Romans

4:1-12

Arguments in support of the proposition, 1:18-11:36

2. The impartial nature of God's righteous vindication of the just in Christ, 3:21-4:25

ii] a) The example of Abraham: righteous by faith alone

In chapter 4, Paul uses the Old Testament example of Abraham to illustrate the way of salvation by grace through faith. In the passage before us Paul argues that Abraham stood approved before God, righteous before God, on the basis of God's faithfulness, appropriated through faith, without any reference whatsoever to his obedience before God. In fact, God reckoned Abraham righteous before he was even circumcised, making him the spiritual father of all God's children, whether circumcised believing Jews, or uncircumcised believing Gentiles.

From 4:1-25, Paul draws on the example of Abraham to support his contention that God's righteous vindication of the just in Christ is impartial in nature, that there is no distinction between a faithful Jewish believer and a Gentile believer and thus no ground for boasting, and this because a person's justification (their being set right with God on the basis of Christ's faithfulness appropriated through faith) is not in any way influenced by their submission, or otherwise, to the law of Moses. A person's justification, and thus their full appropriation of the promised Abrahamic blessings, is apart from works of the law. First, in 4:1-12, Paul draws on scripture to show that Abraham was set right before God on the basis of the promise of God appropriated through faith without any support whatsoever from the law in that he was accounted righteous while he was virtually an uncircumcised Gentile.

Dodd sees chapter 4 as a "digression", while Robinson argues that it is an "excursus", although Jewett holds that it is a skillfully shaped diatribe fused with a midrashic exegesis. It is certainly difficult to analyze Paul's compacted argument at this point in Romans and for this reason the passage has been interpreted in countless ways. Cranfield and Fitzmyer are surely right in identifying "glorying" as central to Paul's argument, ie. "thinking to establish a claim on God on the ground of one's works." Such "glorying is excluded" because a person's justification is based on "the law of faith." "The case of Abraham" confirms this truth.

The difficulty we face in understaning the function of chapter 4 in Paul's argument is well illustrated in the variety of suggested approaches. The traditional approach to this passage is nicely summarized by Osborne. Having established universal sinfulness such that both Jews and Gentiles stand under the judgment of God, 1:18-3:20, Paul now presents "the thesis statement (of the whole epistle, building on 1:16-17) in 3:21-26; the centrality of righteousness by faith not by works in 3:27-31; and the supreme model of Abraham, who was justified by faith not works, in 4:1-25." Morris, also reflecting a traditional interpretation, argues that 3:21-31 establishes "Paul's position that the way of salvation", of righteousness before God, is "by God's grace" through faith, apart from the law, and that the example of Abraham in 4:1-25 shows that this position "is no innovation." Similarly Moo: in chapter 4 "Paul appeals to Abraham to support his insistence that righteousness can be attained only through faith", that it stemmed from God's grace and that by implication it has "inclusive" consequences. So also Schreiner: "The burden of 3:27-28 is that righteousness is by faith, not by keeping the works of the law. Verses 29-30 affirm that justification by faith applies to all people, both Jews and Gentiles. Chapter 3 concludes with the affirmation that righteousness by faith does not nullify the commands of the law; instead, it establishes and confirms them. The law is a `law of faith' that fulfills the moral prescriptions of the law. Paul introduces Abraham in chapter 4 in order to confirm the first two themes of 3:27-31." Also Hunter, who makes the point that Paul, having stated in 3:31 that his thesis of righteousness through faith is confirmed by "the old revelation" ("law") explains what the scriptures say of Abraham who is "a shining example of the man `who through faith is righteous.'" Also Black: chapter 4 "provides scriptural support of the doctrine of justification by faith." See also, Murray, O'Neill.

Davies, leaning toward a new perspective position, holds that 3:27-4:2 sets out a proposition (3:31 serving as a qualification, and 4:1-2 focusing on the example of Abraham) and that 4:3-22 serves as an exegetical argument in support of the proposition. "Glorying" ("boast", NIV) is the key to Paul's polemic. Davies argues that Paul condemns the Jews' "glorying in God without obeying him", 3:27. "The root of Israel's failure" being a "lack of faith", 3:28a, a problem that "cannot be remedied by mere performance (works of the law)", 3:28b, and this because "the works, as the law requires, must be the fruit of faith - `the obedience of faith'." "Though obedience evidences justification, 2:13, it is only faith that enables one to be justified, 3:24f. This is true for Jews and Gentiles alike, 3:28-30" The example of Abraham demonstrates "that Abraham's obedience was in no way a ground for his justification before God", rather "he was justified by faith."

Dumbrell, again reflecting a new perspective position, explains that in 3:21-31 Paul argues for the equality of access to salvation / justification of Jew and Gentile ("all humanity, and not by any ethnic or religious distinction") and this by faith. "To add force" to his argument, "Paul now (in chapter 4) appeals to the key role of Abraham within the divine plan."

Dunn proposes that the example of Abraham serves as "an exposition of the basic theme of the argument so far (summarized in 3:28) - that God justifies through faith (so Gentile as well as Jew) and does not limit his saving righteousness to the circumcised."

Barrett holds that 3:21-31 presents "Paul's discussion of justification by faith through God's act of redemption in Christ", concluding with a denial that "faith does away with the law, rather, it establishes the law." This Paul demonstrates in the example of Abraham.

Paul asks how Abraham stands with regard to "works, boasting , and righteousness of faith", Schreiner, v1. For a Jew, Abraham is the perfect example of a person who was approved before God because of his faithful attention to God's commands. Paul sets out to show that Abraham's approval before God was based on his faith, without any reference whatsoever to obedience - "faith" in the sense of trust in / reliance on God's promises / God's faithfulness, not "faith" as a good work, a response action to a divine command.

oun "then" - [what] therefore. Paul is not about to draw a conclusion, but rather to support the argument made in 3:21-33, "a kind of scriptural proof", Kuss. "From the point of view of physical descent, Abraham is our forefather. What are we to say his special discovery was?" Barclay.

eroumen (eipon) fut. "shall we say" - will we say. The "we" is obviously "we Jews (believing Jews or Jews in general??)."

hJmwn gen. pro. "our [forefather]" - The genitive is relational.

euJrhkenai (euJriskw) perf. inf. "discovered" - to have discovered, found. Textual variants exist, both of position and omittion, JB, NEB, indicating that it may have originally been a marginal note. Best retained, as NIV. Properly an infinitive forming a dependent statement indirect speech of stating, "what will we say that Abraham discovered?" The NIV ties this infinitive with the adverbial phrase "in this matter", literally "according to the flesh". It seems better to read the infinitive before "Abraham" and arrange the sentence as Barclay above. So, "according to flesh" is a comment about Abraham as the ancestor of Jews, a comment that is probably disparaging. Abraham discovered that nothing is gained by "flesh", but by faith, and if that was true for Abraham it is true for Paul and his fellow Jewish believers.

Paul goes on to answer the question posed in v1, v2-5.

gar "-" - for. Expressing cause/reason, here serving to introduce a clarification of the question in v1.

ei + ind. "if" - Introducing a conditional sentence, 1st class, where the condition is assumed a reality, although here in the sense, "for argument sake." The force of the argument is clearer if we set aside the condition, eg. "does Abraham really have a matter of boasting before God? Not at all, for scripture says ...." Morris.

edikaiwqh (dikaiow) "was justified" - declared/made right/righteous. Granted "covenant status", Dumbrell, "count/treat as right/righteous", Barrett; or in reformed terms, "confer a righteous status on", Cranfield, although better "acquit." It is clear that Paul does not intend an ethical sense such as "make virtuous." "If Abraham was set right before God by works ...."

ex + gen. "by" - Possibly expressing source, "from", but usually taken to express means, "on the ground of = by means of."

ergwn (on ou) "works" - "Works of the law."

kauchma (a atoV) "something to boast about" - a boast [negative] / a reason for boasting / glorying [positive]. Usually in the sense of the content of the boast/glorying, or the object of the boast/glorying. "He hath whereof to glory", RV. Paul has already used this word of "the weak", referring to the boast of their standing before God on the basis of "works of the law." New perspective commentators argue that the boast is of their possession of the law.

alla "but" - A strong adversative, "but certainly not before God."

ou proV qeon "not before God" - Paul's point is illusive: i] Abraham has something to boast about before men (indeed, he was held in esteem), but not before God, Sandy & Headlam; ii] the phrase serves to refute the condition stated in the "if" clause (protasis) of the conditional sentence, Cranfield; iii] If Abraham had been justified by works he would have ground for glorying, but not toward God, but rather toward himself. Only if his justification stemmed from the grace of God would his glorying rightly be directed toward God, Chrysostom .... Myer. "Only faith justifies and enables one to glory in God", Davies.

Within Judaism, Genesis 15:6 is tied to Genesis 22 producing the idea that Abraham was justified on the basis of his faith and his faithfulness. Paul's exegesis of Gen.15:6 in v4-5 seeks to separate the two ideas, tying justification to faith alone, apart from works. The traditional view that Judaism saw justification in terms of law-obedience is counted by new perspective commentators who argue that faithful Jews saw covenant inclusion as a matter of grace, not works, although Sanders has shifted somewhat toward a synergy of both (according to Cranfield). Sanders' contention is that the law served to maintain covenant standing ("covenant nomism", or "sanctification", Dumbrell). It does seem that Paul is confronting the heresy of nomism, the idea that although getting in is by grace/faith, staying in is by law/obedience.

gar "-" - for. The particle here possibly serves to introduce the counter argument to the notion that Abraham had something to boast about, and this with the support of scripture; "but that is not how God sees him (Cranfield, v2b) for what does the passage of scripture [relevant to the matter] say", Barrett. Yet, it is more likely that the preposition takes its usual sense expressing cause/reason. If Abraham was justified by works he would have no reason to glory in God, rather, he would glory in his own achievements, but in fact, he did glory in God and this because he was justified by faith.

pisteusen (pisteuw) aor "believed" - Relied, rested on the faithfulness of God.

tw/ qew/ (oV) dat. "God" - Dative of direct object, "believed in God."

elogisqh (logizomai) aor. pas. "it was credited" - reckoned, taken into account, considered, credited as of a credit added to an account. Righteousness, right-standing before God, is reckoned to the account of a person who trusts God, as Abraham trusted God. "God reckons his faith to him ...... for righteousness", Godet; "one may infer from reckon that God treats faith as though it were righteousness", Kasemann. Faith is as good as righteousness because it is a resting on the faithfulness / righteousness of God. "Was reckoned to him as righteousness", Cassirer.

autw/ dat. pro. "to him" - Dative of indirect object.

eiV "as" - for. Taken at face value the preposition here expresses advantage, although with the accusative it ometimes functions as a predicate nominative, a Semitic construction; "faith credited righteousness to him." For a good Jew "faith" is "faithfulness", but for Paul it is faith in the terms of belief, a reliance on God's promises. Not that faith is equivalent to righteousness, but rather it is "counted in lieu of righteousness, instead of it", Ziesler.

dikaiosunhn (h) "righteousness" - Right standing before God.

Paul's compressed argument in v4-5 has caused problems. Barrett suggests that Paul wants to undermine the notion that "faith [as a meritorious work] counted for righteousness" such that "credited / reckoned" aligns with the "faith / grace" correlatives, but not with "work / debt". Yet, it does seem more likely that "reckoned" aligns with both "work" and "faith". So, Paul's point is that work produces a reward reckoned according to a debt, while faith produces a reward reckoned according to grace. Abraham's pay, which was accounted to him, namely righteousness, was the product of faith, not work - a gift of grace, not a due/debt to be paid. This, for Paul, is a substantial truth. Here is a faithful man rich in good works, yet he stands right before God, not on the ground of his deeds, but on the ground of his faith.

de "now" - but, and. Here obviously transitional, not adversative.

tw/ ergazomenw/ (ergazomai) pres. part. dat. "when a man works" - [the wages] to the one working. Participle serves as a substantive, dative of reference / respect: "with respect to the man who works." The present tense is durative; "habitually works." The application of effort and talent to a task receives something in kind, here wages. "A worker has his wage counted to him as a due", Moffatt.

oJ misqoV (oV) "his wages" - the wages, pay / reward. Probably better "reward", ref. Gen.15:1.

kata + acc. "as [a gift]" - according to [grace]. Expressing a standard; "in accordance with." The NIV surely misses the point. Paul has Abraham in mind whose right-standing before God rests on the covenant mercy of God rather than his own "works" for which right-standing would then be a "due." "To a man who works, his reward is not reckoned as a matter of grace but as something which is his due", Bruce.

alla "but" - Strong adversative.

ofeilhma (a atoV) "obligation" - debt. There is an obligation to return kind for kind; payment for work undertaken. "Now the reward given to one who works to earn it is not reckoned as a favour but as his due", Cassirer.

de "however" - but, and. Contrastive.

tw/ mh ergazomenw/ (ergazomai) pres. part. dat. "to the man who does not work" - to the one not working. Participle as a substantive, dative of reference / respect; "but with respect to the man who does not work." Obviously "work" in the sense of "effort applied to the commands of God in order to earn merit (brownie points)"

pisteuonti (pisteuw) pres. part. dat. "trusts" - the one trusting, believing. The participle serves as a substantive, dative in agreement with ergazomenw/.

epi + gen. "-" - upon on. Spacial; "faith in, upon [God] the one who justifies."

ton dikaiounta (dikaiow) pres. part. "God who justifies" - the one justifying. Participle again as a substantive, referring to God, as NIV. The meaning of the verb "justifies" is contentious, so for example: the one who grants "covenant acceptance", Dumbrell; "count/treat as right/righteous" Barrett; "confer a righteous status on", Cranfield. "The God who treats me JUST IF I'D never sinned", so "acquits", "forgiven", "declares the guilty to be innocent", TEV. The problem we face by moving from the "set right", or "judged right" sense (one's theological perspective determines which we choose) to that of "forgiveness", is that "the weak" probably saw justification in terms of forgiveness rather than Paul's wider inclusive totality of new life in Christ. For Paul, a person's justification incorporated the fullness of God's promised blessings.

ton asebh (hV) "the wicked" - without God, impious. One who is undeserving of divine attention. A strong word which serves to compare the two ways. One works and receives their reward, another believes and receives the same reward, and this person is ungodly and not deserving of any reward. "God is the one who can make even those who are evil right in his sight", NCV.

eiV "[his faith is credited] as [righteousness]" - [faith reckoned of him] to, for [righteousness].

In v6-8 Paul supports his thesis from Psalm 32:1-2, "the blessed man is not the sinless man, but the one whose sins God does not count, the man whose sins he forgives", Hunter.

kaqaper "[David says] the same thing" - as, just as, like [also David speaks]. The variant kaqwV, takes the same meaning. "You get exactly this situation in David's saying", Barclay.

makarismon (oV) "the blessedness" - the happiness, blessedness. David says the blessing, so "pronounces a blessing", RSV, although possibly "speaks of the blessedness of those ...", NRSV, as NIV, ie. "when he said the man whom God accepts as righteous is truly happy", TH.

tou anqrwpou (oV) gen. "of the man" - The genitive is adjectival, possessive; "So also David pronounces his blessing upon the man who has righteousness reckoned to him by God, apart from works", Cassirer.

w|/ dat. pro. "to whom" - Dative of interest, advantage.

logizetai (logizomai) pres. "[God] credits" - reckons, counts, credits. See v3. "God accepts him as righteous", TEV.

dikaiosunhn (h) "righteousness" - right. Right-standing before God, "covenant compliance", Dumbrell.

cwriV + gen. "apart from [works]" - without. "Apart from obedience to the law of God".

The psalm expresses the happiness of a person whose sin has not been reckoned to him. Paul uses the non-crediting of sin to support his argument for the crediting of righteousness. This is a form of rabbinic Biblical interpretation.

makarioi adj. "Blessed" - blessed, happy. Again the meaning is illusive. The sense may be "God blesses people whose sins are forgiven ..", CEV, but taken at face value the sense is "O the bliss (happiness) of those who have broken the law and have been forgiven, whose sin has been put out of sight", Barclay, so NIV. None-the-less, it is likely that Paul is not using the word for "happiness" as such, but rather with the Old Testament sense of "blessed before God". Given the context, the promised Abrahamic blessings are not far from Paul's mind.

w|n gen. pro. "are they whose" - whose. The genitive is partitive; "those whose iniquities are forgiven."

ai anomiai (a) "transgressions" - lawlessness. "Evil as a lack of conformity to God's law", Morris.

afeqhsan (afihmi) aor. pas. "are forgiven" - It is interesting that such an important word gets only limited use by Paul: the verb 5 out of 142 NT uses, and the noun only twice. This reminds us that "the weak" are not weak when it comes to forgiveness, in fact, they probably understand justification in terms of forgiveness, so Paul has no need to argue for forgiveness. It is very unlikely "the weak" think that "works of the law" attain forgiveness, rather they would know full-well that forgiveness rests on God's mercy in Christ appropriated through faith. Law, for "the weak", addresses what follows forgiveness. For Paul, what follows forgiveness, namely, the fullness of new life in Christ, has nothing to do with law-obedience, but is rather part of the justification package which rests on faith, Christ's faith and ours.

ou| gen. pro. "whose" - of whom. Variant dative, w|/, interest, "against whom the Lord will not reckon sin", NRSV. The genitive is regarded as original, obviously possessive, the sin belongs to him.

ou mh + subj. "[will] never [count against him]" - never [would account]. This construction forms a subjunctive of emphatic negation; "whom the Master refuses, in any way, to post his sins against him", Junkins.

Having established that the righteous reign of God, his setting all things right, rests on faith (God's faithfulness appropriated through faith) and not works, Paul now in v9-12 identifies those who are the rightful recipients of God's "reckoned" right standing. He points out that Abraham's standing before God, Gen.15:6, was secured before he was circumcised, Gen.17:11. Abraham found God's acceptance when he was as uncircumcised as any Gentile, v9-10. Thus Abraham now stands as the spiritual father of all for whom "faith is reckoned as righteousness", to both Jewish believers and Gentile believers, v11-12. In this is God's divine purpose exposed, namely, that it has always been his intention to gather an inclusive people unto himself.

"Is" - The verb, obviously present tense, must be assumed and probably best treated as introducing a question.

oun "-" - therefore. Indicating an important step in the argument. The quote establishes that the fullness of God's promised blessings, encapsulated in the reckoning of righteousness, rests on God's grace. "Given therefore that blessedness before God does not rest on works, but on God's grace ....."

oJ makarismoV "blessedness" - the blessed. "The blessed before God"; "does this blessedness before God only apply to circumcised Jews, or can it apply to Gentiles as well?"

epi + acc. "for" - Possibly expressing purpose, "with a view to", "for", as NIV, reference / respect, "with respect to", although usually treated here as spacial, "on, upon".

legomen (legw) pres. "we have been saying" - we say. Paul answers his question by referring to his stated argument: it was Abraham's reliance on the covenant mercy of God, his covenant faithfulness, that accounted him right before God and therefore being right before God, and thus blessed, has nothing to do with circumcision and its attendant requirement for a strict observance of the Mosaic law.

tw/ Abraam dat. "to him" - [the (his) faith was credited] to Abraham [for righteousness]. Dative of indirect object / interest.

The purpose of Paul's argument, in this and the next two verses, is to show that "the blessedness of 4:6-8 applies equally to the uncircumcised", Dumbrell.

oun "-" - therefore. Drawing a logical conclusion. "In what circumstances, then, was it so reckoned?", Cassirer.

pwV adv. "under what circumstances [was it credited]?" - how, in what way [was it reckoned]. Expressing manner, nicely worked in the NIV.

onti (eimi) dat. pres. part. "was it after [he was circumcised]" - being [in circumcision]. The dative participle of the verb to-be may be taken as adverbial, forming a temporal clause, and dative in agreement with Abraam, "Abraham", v9; "while he (Abraham) was in a state of / connected to (en) circumcision". Best treated as a question; "when this happened, was he a circumcised man?", Phillips.

all (alla) "[it was not after,] but [before]" - [not in circumcision] but [in uncircumcision]. Strong adversative. "He was not (a circumcised man), he was still uncircumcised", Phillips.

Abraham received the sign of circumcision [an attestation ("seal") of the righteousness he possessed before God on the ground of faith] while he was still uncircumcised, in order that he might be the father of all who, although uncircumcised, believe. The bracketed clause seems to function as a parenthetical remark, an aside, explaining the actual function of circumcision, ie. "seal" is in apposition to "circumcision". See Barrett who argues that v11a is a parenthesis and that the two purpose clauses refer to v10.

shmeion (on) "sign" - a distinctive mark. cf. Gen.17:11 where circumcision is a sign of the covenant, although Paul sees it as a sign of the righteous that is grounded on / out of faith. Are they the same?

peritomhV (h) gen. "of circumcision" - Presumably the genitive is adjectival, attributive, limiting "sign", a circumcision type of sign, or better epexegetic / appositional (epexegetic, Moo, appositional, Moule); "a sign consisting in circumcision", Sandy and Headlam.

sfragida (iV idoV) "a seal" - That which "confirms the validity of a reality already present", Jewett, "an attestation of", Morris.

thV dikaiosunhV (h) gen. "of the righteousness" - The piling up of genitives makes for a difficult translation; "of that (taking the article as demonstrative) righteousness, of that faith, of that (thV referring to the faith / righteousness Abraham already had) . It may be treated as objective giving the sense that circumcision sealed Abraham's righteousness to him, so Lenski, but probably better adjectival, epexegetic/appositional, "consisting of ....", explaining the nature of the seal as a hallmark of the right relationship Abraham had with God.

thV pistewV (iV ewV) "that he had by faith" - of faith. Again the genitive may be adjectival, attributive, the faith type of righteousness, but probably better ablative, either a righteousness that comes out of faith (ek + gen.) or a righteousness that rests on faith (dia + gen.). "That right relationship with God which was the result of his faith", Barclay. "Faith" here in the sense of both God's faithfulness and Abraham's faith in God's faithfulness / covenant mercy.

en + dat. "while he was still [uncircumcised]" - in [uncircumcision]. Best treated as adverbial, temporal, as NIV, but still retaining its local sense; "while / at the time when he was in a state of uncircumcision." So, "he received ..... a seal of righteousness .... which was his while he was uncircumcised." With regard the introductory genitive article thV, "of that righteousness / faith he was in while in a state of uncircumcision", which serves to form a relative clause, it probably relates to "righteousness", not "faith", so Moo, contra Cranfield.

eiV to + inf. "so then" - in order that. This preposition with the articular infinitive usually forms a purpose clause, not a consecutive/result clause as NIV. "In order that he might be the father of all who have faith while they are uncircumcised", Barclay. The infinitive here takes a durative present; "so that he is always the father of all who believe."

twn pisteuontwn (pisteuw) pres. part. "[all] who believe" - [all] the ones believing. The participle serves as a substantive.

dia "but [have not been circumcised]" - through / by means of [uncircumcision]. Sandy and Headlam suggest the the preposition here takes the particular use of attendant circumstance; "though in a state of uncircumcision", manner of acting, Zerwick 114, or possibly temporal, "while they are uncircumcised", Barclay, Zerwick 115. Lenski suggests the sense "in spite of", cf. 2:27, where the action "through", rather than the instrumental "by means of", proceeds here in a hostile environment, so "in spite of [their] uncircumcision."

eiV to logisqhnai "in order that [righteousness] might be credited" - for to be reckoned. Again, this preposition + the articular infinitive usually forms a purpose clause, so Dunn, Barrett, but it can form a consecutive/result clause and that is proposed here by Cranfield and Moo. "The object of this eiV to einai = purpose) was to make him the father of all who believe as uncircumcised persons and thus eiV to logisqhnai = result) have righteousness counted to them", Moffatt, so also NRSV.

kai "and he is also" - also. Adjunctive. Verse 12 continues the sentence begun with the purpose clause "This happened (Abraham's receiving the sign of circumcision after being reckoned righteous out of faith) in order that ("so then", NIV)" he might be the father of the uncircumcised and also the father of the circumcised, those circumcised who, like Abraham, rest on the faithfulness of God. So, "In order that he is also ..."

peritomhV (h) gen. "[the father] of the circumcised" - [father] of circumcision. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, limiting "Father"; "circumcision Father of circumcised believers." As Lenski points out the word is being used abstractly here.

toiV dat. art. "who [not only are circumcised]" - to the ones [not of circumcision only]. Dative of interest, advantage; "for those who are not of (ek partitive) circumcision." The article is plural while referencing "circumcised" singular. Obviously Paul is thinking ahead to the next clause, "the ones who walk in the footsteps of ......... Abraham [while] in uncircumcision." It seems likely that Paul's qualification here limits the fatherhood of Abraham to those "who are not circumcised merely (ouk .... monon, "not merely" possessing the outward sign of circumcision), but who also walk in the footsteps of that faith which our father Abraham had when we was as yet uncircumcised", Cassirer. So, not all Jews, but rather Jews of faith. "Not to those of the circumcision only" would be written ouk toiV ek peritomhV monon. "Abraham is circumcision-Father, not to all Jews, but only to the real one, to those who are not only circumcised, but at the same time are holding to the faith which Abraham had even before he was circumcised", Lenski.

alla "but" - Strong adversative.

toiV stoicousin (stoicew) dat. pres. part. "who [also] walk" - [also] to the ones walking. The articular participle serves as a substantive, although this does not imply a second group of children of Abraham, the first Jews and now believing Jews. Hort replaced the article with autoiV, "to those who walk" (an adjectival construction), while others have expunged it. It may be treated as "an intrusive article", Moule, although Lenski argues that it is correct Greek because in this verse Paul is speaking of the same group of people, namely, Jewish believers, and by repeating the dative article toiV he makes this clear. Again, a dative of interest, advantage; "for those who walk ..."

toiV icnesin (oV) dat. "in the footsteps" - walk in the tracks of, march in line = imitate, do as others do. "But also take that same way of faith as our father Abraham did", Barclay.

thV .... pistewV (iV ewV) gen. "of the faith" - Again we have a piling up of genitives; "of the faith of the Father of us." The genitive is adjectival, epexegetic.

hJmwn gen. pro. "our [Father Abraham]" - The genitive is possessive, the "our" surely includes Gentiles, given Paul argument in this passage.

en akrobustia/ (a) "had before he was circumcised" - in uncircumcision. The preposition is local, best expressed as a temporal clause, referring to the faith Abraham had "when he was yet uncircumcised", Cassirer.

Romans Introduction.

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