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The Politics of Promise: Echoes of Isaiah 54 in Romans 4.19-21

Auckland, New Zealand mkforman{at}gmail.com

In recent years significant evidence has been unearthed with regard to the sociopolitical nature of Paul's corpus. Despite this, there are politically provocative texts which remained unexamined. One of these is Rom. 4.13-25. This article proposes that, by drawing on the Abraham and Sarah birth tradition in vv. 19-21, Paul is evoking a perspective profoundly socio-political in nature. Using Richard Hays's criteria as a guide, the article argues that Paul here echoes Isa. 54.1-3 and that he does so because this passage and the interpretive tradition associated with it offer hope specific to the believers in the heart of the Roman Empire. Whereas interpreters often dismiss the phrase `inherit the world' (Rom. 4.13) as a curious anomaly, this article explores the ways in which the phrase coheres with the following verses and therefore contributes to an overall counter-imperial perspective in Rom. 4.13-25.

Key Words: Abraham • inheritance • Isaiah 54.1-3 • socio-political • Roman Empire • Romans 4.13-25

Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Vol. 31, No. 3, 301-324 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0142064X08101526


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