Romans 9:2-3 - Exposition

That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart . He does not say what for, leaving it to appear in what follows. The broken sentence is significant of emotion. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh . None of the ways that have been suggested for evading the obvious meaning of this assertion are tenable. One such way is to take the imperfect ηὐχόμην as expressing what he once wished, viz. before his conversion; so that the meaning would be, "My interest in my own people is such that, in my zeal for them, I once myself desired to be entirely apart from Christ; I myself said, ἀνάθεμα ( 1 Corinthians 12:3 ), and persecuted his followers." Neither the natural force of the imperfect here (as to which cf. Acts 25:22 ; Galatians 4:20 ), nor that of ἀνάθεμα εἷναι , nor the context, allow this subterfuge. Another way is to understand ἀνάθεμα εἷναι as implying only devotion to temporal destruction, i.e. to a violent death. In Leviticus 27:1-34 , every animal devoted to the Lord (in the LXX . ἀνάθεμα ) is surely to be put to death; and this has been conceived as all that is implied here. So Jerome, 'Quaest. 9, ad Algas.,' and Hilary, 'Ad Psalms 8:1-9 .' But how then about ἀπὸ χριστοῦ ? The words ἀνάθεμα and ἀνάθημα , from ἀνατίθημι , both denote primarily what is offered or set apart; the latter being applied to things devoted to God's honour and service (cf. Luke 21:5 ), the latter always in the New Testament used to denote rejection or devotion to evil. It occurs in Acts 23:1-35 . 14; 1 Corinthians 12:3 ; 1 Corinthians 16:22 ; Galatians 1:8 , Galatians 1:9 . It certainly means here separation from the communion of Christ, in the same sense as κατηργήθστε ἀπὸ τοῦ χριστοῦ ( Galatians 5:4 ). Even if the expression ἀνάθεμα εἷναι be understood as meaning in itself excommunication only (as ανάθεμα ἐστω in ecclesiastical usage), the addition of ἀπὸ τοῦ χριστοῦ evidently implies more than mere separation from outward Church communion. The apostle can hardly mean otherwise than that he would forfeit his own communion with Christ on behalf of ( ὑπὲρ ) his countrymen, if so they as a nation could be brought to accept the gospel. This certainly was a strong thing to say, and it may seem to us to imply an impossibility, if we compare it, for instance, with Romans 8:38 , "I am persuaded , " etc. But we need not understand a passing expression of feeling, however real, as a deliberate utterance. The imperfect ηὐχόμην implies only that the fact had passed through his mind in the intensity of his desire for the salvation of his brethren. It corresponds with the saying of Moses under the like strong emotion, "Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou hast written" ( Exodus 32:32 ). Bengel remarks well," Ex summa fide nunc summum ostendit amorem, ex amore divine accensum. Res non poterat fieri, quam optarat: sed votum erat pium et solidum, quamlibet cum tacita conditione, si fieri posset. " Also, "De mensura amoris in Mose et Paulo non facile est existimare. Eum enim modulus ratiocinationum nostrarum non capit; sieur heroum bellicorum animos non capit parvulus."

St. Paul proceeds, in the spirit of a patriotic Jew, which he ever retained, to enumerate the peculiar privileges of the chosen people, their possession of which rendered their present failure to realize their purpose so peculiarly disappointing and distressing.