To read a passage repeatedly, to examine its ambiguities, to probe its place in a larger text, to reflect on its relationship to other texts by the same author and its place within the canon of Scripture—all of these are acts of committed relationship. As in all committed relationships, the desire to understand is rightly characterized as love. And that desire involves more than a few moments of bewilderment along with insight. When it comes to the Epistle to the Romans, John Chrysostom’s question, "What are you saying, Paul?" is both a rhetorical flourish and an apt expression of the hermeneutical task.
Readings in Romans brings together representative studies from Beverly Roberts Gaventa’s years of committed relationship with Romans. From the programmatic to specifically exegetical, from those wrestling with the consequences of exegesis—questions of divine power, human freedom, and the identity of Israel vis-á-vis the church—to self-conscious engagement with theologians and writers in conversation with Romans such as Karl Barth and Simone Weil, these essays highlight the contours of Gaventa’s extensive and thoughtful work on the apostle and especially his most influential letter. In this way they serve as an encapsulation of her scholarly contributions on Romans and, at the same time, a testimony of devotion to the radical understanding of God to which Paul himself witnesses.
An essential companion to Gaventa’s definitive commentary on Romans, this volume will assist scholars and students of the New Testament and Christian theology by gathering into one place writings scattered across myriad publications. More than that, Readings in Romans invites all students of Paul to explore the deep coherence, rich texture, and enduring challenge of one of Christianity’s most defining documents.
