Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Romans 16:27

μόνῳ. Cf. Romans 3:30 where the ‘singleness’ of GOD is the basis of the universality of the Gospel, as here. See note ad loc[340] For μόνος cf. John 5:44; John 17:3; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:15 (in a similar connexion); Jude 1:25.

[340] ad loc. ad locum

σοφῷ. Cf. Romans 11:33 : specially of the wisdom which orders in detail the age-long and world-wide purpose. Cf. 1 Corinthians 1:21-30; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 3:10; Colossians 2:3.

θεῷ. To GOD as GOD, sole and supreme Creator and Dispenser of all His wondrous dealings with men.

διὰ Ἰ. Χρ. As through Him GOD has manifested Himself to men, so through Him returns the due acknowledgment from man to GOD; cf. Romans 1:8; Romans 7:25.

ἡ δόξα κ.τ.λ. Cf. Romans 11:36.

NOTE ON THE TEXT

2. Romans 16:27. ᾧ om. B. 33. 72, Pesh., Orig.-lat., ins. rel. exc. αὐτῷ P. 31, 54.

The strongest argument for retaining ᾧ is the difficulty of the reading, and the consequent unlikelihood of its invention. But this principle must not be pressed to the adoption of an all but impossible reading. With ᾧ we can only explain on the assumption of a very awkward anacoluthon. Zahn and Weiss defend this by referring to the strong emotion, with which this passage is written. But even so this is not a natural anacoluthon; there is no parenthesis or interruption of thought; the sentence is regularly and strongly constructed up to Χριστοῦ, and throughout it is obvious that it is to end with ἡ δόξα; after the participial clauses, the dative has come, picking up τῷ δυναμένῳ and resuming the whole thought (μόνῳ σοφῷ); then διὰ Ἰης. Χρ. again makes us expect ἡ δόξα, and cannot be connected with anything that has gone before: no amount of emotion could justify the insertion of ᾧ here, between the words that are crying for ἡ δόξα, and ἡ δόξα itself. It is a sheer though early blunder due to the frequent occurrence of the combination ᾧ ἡ δόξα. There is a closely similar case in Mart. Polycarp. xx. 2 (qu. by Weiss but with the wrong reading), τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ πάντας ὑμᾶς εἰσαγαγεῖν ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι καὶ δωρεᾷ εἰς τὴν αἰώνιον αὐτοῦ βασιλείαν διὰ τοῦ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ μονογενοῦς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δόξα, τιμή, κράτος, μεγαλοσύνη εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Here ᾧ ἡ are inserted by two MSS before δόξα (Lightfoot, Ap. Fathers II. § ii. p. 983). Further, Jude 1:24-25, clearly modelled on this passage, supports the omission of ᾧ; and even in Jude א* am. and apparently aeth. insert ᾧ before δόξα.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Romans 16:27

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