Romans: Text, Readers, and the History of Interpretation

by Stephen Westerholm

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2022

Overview

A wide-ranging study of the interpretation of Paul’s letter to the Romans throughout history, from Origen to Karl Barth.

In anticipation of his Illuminations commentary on Paul’s letter to the Romans, Stephen Westerholm offers this extensive survey of the reception history of Romans. After two initial chapters discussing the letter’s textual history and its first readers in Rome (a discussion carried out in dialogue with the Paul-within-Judaism stream of scholarship), Westerholm provides a thorough overview of over thirty of the most influential, noteworthy, and representative interpretations of Romans from nearly two thousand years of history. Interpreters surveyed include Origen, John Chrysostom, Augustine, Peter Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Locke, Cotton Mather, John Wesley, and Karl Barth.

Bearing in mind that Paul did not write for scholars, Westerholm includes in his study interpreters like Philipp Jakob Spener and Richard Baxter who addressed more popular audiences, as well as an appendix on a remarkable series of 372 sermons on Romans by beloved British preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones. A further aim of the book is to illustrate the impact of this New Testament letter on Christian thought, supporting Westerholm’s claim that “the history of the interpretation of Romans is, in important areas and to a remarkable extent, the history of Christian theology.”

Key Features

• Includes an extensive survey of the reception history of Romans
• Provides a thorough overview of over thirty of the most influential, noteworthy, and representative interpretations of Romans
• Illustrates the impact of this New Testament letter on Christian thought

Contents

Part One: Text

• Romans: Its Text and Textual History

Part Two: Readers

• The First Readers of Romans and the “Paul within Judaism” School

Part Three: History of Interpretation

• The Patristic Period
• The Medieval Period
• The Sixteenth Century
• The Modern Period
• History of Interpretation: Conclusion
• Appendix: The Apostle and the Doctor: Lloyd-Jones on Romans

Product Details

• Title: Romans: Text, Readers, and the History of Interpretation
• Author: Stephen Westerholm
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2022
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 418
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. N.T. Romans › Criticism, interpretation, etc.--History
• ISBNs: 9780802882219, 0802882218
• Resource ID: LLS:ROMANSWSTRHLM
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:46:22Z

About Stephen Westerholm

Stephen Westerholm (b. 1949) is a Canadian scholar and associate professor of biblical studies at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. He received BA and MA degrees from the University of Toronto and a ThD from the University of Lund (Sweden). He is noted for his work in Pauline studies and is most recently known for his interaction with the New Perspective on Paul.