Romans 4

Romans 4 is the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD, with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, who adds his own greeting in Romans 16:22. The focus of this chapter is on Abraham, whose faith "was accounted (or imputed) to him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3). The Geneva Bible's chapter summary states that "ten times in the chapter [Paul] beateth upon this word, Imputation.

Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 25 verses.

Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
 * Papyrus 40 (~AD 250; extant verses 1–8)
 * Codex Vaticanus (325–350)
 * Codex Sinaiticus (330–360)
 * Codex Alexandrinus (400–440)
 * Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; complete)

Old Testament references

 * Romans 4:3 references Genesis 15:6
 * Romans 4:7–8 references Psalm 32:1–2
 * Romans 4:17 references Genesis 17:5
 * Romans 4:18 references Genesis 15:5
 * Romans 4:22 references Genesis 15:6

Verse 3
"For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.""

- Romans 4:3, English Standard Version

Heinrich Meyer explains that the citation from Genesis 15:6 ("he believed in the ; and He counted it to him for righteousness") is quoted according to the Septuagint (LXX), which renders the active by the passive και ελογισθη. Paul quotes the same verse in the same way in Galatians 3:6. Meyer also disputes the charge from theologian Leopold Immanuel Rückert that Paul "made an unwarrantable use of the passage for his purpose", because here Paul definitely understood δικαιοσύνη "in the dogmatic sense", justifiable in doing so, since "the imputation of faith as, was essentially the same judicial act which takes place at the justification of Christians".

Verse 18

 * Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Hope in nature (as far as nature could give hope) is contrasted with hope in God (that God could do what nature could not). The hope that Abraham might become the father of many nations is "most properly taken" as expressing the divine purpose in regard to Abraham and his destiny.