Texts in Conversation
In Romans, Paul describes Adam as source of sin and death, language similar to 2 Baruch 54 that describes every person as a new Adam, depicting the first sin not just a moment in the past but an ongoing pattern that defines human experience.
Share:
Romans 5:12
New Testament
12 So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin when there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type of the coming one) transgressed. 15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if the many died through the transgression of the one man, how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many! 16 And the gift is not like the one who sinned. For judgment, resulting from the one transgression, led to condemnation, but the gracious gift from the many failures led to justification. 17 For if, by the transgression of the one man, death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!
Date: 55-58 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
2 Baruch 54:19
Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch
Pseudepigrapha
15 For though Adam first sinned And brought untimely death upon all, Yet of those who were born from him Each one of them has prepared for his own soul torment to come, And again each one of them has chosen for himself glories to come. 16 For surely he who believes will receive reward. 17 But now, as for you, you wicked that now are, turn yourselves to destruction, because you shall soon be visited, in that previously you rejected the understanding of the Most High. 18 For His works have not taught you, Nor has the skill of His creation which is at all times persuaded you. 19 Adam is therefore not the cause, save only of his own soul, But each of us has been the Adam of his own soul. 20 But do You, O Lord, explain to me regarding those things which You have revealed to me, And inform me regarding that which I begged You.
Date: 70-100 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Search:
Notes and References
"... While Paul is interested in the similarities between Adam and Christ, he is even more interested in the different results or effects that they have brought upon us all. His fundamental point is stated in Romans 5:15: “But the free gift is not like the trespass.” That is, the positive effects of Jesus’ saving death and resurrection far outweigh the negative effects of Adam’s sin. According to Paul, Adam’s sin brought disobedience, sin, condemnation, and death upon humankind, whereas Christ’s sacrificial fidelity opened up the possibility of obedience, righteousness, justification/acquittal, and eternal life. The result of Adam’s sin was the reign of Sin, Death, and the Law. The result of Christ’s saving death and resurrection is the reign of grace (divine favor) and eternal life. This is typology with a twist. For Paul, Adam is like Christ and thus foreshadows Christ as the bearer of a fate or destiny. But even more important for Paul is how Adam is unlike Christ, when one compares the results or effects of what each one has done. Paul’s negative assessment of Adam and the effects of his sin is echoed in the late first century A.D. Jewish apocalypse known as Syriac or Second Baruch 54:19: “Each of us have become our own Adam.” ..."
Harrington, Daniel J.
Paul’s Use of the Old Testament in Romans
(pp. 1-8) Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, Vol. 4, 2009
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.