#uncircumcision

Explain the difference between BY faith and THROUGH faith Rom 3:30  Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision BY faith, and uncircumcision THROUGH faith.  In the scripture above, Paul writes an interesting thing. He distinguishes between the circumcised and the uncircumcised by referring to their justification as by faith or through faith. So, what is the difference? Can this…

QUESTION: For clarity sake, are you saying that the gospel Jesus presented to the Jews was different from the gospel Paul presented to the Gentiles? ANSWER: Yes. Very much so. Jesus and the 12 proclaimed the Kingdom gospel. Some of the conditions of this gospel, preached ONLY to Jews, was, to repent, confess Jesus as the Son of God, get water baptized and be filled with the Spirit. Matt.16:16;…

25 Περιτομὴ μὲν γὰρ ὠφελεῖ ἐὰν νόμον πράσσῃς· ἐὰν δὲ παραβάτης νόμου ᾖς, ἡ περιτομή σου ἀκροβυστία γέγονεν. 26 ἐὰν οὖν ἡ ἀκροβυστία τὰ δικαιώματα τοῦ νόμου φυλάσσῃ, οὐχ ἡ ἀκροβυστία αὐτοῦ εἰς περιτομὴν λογισθήσεται; 27 καὶ κρινεῖ ἡ ἐκ φύσεως ἀκροβυστία τὸν νόμον τελοῦσα σὲ τὸν διὰ γράμματος καὶ περιτομῆς παραβάτην νόμου.

My translation:

25 For, on the one hand, circumcision benefits if you practice the law; on the other hand, if you were a transgressor of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 If, therefore, an uncircumcision person keeps the righteous commands of the law, will not his uncircumcision be reckoned unto circumcision? 27 And the uncircumcised person from nature, having completed the law, will judge you, the transgressor of the law, having the letter and circumcision.

Notes:

2:25

The μὲν ... δὲ construction contrasts the benefit of circumcision for those who keep the law versus for those who do not.

ὠφελέω (15x) is, “I help, aid, benefit, am of use to” (BDAG); most translations, “I am of value” (cf. ὠφέλιμος, 4x, “useful, beneficial”; ἡ ὠφέλεια, 2x, “benefit, gain”). ἡ περιτομή (“circumcision”) is the subject of the present indicative ὠφελεῖ. ἡ περιτομή ... ὠφελεῖ is the apodosis of a third-class conditional statement. This is the first of 15 uses of περιτομή in Romans.

ἐὰν + subjunctive (πράσσῃς, 2s. subj. of πράσσω) forms the protasis of a third-class conditional statement, which gives a hypothetical scenario or one with no claims about its likelihood of fulfillment (EGGNT). νόμον is the direct object of the verb; the anarthrous noun is definite.

ἐὰν with the 2s subjunctive ᾖς (from εἰμί) forms the protasis of a another third-class conditional statement. This time the protasis comes first, in an A-B-B’-A’ chiastic structure.

ὁ παραβάτης (5x) is, “transgressor, violator”, from παραβαίνω (3x) “I transgress, break” (cf. ἡ παράβασις “transgression” in v. 23); HCSB: “lawbreaker”. παραβάτης is the predicate nominative of ᾖς. The genitive modifier νόμου is objective; for the anarthrous νόμου with παραβάτης, ICC suggests “law-transgressor”. ESV, NIV, NET translate παραβάτης as a verb (“if you break the law”).

ἡ περιτομή, modified by the possessive genitive σου, introduces the apodosis of the conditional statement and is the subject of the perfect γέγονεν (from γίνομαι).

ἡ ἀκροβυστία (20x) is literally, “covering of the tip”, i.e., “foreskin”; in the NT it is used as an abstract noun for the state of being uncircumcised (“uncircumcision”). ἀκροβυστία is the predicate of γίνομαι (“your circumcision has become uncircumcision”, NRSV, HCSB, NET).

2:26

ἐὰν with subjunctive verb below forms the protasis of a another third-class conditional statement.

ἡ ἀκροβυστία (see note on v. 25) here is metonymy for the whole “uncircumcised person”. ἡ ἀκροβυστία is the subject of the subjunctive φυλάσσῃ (from φυλάσσω, “I keep”, most translations; “obey”, NET; “observe”, BDAG).

τό δικαίωμα (10x) is, “regulation, requirement, commandment” (see note on 1:32); ESV: “precepts”; NET: “righteous requirements”. τὰ δικαιώματα is the direct object of φυλάσσω. τοῦ νόμου is epexegetical or indicates source.

The negation οὐχ introduces the apodosis of the conditional statement, and indicates that Paul expects a positive answer to his question.

ἡ ἀκροβυστία here refers to the state, not the person, as indicated by the possessive pronoun αὐτοῦ (“his uncircumcision”). ἡ ἀκροβυστία is the subject of the future passive λογισθήσεται (from λογίζομαι, “I reckon, count”; most translations, “regarded”).

The prepositional phrase εἰς περιτομὴν (lit. “unto circumcision”) is a Hebraism equivalent to a predicate nominative after the equative verb λογίζομαι (“be regarded as circumcision”, ESV, NET). ICC says εἶναι is assumed after εἰς.

2:27

The subject of the future κρινεῖ (from κρίνω; the future tense-formative sigma has elided with the nu) is ἡ ... ἀκροβυστία, again referring to an uncircumcised person. The prepositional phrase ἐκ φύσεως (lit. “from nature”; see 1:26, 2:14) sandwiched between article and noun is adjectival and has to do with the physical body (“he who is physically uncircumcised”, ESV, NASB; sim. most translations).

ἡ ... ἀκροβυστία is modified by the attributive present feminine participle τελοῦσα (from τελέω, lit. “I bring to its end”; ESV, NASB, NET: “keeps”; NIV: “obeys”; HCSB: “fulfills”), and can be translated as a relative clause (“but who fulfills the law”, HCSB). NASB translates it as a condition (“if he keeps the Law”), NET regards the participle as indicating means (“by keeping the law”), and NIV as contrastive (“and yet obeys the law”). ICC says τελέω here means, ‘“to bring (a law) to its proper fulfilment” in action’, while synonym φυλάσσω (v. 26) means, ‘“to guard as a deposit,” “to preserve intact” against violence from without or within’. τὸν νόμον is the direct object of τελέω.

σὲ is the direct object of κρίνω above.

τὸν ... παραβάτην (“transgressor”; see note on v. 25) is in apposition to σὲ (“you, the transgressor”).

τό γράμμα (15x) means, “letter [of the alphabet]”, but by metonymy can refer to a written document; here it probably refers to the Mosaic law, emphasizing its precision and tangibility; ESV, NIV: “the written code”; NASB, HCSB: “the letter of the Law”.

Who fell into this category? Romans 2:25For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Jews who did not adhere to the law: As well as Gentiles: Ephesians 2:11Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the…

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