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  • From: Antti V J Mustakallio <amustaka AT cc.helsinki.fi>
  • To: Corpus-Paul <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Corpus-Paul] The audience of Romans
  • Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 17:19:48 +0300 (EEST)


Few comments to Fred:

Here is another citation from Esler: "[W]hen in v. 13 Paul explains that
he wants to come to them 'in order that he might reap some fruit also
among you just as also among the rest of the foreigners,' this simply
constitutes an acknowledgement that he wants to have a successful mission
in Rome, just as he had elsewhere, even though his congregations were
often composed of Judeans as well as non-Judeans." (p. 115) Esler implies
here that there is a parallelism between 'Rome' and 'elsewhere'. I do not
agree; the Greek text goes as follows: hINA TINA KARPON SXW KAI EN hYMIN
KAQWS KAI EN TOIS LOIPOIS EQNESIN. The parallelism is rather between hYMIN
and EN TOIS LOIPOIS EQNESIN. This suggests strongly, I think, that he is
addressing Gentile believers.

Esler's reading of 1:14-15 does not carry any more conviction than his
proposal for 1:13. He considers Paul owing a debt to non-Judeans because
of his success, and claims: "There is no justification for claims that
these expressions in any way exclude Judeans from Paul's address or would
have been so understood by the recipients of the letter." (p. 115) But
this contention of him is simply inconclusive without sufficient
rationalization. To me it seems that here Paul really identifies his
letter audience as Gentile Christians: he is debtor to all kinds of
Gentiles and hence is ready to preach the gospel also to the addressees
living in Rome.

I think that it is too easy a solution to contend that Paul addressed
primarily Gentile Christians. At the beginning of the letter he seems to
address only the Gentile believers: there is no 'primarily' and
'secondarily'. My question goes: how would those Jewish Christians react
who would be distrustfully disposed towards Paul and his Gospel and, on
the other hand, would need his anchor of support in their local situation
when they know that the letter is addressed to "all" the believers (1:7)
and Paul just seems to ignore them? Where is captatio benevolentiae with
regards to Jewish Christians? Does not it seem easier to conclude that the
letter was addressed only to Gentile Christians?

Best regards,

Antti Mustakallio
Helsinki, Finland






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