What value is there in being ethnically Jewish?

Explanation:

When Paul says the advantage of being Jewish is that they were entrusted with τὰ λόγια (the oracles), he means that they were entrusted with recording and preserving the Old Testament. We can deduce this because this is the only time Paul uses the term in his letters, and it is the perfect term to denote the Scripture for both a Jewish and Gentile audience.⁴

Of course, Paul is writing to a Jewish and Gentile audience in Rome, so the term works well for his purposes. For the Jews, they would understand the term to refer to what we now call the Old Testament, while for the Gentiles, it would carry a sense of divine communication. ⁵ In any case, the term τὰ λόγια (the oracles) is well-suited to denote the Scriptures for Paul’s diverse audience.  

Counterargument:

Paul would not use the term in the sense of oracle to refer to Scripture in this context. For the term in the sense of oracle has to do with pagan rituals, and Paul would not use a term related to pagan rituals in his interactions with the Gentiles.⁶ For example, the pagan seers of his day would speak λόγια (oracles) in which they made predictions about the future. It is unfitting for Paul to use such terminology in conjunction with Scripture.

Response to counterargument:

That the term would connect with Paul’s Gentile audience is likely why he chose it. Normally, when Paul refers to Scripture, he uses the term γραφή (writing), but in this case, he uses λόγιον. Now, we know that λόγιον means a saying normally connoting something like a divine saying.⁷ In fact, other New Testament authors aside from Paul use the same term to refer to Scripture (Hebrews 5:12). And of course, the Jews were entrusted with divine sayings in the sense that they are the ones who recorded the Old Testament. Finally, that the pagans use the term λόγιον (oracle) to refer to the task of seers does not imply that Paul cannot use the same term. Rather, it simply means that when Paul uses the term, it refers to actual sayings from God, unlike the pagans, who only believe the sayings are from gods.

Explanation:

Paul has explained that circumcision is of no value unless one keeps the whole law (Romans 2:25). Of course, by saying this, Paul seems to suggest that there is no value in being ethnically Jewish. Now, it would be strange for there to be no value in being Jewish, because God himself appointed the Jews to be his covenant people, so how could there be no value in being Jewish?⁸ Paul explains that there is much value. For example, they were entrusted with the oracles of God.

Now, Paul writes this as a Jew who has come to see that the promises of God have been fulfilled in Christ. So he recognizes that the Scriptures pointed to Christ and the gospel, and the gospel is offered to the whole world, including both Jew and Gentile. So the Scriptures are also for the whole world, both Jew and Gentile, and it was the special duty of the Jews to record and safeguard these Scriptures. Thus, Paul understands that one important aspect of being Jewish is that the Jews were entrusted to record Scripture, which contains the promise of the gospel.

Counterargument:

When we consider the context of Romans 3:2, we can detect that Paul has something other than the Scriptures in mind. For in Romans 3:3 he goes on to ask, What if some of the Jews were unfaithful? Does this nullify God’s faithfulness? When we consider these rhetorical questions, we can detect that Romans 3:2 is not about Scripture. For if Romans 3:2 were about entrusting the Jews with recording Scripture, then Romans 3:3 does not make sense. For Paul would be saying, There is value in the fact that God entrusted you with the Scriptures. Does your unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?

That the Jews were entrusted with the Scriptures seems unrelated to their unfaithfulness and God’s faithfulness. That is, if Paul is saying the advantage of being Jewish is that God entrusts them with the Scriptures, what does their unfaithfulness and God’s faithfulness have to do with anything? Since Romans 3:3 is out of place if Romans 3:2 has to do with God's entrusting the Jews with recording Scripture, it is unlikely that Scripture is what Paul is mind in Romans 3:2.

Response to counterargument:

When Paul says their unfaithfulness does not nullify God’s faithfulness, he is saying that, even though the Jews’ hearts did not align with the admirable task of recording Scripture, this does not mean that God was not faithful in giving them an important task. That is, although the Jews were sinners, God still entrusted them to record and preserve the Old Testament.

The weakness here is that the oracles of God is not Paul’s common way of referring to Scripture. If Paul wanted his audience to note that the Jews were entrusted with recording Scripture, he could have used a more obvious phrase to do so.

Explanation:

When Paul rhetorically asks the value in being Jewish, he uses a noun that we translate as value or advantage. Paul uses the verbal form of the noun in Romans 2:25 when he says that circumcision is of value if one keeps the law. When Paul does that in Romans 2:25, the term carries the sense of saving advantage.¹¹ That is, Paul is explaining the salvific value of circumcision. Given that he used the verbal form in Romans 2:25 to refer to saving advantage, it is likely he does the same thing in Romans 3:2. So Paul is asking, What is the saving value of being ethnically Jewish? He then says that first of all, the saving value of being Jewish is that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. So what oracles from God did the Jews receive that has saving value? In particular, the promise that the Jews are God’s covenant people. So the value in being Jewish is that the Jews received God’s promise of salvation as God’s covenant people. ¹²

Counterargument:

It is not clear that when Paul uses the verbal form (to help) in Romans 2:25 and the noun form of the same term (value/advantage) in Romans 3:2, he has the same use in mind. For in Romans 2:25, Paul says that circumcision is of value only if one keeps the whole law. Then, in Romans 3:2 he asks, What is the value of being Jewish? before answering, Much in every way, for the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. Now, if Paul means saving value in both Romans 2:25 and Romans 3:2, then he seems to be saying that circumcision, which represents ethnic Judaism, only has saving value if one keeps the whole law. Now he says being Jewish has saving value in many ways, including that they received the oracles of God. It is highly unlikely that Paul would say being Jewish only has saving value if one keeps the whole law, before stating a couple of verses later that being Jewish has saving value because the Jews received the promises of God. Why point out the need to uphold the law if being Jewish ensures one’s salvation?

Response to counterargument:

Paul’s comments in Romans 3:2 further clarify his preceding arguments. For, if we assume he uses the verb in Romans 2:25 to refer to saving value, there he says there is only saving value in circumcision, that is, being Jewish, if one keeps the whole law. Of course, we know from Scripture that God made a covenant with Israel to redeem them as his people. And since God’s calling is irrevocable, Paul will go on to explain in Romans 9:1–11:36 that although Israel’s heart has been hardened, they will still be saved. ¹³ So how can Paul say that there is only value in being Jewish if one keeps the law, when God made a covenant promise to Israel? Thus, Paul clarifies his comments in Romans 3:2 when he explains that in fact, there is saving value in being Jewish, for the Jews were entrusted with the covenant promises of God.

Explanation:

Paul says the advantage of being Jewish is that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. We can detect what he means by this because there are Old Testament texts that state that the Israelites received God’s special promises. For example, in Deuteronomy 4:8, God asks through Moses what great nation there is that has the rules and righteous laws that God has set before Israel. Likewise, in Psalm 147:19–20, the psalmist explains that God has set his rules and laws before Israel before asking what other nation God has done this for. ¹⁴ In other words, the advantage in being Jewish is that the Jews received the promises of God.

Counterargument:

The argument says that the advantage of being Jewish is that the Jews received the oracles of God. Now, the argument offers Old Testament passages to support the claim that the Jews received the promises of God, but the passages do not state this. Rather, the passages state that the Israelites received the laws and rules from God. So if the oracles of God are the laws and rules from God, then the advantage of being Jewish is that the Jews had access to God’s law, not that they were promised salvation through the covenant.

The weakness of this view is that, if all of Israel will be saved, this seems to run counter to Paul’s entire argument in Romans 2:1–29, where he explains that both Jews and Gentiles will be judged by the same standard.

Explanation:

Paul explains in Romans 2:25–29 that being Jewish has no saving advantage over the Gentile.¹⁷ Of course, this leads to the obvious question, What then is the advantage of being Jewish? Paul is clear that there is much advantage, or value, in being Jewish, because the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What he likely means here is that the Jews were entrusted with the laws of God, and they were given the important responsibility of sharing those laws with the nations. For, already in the third century BC, the Jews referred to the law of God as the oracles of God. And Paul’s audience would have been familiar with the common Jewish practice of reading and studying the law in the synagogue. Thus, Paul is explaining that the advantage or value of being Jewish is that these were entrusted with the law of God, so they would study and teach the nations their content.¹⁸

Counterargument:

Unfortunately for this argument, Paul already broached the topic of the Jews studying and teaching the law, but he concludes that unless they keep the whole law, being Jewish is of no value. For in Romans 2:17–29, Paul says that if you consider yourself a Jew who has the law of God and is able to teach others, but do the same things, you are condemned. He then says circumcision is only of value if one keeps the whole law. In other words, sharing and teaching the law is only of value if one keeps the law themselves, otherwise such teaching is self-righteousness. So why would Paul now suddenly say in Romans 3:2 that the advantage of being Jewish is having the law, which can be taught to the nations?

Explanation:

Paul says that the advantage of being Jewish is that the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. That Paul uses the passive form of the verb to trust here is important, because Paul often uses this same verb in relation to preaching the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:17; Galatians 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Timothy 1:11; Titus 1:3). ¹⁹ In other words, Paul seems to be saying that as he was entrusted with preaching the gospel, so the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God in the sense of sharing the law of God with the nations. 

Counterargument:

The passive form of the verb to trust is not reserved for preaching the gospel. Rather, the verb is a common verb used hundreds of times in the New Testament. Further, teaching the law while failing to keep it themselves is precisely why Paul exhorts the Jews in this section (Romans 2:17–29). Still, Paul explains that there is value in being Jewish, because the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. Now, preserving and recording Scripture is something the Jews accomplished, regardless of the fact that they fall short of the law. So, likely preserving and recording Scripture is what Paul has in mind when he says the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.

The weakness of this view is that the oracles is not an obvious phrase for referring to the law. Paul has been discussing the law, so if he wanted the Jews to recognize that being entrusted with the law is what gave value to being Jewish, he would simply say that, instead of using the term the oracles.