Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Romans 2:12

ὅσοι. All without distinction.

ἀνόμως. The antithesis ἐν νόμῳ and διὰ νόμου and the parallel τὰ μὴ νόμον ἔχοντα, prove that ἀν. = without law (not ‘against law,’ as 1 Timothy 1:9 (?)); cf. 1 Corinthians 9:21. In fact it is arguable that ἄνομος should always be taken in this sense in N.T. See on 14.

ἥμαρτον, in accordance with the whole preceding argument, implies acting against knowledge, even though that knowledge has not been given in explicit law; Romans 2:4 f. explain how it was given. See Add. Note D, on ἁμαρτία, p. 213.

Aor. most simply taken as ‘timeless’; cf. Moulton, p. 134; Burton, § 54, who calls it ‘collective.’ The aorist expresses fundamentally ‘action at a point’ or action simply in itself without time reference. A special difficulty arises in the indicative because the augment gives a reference to past time: but as the present is properly durative, it is natural that the necessity for expressing simple action should lead to the use of the aorist in this sense, in spite of the effect of the augment: so I take it here and Romans 3:23 and tr. ‘all that sin.’ Otherwise, it should be translated by the future perfect, under the influence of the future in the apodosis.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Romans 2:12

Old Testament

New Testament