Section 4:1–12
God considers/calls people righteous like he did with Abraham
God called Abraham righteous because he believed what God told him (Genesis 15:1–6). In this section, Paul used that example to show that all people must believe in God for him to call them righteous. He did that for Abraham before Abraham was circumcised. So that shows that God makes people right with himself because they believe in him and not because they are circumcised.
Here are other possible headings for this section:
The Example of Abraham (Good News Translation)
-or-
God called Abraham righteous because he believed
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Abraham is/as an example of how to become righteous before God
-or-
The lesson/model of God calling Abraham righteous because he believed God
Paragraph 4:1–3
4:1a–b
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, has discovered?: This is a rhetorical question. It introduces a new subject, the example of Abraham. It causes the listener to think about what the answer might be. Translate this rhetorical question with that meaning. Here are some ways:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
What can we say that we have discovered about our ancestor Abraham? (God’s Word)
• As a statement. For example:
So then, here is what we can say about our ancestor Abraham according to human/natural descent:
What then shall we say: The word then indicates a connection to previous verses. It introduces an example of being justified by faith alone (3:28).
In some languages, the conjunction must be first in the clause. For example:
Then, what shall we say
that Abraham, our forefather, has discovered: There are two issues here.
Issue 1: The text
There is a textual issue here.
(1) Most very old Greek manuscripts have the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as has discovered.
(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New International Version, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, NET Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New Century Version, King James Version)
(2) One very old Greek manuscript omits this word.
(Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow option (1), because the UBS Handbook Good News Translation recommends it.
Issue 2: Meaning
There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as has discovered :
(1) It means discover or learn here. For example:
Abraham…discovered in this matter (New International Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Living Translation (2004), NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, God’s Word, King James Version, New Century Version)
(2) It means attain here. For example:
was gained by Abraham (New Revised Standard Version)
(English Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
The Greek is literally “Abraham to have discovered.” It is not passive. Here are other ways to translate this clause according to option (1) and interpretation (1) above:
Abraham…What was his experience? (Good News Translation)
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Abraham…has found? (New American Standard Bible)
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Abraham…learned about faith? (New Century Version)
Abraham: Abraham was an important Jewish ancestor, the first of God’s chosen people. God selected him to be the father of a great nation and established his covenant with him. He was greatly respected by the Jews and they called themselves “sons of Abraham.”
our forefather:
The word forefather refers to an ancestor of long ago. Some Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
our ancestor (NET Bible)
-or-
the father of our people (New Century Version)
The Greek literally says “our forefather according to the flesh.” The Berean Standard Bible does not translate the phrase “according to the flesh,” but it means “as a human being” here, as in 1:3. It emphasizes the physical rather than spiritual. Here are other ways to translate the phrase “according to the flesh”:
humanly speaking, (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
by natural descent (Revised English Bible)
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