Who is “the Greek” in Romans 1? An Israelite? Surely not. A response to Jason Staples

There is much to like about and much to learn from Jason Staples’ book Paul and the Resurrection of Israel: Jews, Former Gentiles, Israelites, but I have serious doubts about the central thesis, which is that Paul’s overarching goal is the regathering and restoration of all Israel, including the tribes of the northern kingdom lost among the nations:

Paul argues that the incorporation of gentiles into the eschatological assembly is the necessary means for the reconstitution and restoration of “all Israel,” an entity not only including Jews but also non-Jewish Israelites restored from the nations among which northern Israel had assimilated. (45)

An immediate obstacle to the thesis would seem to be presented by Paul’s discussion of idolatry and its consequences in Romans 1:18-32.

2 comments | Read more...
Some of the things I do and why I do them (2025)
This is rewrite of a post from last year just to update the details, with some changes of perspective and emphasis. I’ll be honest. It’s in part a sneaky—but not unprincipled—way to get people to consider signing up for one or other of the programmes and projects that I’m involved in. Other… ()
Civilisational renewal and the biblical narrative
There seems to be a lot of talk these days about reversing the decline of the West as a formerly Christian civilisation. Here’s an example that I happened to come across. The aim of the UK-based Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) is “to draw on our moral, cultural, economic, and spiritual… ( | 1 comment)
What is the “second death” in the book of Revelation?
We don’t talk a lot about the “second death” in church, I know. At least, not in our church. I ended up down this rabbit hole—really, a small dead-end off the sprawling warren of New Testament apocalyptic thought—thanks to some helpful comments about the use of the expression in the Aramaic… ( | 4 comments)
How and why gentiles were saved by the blood of Jesus according to Paul
When Paul says that God put forward the death of Jesus as—in whatever sense—an “atonement” (Rom. 3:25), he has in mind specifically the salvation of the Jews. ()
The name which is above every name: Philippians 2:8-11 as a meditation on Psalm 137 LXX
The Christ encomium in Philippians 2:6-11 is usually divided into two parts: humbling in 2:6-8 and exaltation in 2:9-11. But here I want to suggest that once it has become apparent to onlooking Greeks that Christ Jesus, for all his god-like wisdom and powers, was human, no more remarkable than a… ()
Did Jesus not seize at divine honours (Philippians 2:6)?
The last time I wrote about Crispin Fletcher-Louis’ “monster book” The Divine Heartset: Paul’s Philippians Christ Hymn, Metaphysical Affections, and Civic Virtues I got a ticking off for not having read the whole book. I have since ordered the whole book—all 954 pages of it—but it… ( | 3 comments)
Personal, cosmic, and political perspectives on Paul
There are three main interpretive paradigms for understanding Paul’s writings available today within mainstream, predominantly Protestant, scholarship. The diagram below names the paradigms, briefly notes the defining characteristics, and mentions some of the major exponents. It also highlights the… ()