ ruling over the Gentiles from the perspective of when Isaiah lived when he wrote this prophecy emphasizing the certainty of it taking place. The active voice indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ as the subject performs the action of ruling over the Gentiles. We will translate archo , “ in order to rule over .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:12, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘the root springing from Jesse will, as a certainty, cause Himself to live, specifically, the one who will, as a certainty, cause Himself to rise again in order to rule over…’” Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” “Over the nations ” is the genitive neuter plural form of the noun ethnos (ἒθνος ) (eff-noce), which means “Gentiles” and is used in contrast to the Jews referring to all those individuals who are “not” of Jewish racial descent. The word functions semantically as a genitive direct object. Paul puts the word in the genitive rather than the accusative because he wants to emphasize the personal relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Gentiles in that He will rule over those Gentiles who personally exercise faith in Him for eternal salvation.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 44

The anarthrous construction of the noun stresses the individual identity of the Gentiles as a race. We will translate ethnos , “ the Gentiles .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:12, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘the root springing from Jesse will, as a certainty, cause Himself to live, specifically, the one who will, as a certainty, cause Himself to rise again in order to rule over the Gentiles…’” Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” “In Him ” is composed of the preposition epi ( ἐπί ), “ in ” and the dative third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός ) (owf-toce), “ Him .” The intensive personal pronoun autos refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. It functions as the object of the preposition epi , which marks the Lord Jesus Christ as the object in which the Gentiles’ faith or absolute confidence would rest for eternal salvation. The word indicates the sinner’s faith or absolute confidence must “rest upon” the Lord Jesus Christ. We will translate this prepositional phrase, “ upon Him .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:12, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘the root springing from Jesse will, as a certainty, cause Himself to live, specifically, the one who will, as a certainty, cause Himself to rise again in order to rule over the Gentiles, upon Him…’” Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” “The Gentiles ” is the nominative neuter plural form of the noun ethnos ( ἒθνος ) (eff-noce), which once again means “Gentiles” and is used in contrast to the Jews referring to all those individuals who are “not” of Jewish racial descent. The word functions semantically as the nominative subject of the verb elpizo , “ shall hope .” Once again, the anarthrous construction of the noun stresses the individual identity of the Gentiles as a race. We will translate the word, “ the Gentiles .” Corrected translation thus far of Romans 15:12, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘the root springing from Jesse will, as a certainty, cause Himself to live, specifically, the one who will, as a certainty, cause Himself to rise again in order to rule over the Gentiles, upon Him, the Gentiles…’” Romans 15:12, “Again Isaiah says, ‘There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles hope.’” “Shall hope ” is the third person plural future active indicative form of the verb elpizo ( ἐλπίζω ) (el-pee-zoe), which means, “to have a confident expectation” of something or “to confidently expect” something to take place. Both the noun elpis and the verb elpizo are used to translate Hebrew words in the Old Testament, which denoted confidence and trust. The God of the Bible was

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 45 faithful in fulfilling His promises, therefore, when the words elpis and elpizo are used in the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament they were used to denote absolute confidence and trust in the Lord. The Greeks had no one that they could absolutely trust with certainty in fulfilling a promise. Both elpizo and elpis most often function as equivalents for terms, which denote faith and trust. Elpizo is used to translate the following Hebrew words in the LXX: (1) Batach , “to trust” (2 Kings 18:5; Ps. 4:5; Mic. 7:5). (2) Galal , “to trust” (Ps. 22:8). (3) Chasah , “to trust” (Ps. 16:1 [15:1], 31:1 [30:1], 91:4 [90:4]). (4) Chashaq , “to hide, to take refuge, to love” (Ps. 91:4 [90:14]). (5) Yachal , Piel: “to wait, hope” (Ps. 31:24 [30:24], Hiphil: “to wait, hope” (Ps. 38:15 [37:15]). (6) Qawah , “to wait”; Piel: “to long for, desire” (Jer. 44:14 [51:14]). (7) Rechats , Hithpael: “to trust in” (Dan. 3:28-Aramaic). When elpizo is associated with the Hebrew words for confidence and trust, the Greek term acquires content, which is distinctly different from the original sense of the Greek understanding. This background made the verb elpizo and the noun elpis suitable for the writers of the New Testament as an expression for the Christian’s confidence and trust in the Lord. The noun elpis and the verb elpizo are principally terms, which were employed by Paul. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition lists the following meanings for the verb elpizo : (1) to look forward to something with the implication of confidence about something, coming to pass, hope, hope for (2) to look forward to something in view of the measures one takes to ensure fulfillment, expect (Page 319). Louw and Nida lists the following: (1) to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial—‘to hope, to hope for, hope’ (25.59) (2) to expect, with the implication of some benefit—‘to expect, to hope’ (30.54) (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains). Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament: (1) in the sense of counting on something expect, await, hope for (2) as relying on a basis of confidence hope in, trust in, confide in (Page 145). In Romans 15:12, the verb elpizo means “to place one’s confidence” upon somebody and is used with the Gentiles as its subject and the Lord Jesus Christ as its object indicating that the Gentiles will place their confidence upon the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal salvation. The future tense is a “predictive” future tense indicating that something will take place or come to pass. Therefore, it indicates Isaiah predicting that the Gentiles “will as a certainty” place their confidence upon the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal salvation.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 46

The active voice of the verb indicates that the Gentiles as the subject will perform the action of placing their confidence upon the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal salvation. The indicative mood is “declarative” presenting this assertion as a non- contingent or unqualified statement. We will translate elpizo , “ will, as a certainty, place their confidence .” Completed corrected translation of Romans 15:12, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘the root springing from Jesse will, as a certainty, cause Himself to live, specifically, the one who will, as a certainty, cause Himself to rise again in order to rule over the Gentiles, upon Him, the Gentiles will, as a certainty, place their confidence.’” So in Romans 15:12, the apostle Paul cites the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 11:10 to support his affirmation in Romans 15:8-9a that God’s redemptive purpose through His Son not only includes the Jews but also the Gentiles. This citation from Isaiah 11:10 is a prophecy of Israel’s Messiah. It predicts that He will cause Himself to live again, specifically, He will cause Himself to rise again from the dead in order to rule over the Gentiles. Isaiah predicts that upon Him, the Gentiles will place their confidence for eternal salvation. Of course, this prediction was fulfilled and Paul’s readers who were Gentile are living proof.

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 47