Romans 15.7-13 addresses an encoded gentile audience. The best solution to the syntactical challenges posed by 15.8-9a places the focus on the gentiles who now glorify God as a result of Christ’s servanthood. Paul’s identification of the Jewish people as ‘the circumcision’, a negative category earlier in the letter (2.25—3.30; 9.18), is hardly apt if he is also addressing Jewish Christians. Romans 15.6-9a links the Roman audience’s mutual welcoming ‘for the glory of God’ to the gentiles’ glorifying God. The Scripture citations in 15.9b-12 remain riveted on God’s purpose for the gentiles and address the Romans as gentiles. Romans 15.12-13 links the Roman audience’s hope with the hope of the gentiles. The preceding context identifies the ‘weak’ not as Jews but by customs that were popular among gentile sympathizers. Romans 15.14-21 conforms to Paul’s pattern elsewhere in the letter of identifying the encoded audience as the recipients of his gentile ministry.
Achtemeier, Paul J.1990‘Romans 3:1-8: Structure and Argument’, in Arland J. Hultgren and Barbara Hall (eds.), Christ and his Communities: Essays in Honor of Reginald H. Fuller (ATRSup, 11; Cincinnati, OH: Forward Movement): 77-87.
2.
1997‘Unsearchable Judgments and Inscrutable Ways: Reflections on the Discussion of Romans’, in E. Elizabeth Johnson and David M. Hay (eds.), . Pauline Theology IV. Looking Back, Pressing On (SBL Symposium Series, 4; Atlanta: Scholars Press): 3-21.
3.
Barclay, John M.G.1996a ‘"Do we undermine the Law?" A Study of Romans 14.1-15.6’ , in James D.G. Dunn (ed.), Paul and the Mosaic Law (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck]): 287-308.
4.
1996 b Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora: From Alexander to Trajan (323 BCE-117 CE) (Edinburgh: T&T Clark).
5.
Barrett, C.K.1991The Epistle to the Romans (rev. edn; BNTC;Peabody, MA : Hendrickson).
6.
Black, Stephanie L.1998‘What Do Kάί and Δε "Mean"? A Procedural Approach to the Semantics of Intersentential Conjunctions’ (unpublished paper, Roehampton Institute, London).
7.
Branham, R. Bracht, and Daniel Kinney (eds. and trans.) 1996Petronius (Berkeley: University of California Press).
8.
Cohen, Shaye J.D.1989‘Crossing the Boundary and Becoming a Jew’ , HTR82: 13-33.
9.
Cranfield, C.E.B.1979A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (vol. 2; ICC; Edinburgh: T&T Clark).
10.
Das , A. Andrew2007Solving the Romans Debate (Minneapolis: Fortress Press).
11.
Dodd, C.H.1932Romans (MNTC;New York: Harper and Brothers).
12.
Donaldson, Terence L.1997Paul and the Gentiles: Remapping the Apostle’s Convictional World (Minneapolis: Fortress Press ).
13.
Dunn, James D.G.1988a Romans 1-8 (WBC, 38A; Dallas: Word).
14.
1988b Romans 9-16 (WBC, 38B; Dallas: Word).
15.
Du Toit, Andreas B.1989‘Persuasion in Romans 1:1-17’, BZ NS33: 192-209.
16.
Elliott, Neil1990The Rhetoric of Romans: Argumentative Constraint and Strategy and Paul’s Dialogue with Judaism (JSNTSup, 45;Sheffield ; Sheffield Academic Press).
17.
2008The Arrogance of the Nations: Reading Romans in the Shadow of Empire (Paul in Critical Contexts; Minneapolis: Fortress Press).
18.
Esler, Philip F.1998Galatians (New Testament Readings; London: Routledge).
19.
Feldman, Louis H.1993Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).
20.
Gagnon, Robert A.J.2000‘Why the "Weak" in Rome Cannot be Non-Christian Jews’ , CBQ62: 64-92.
21.
Godet, Frederic Louis1977Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel).
22.
Hafemann, Scott2000‘Eschatology and Ethics: The Future of Israel and the Nations in Romans 15:1-13’, TynBul51: 161-92.
23.
Hays, Richard B.1993‘Christ Prays the Psalms: Paul’s Use of an Early Christian Exegetical Convention’, in Abraham J. Malherbe and Wayne A. Meeks (eds.), The Future of Christology: Essays in Honor of Leander E. Keck (Minneapolis: Fortress Press ): 122-36.
24.
1996 ‘"The Gospel is the Power of God for Salvation to Gentiles Only"? A Critique of Stanley Stowers’ A Rereading of Romans’ , CRBR9: 27-44.
Johnson, Luke Timothy1996Romans (SP, 6; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press ).
27.
Käsemann, Ernst1980Commentary on Romans (trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley;Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans).
28.
Keck, Leander E.2002‘Good News for Us Gentiles: Reading Romans from the Bottom Line’, in Skye Fackre Gibson (ed.), Story Lines: Chapters on Thought, Word, and Deed for Gabriel Fackre (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans): 76-88.
29.
2005Romans (ANTC; Nashville : Abingdon Press).
30.
Klauck, Hans-Josef2006Ancient Letters and the New Testament: A Guide to Content and Exegesis ( Waco, TX: Baylor University Press).
31.
Koch, Dietrich-Alex1986Die Schrift als Zeuge des Evangeliums: Untersuchungen zur Verwendung und zum Verständnis der Schrift bei Paulus (BHT, 69;Tübingen : J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck]).
32.
Lagrange, M.-J.1950Saint Paul: Épitre aux Romains ( EBib; Paris: Librairie Lecoffre, J. Gabalda).
33.
Lampe, Peter2003From Paul to Valentinus: Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries (Minneapolis: Fortress Press).
34.
Leenhardt, Franz J.1961The Epistle to the Romans: A Commentary ( London: Lutterworth).
Schmidt, Hans Wilhelm1963Der Brief des Paulus an die Römer ( THKNT, 6; Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt).
50.
Schmithals, Walter1975Der Römerbrief als historische Problem ( SNT, 9; Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn). 1988 Der Römerbrief: Ein Kommentar ( Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn).
51.
Schneider, Nelio1996Die ‘Schwachen’ in der christlichen Gemeinde Roms (Theologie, 5;Münster: Lit Verlag).
52.
Schreiner, Thomas R.1998Romans (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, 6; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).
53.
Stanley, Christopher D.1992Paul and the Language of Scripture: Citation Techniques in the Pauline Epistles and Contemporary Literature (SNTMS , 69; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
54.
2004Arguing with Scripture: The Rhetoric of Quotations in the Letters of Paul (New York: T&T Clark ).
55.
Stern, Menahem1974Greek and Latin Authors on the Jews and Judaism (2 vols.; Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities ).
56.
Stowers, Stanley K.1981The Diatribe and Paul’s Letter to the Romans ( SBLDS, 57; Chico, CA: Scholars Press).
57.
1994A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles ( New Haven: Yale University Press).
Thompson, Michael1991Clothed with Christ: The Example and Teaching of Jesus in Romans 12.1-15.13 (JSNTSup, 59;Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press).
61.
Thorsteinsson, Runar M.2003Paul’s Interlocutor in Romans 2: Function and Identity in the Context of Ancient Epistolography (ConBNT, 40; Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell).
62.
Tobin, Thomas H.2004Paul’s Rhetoric in its Contexts: The Argument of Romans (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson ).
63.
Tomson, Peter J.2003‘What Did Paul Mean by "Those who Know the Law"? (Rom 7.1)’, NTS49: 573-81.
64.
Wagner, J. Ross1997‘The Christ, Servant of Jew and Gentile: A Fresh Approach to Romans 15:8-9’, JBL116: 473-85.
65.
Weima, Jeffrey A.D.1994‘Preaching the Gospel in Rome: A Study of the Epistolary Framework of Romans’, in L. Ann Jervis and Peter Richardson (eds.), Gospel in Paul: Studies on Corinthians, Galatians and Romans for Richard N. Longenecker (JSNTSup, 108; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press): 337-66.
66.
Wevers, John William1995Notes on the Greek Text of Deuteronomy ( Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 39; Atlanta: Scholars Press).
67.
White, John L.1986Light from Ancient Letters (FF: NT; Philadelphia: Fortress Press).
68.
Wilckens, Ulrich1989Der Brief an die Römer, III (2nd edn; EKKNT, VI/1-3; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag).
69.
Williams, Sam K.1980‘The "Righteousness of God" in Romans’, JBL99: 241-90.
70.
Zahn, Theodor1910Der Brief des Paulus an die Römer (Kommentar zum Neuen Testament, 6;Leipzig: A. Deichert [Georg Böhm]).
71.
Zeller, Dieter1973Juden und Heiden in der Mission des Paulus: Studien zum Römerbief (FB, 1;Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk).
