The purpose of Rom. 9–11

There are very few passages in Romans without major exegetical problems. Whether one regards this as a sign of the apostle's theological profundity or of a tortuous and confused mode of thought, the fact remains that Romans is one of the most difficult texts in the New Testament. Perhaps this accounts in part for the fascination which this epistle has held for countless exegetes down the centuries; of all the New Testament writings, this one poses the most obvious intellectual challenge. No interpretation can hope to solve all of its problems, but it has been the claim of the previous chapters that close attention to the situation of the Roman Christians and to Paul's purpose in writing to them is much more important for the interpretation of the epistle than is commonly thought. The supposition that Romans presupposes an existing social situation, and was intended to function in particular ways within that situation, seems more profitable than the common view that in Romans Paul the theologian rises above the concrete situations which he has had to deal with in Corinth, Galatia and so on, and at last sets forth his gospel in a definitive and universally valid manner. The survival of the latter view shows how difficult it has proved to set aside theological presuppositions in order to interpret the text in a genuinely historical way.

Can the method of interpretation developed in the previous chapters help us to understand Rom. 9–11?