Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

corpus-paul - Re: Seed of Abraham

corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Corpus-Paul

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Mark D. Nanos" <nanos AT gvi.net>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Seed of Abraham
  • Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2000 07:50:34 -0500


I am in search of bibliography on Paul's use of Abraham's seed in
Galatians 3:29 and Romans 4:16; 9:6-13. In Galatians Paul conceives of
Abraham's seed expansively, encompassing Greek, Jew, slave and free. In
Romans 9, however, Paul is more circumspect, making the point that biological
descent from Abraham does not necessarily mean inheritance of the promise.
In Romans 9 Paul seems to be avoiding his expansive approach indicated in
Galatians.
I am unsure of Paul's use in Romans 4:13-17. Is Paul limiting himself
here to Abraham's genetic descendants (as in 4:1) or is Paul assuming his
readers will understand his point, that Abraham's seed includes gentiles as
well as Jews? A preliminary search has turned up little (I am out of my
field here) and I would appreciate any leads.
Jim Miller

---
It seems to me that Paul pretty well communicates that the seed (descendents) includes both Jewish and non-Jewish people in Rom. 4. Ch. 9 explores yet another nuance of the fictive kinship issues that arise with this motif of seed among the natural seed (Israelite descendents). And remember the point in Gal. flows from the argument that Jesus is the seed, and thus all who are him are included as Abrahams seed (descendents). In fact the play on both the singular seed of Isaac and the future seed of many descendents has a long history of interpretation (cf. D. Daube, Paul and Rabbinic Judaism, pp. 438-44). Paul works the motif in at least four different ways, for Jesus, for Israelites, for Israelites believing or not believing in Jesus as Christ, for non-Israelites believing in Christ.

There has been much written on the issue of Abraham's seed in Paul, particularly in larger discussions of his appeal to the Abraham motif. Perhaps a few references will get you going, as they will have further bibliography on this (including many articles), in addition to what will be found in commentaries on these passages, which is a great deal.

Brendan Byrne, "Sons of God"--"Seed of Abraham": A Study of the Idea of the Sonship of God of All Christians, 1979.

G. W. Hansen, Abraham in Galatians: Epistolary and Rhetorical Contexts, 1989.

Jeffrey S. Siker, Disinheriting the Jews: Abraham in Early Christian Controversy, 1991.

Regards,
Mark Nanos





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page