<- Previous   First   Next ->

Rom. 11:9 Dauei;d levgei . Rom. 4:3 hJ grafh; levgei .

Rom. 9:17 levgei hJ grafhv & c.

When God is the subject, as is rarely the case, the reference is to words directly spoken by God:

Cor. 6:2 levgei ga;r ( oJ qeov" ).

Rom. 9:15 tw'/ Mwusei' levgei .

Rom. 9:25 ejn tw'/ jWshe; levgei .

Compare Rom. 15:9-12 ( gevgraptai ... levgei ... jHsaiva" levgei ). The two passages in the Epistle to the Ephesians (Eph. 4:8; 5:14 dio; levgei ) appear to be different in kind.

This ‘personal’ character of citation is the more significant when it is remembered how frequent elsewhere (in St Paul for example) are the forms ( kaqw;" ) gevgraptai (16 times in the Epistle to the Romans), hJ grafh; levgei , and the like, which never occur in the Epistle to the Hebrews; and whereas St Paul not unfrequently quotes the words of God as ‘Scripture’ simply (e.g., Rom. 9:17), it has been seen that in this Epistle prophetic words recorded in Scripture are treated as ‘words of God.’

Nor can it be maintained that the difference of usage is to be explained by the difference of readers, as being Jews, for in the Gospels gevgraptai is the common formula (nine times in St Matthew).

In connexion with this belief in the present, personal, voice of God in the O.T. it may be noticed that there is no indication of any anticipation of a written N.T. The record of Christ's Coming is spoken of as traditional: Heb. 2:3 f., though the authority of the Apostles is implied ( ejbebaiwvqh ), as that which had been justified by the experience of life.

The method of citation on which we have dwelt is peculiar to the Epistle among the writings of the New Testament; but it is interesting to notice that there is in the Epistle of Clement a partial correspondence with it. Clement generally quotes the LXX. anonymously. He attributes the prophetic words to God (15, 21, 46); to Christ (16, 22); to the Holy Word (13, 56); to the Holy Spirit (13, 16). But he also, though rarely, refers to the writers (26 Job; 52 David), and to Books (57 Proverbs, ‘the all-virtuous Wisdom’); and not unfrequently uses the familiar form gevgraptai (14, 39 & c.). The quotations in the Epistle of Barnabas are also commonly anonymous, but Barnabas mentions several names of the sacred writers, and gives passages from the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms with the formula ‘the Prophet saith’ (6:8; 2; 4, 6).

iii. The Text of the Quotations

The text of the quotations agrees in the main with some form of the present text of the LXX. This will be seen from a brief review of those quotations which seem to be more than passing allusions to phrases and


<- Previous   First   Next ->