The Interpretation of Romans viii 28

Abstract

The interpretation of Romans VIII 28 has occupied the attention of exegetes since early patristic times. The Moffatt translation follows the first alternative of the Revised Standard Version (RSV) margin, but in a free translation. Many will still feel that the RSV is right in giving this familiar meaning the last place in its marginal alternatives. It seems surprising that this possibility has received so little attention in the interpretation of the passage: it has been argued in recent years in a note by the Rev. J. P. Wilson in the Expository Times and is attributed in Cramer's Catena to Theodore the Monk. This patristic evidence has never been fully examined in this connection: thus one learns from Staab that, in fact, this interpretation was probably not that of Theodore of Mopsuestia himself, but comes from his master Diodorus of Tarsus. Keywords: Diodorus of Tarsus; J. P. Wilson; Moffatt translation; Revised Standard Version (RSV); Romans VIII; Theodore of Mopsuestia