Romans 1:3–4: Beyond Antithetical Parallelism

Abstract

Scholars universally recognize that Rom 1:3–4, perhaps our earliest christological confession, features In describing this feature, many scholars have appealed to Robert Lowth's category of parallelism. I question such an approach for two reasons: (1) it often results in setting Davidic descent and divine sonship in antithesis to one another, an unlikely reading based on David traditions in Second Temple Judaism; (2) it fails to take account of the widespread disuse of antithetical parallelism in the contemporary study of biblical These shortcomings, which falter on historical and literary grounds, call for a twofold response. First, I survey the evidence from Second Temple Judaism on Davidic descent, concluding that, far from being in antithesis to divine sonship, it was in fact a sine qua non for installation as the son of God. Second, I counter the antithetical reading of Davidic descent on formal grounds by offering a fresh reading of Rom 1:3–4 through the lens of Adele Berlin's critical account of The study concludes by providing nuanced alternatives to antithetical parallelism for our understanding of the relationship of the elements in Rom 1:3–4.