Romans 15:12

Now the God of hope,.... This character is taken from the latter part of Rom 15:12, and is occasioned by it, "in him shall the Gentiles trust", or "hope"; and is proper to God as he is the author and giver of this grace; for naturally men are without it; that which is a good hope is the gift of God, and through his grace, and is wrought in the heart in regeneration; for to this are the children of God begotten again. Moreover, God is the object of it; not wealth and riches, nor works of righteousness, but Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, particularly Christ, is called the believer's hope; that is, the object of it, in whom the Gentiles hope and trust. Likewise, it is God that encourages to the exercise of it by the proclamations of his grace, and mercy, and plenteous redemption; by the discoveries of his love, and views of interest in him; and by bringing to mind the past experiences of his goodness: he preserves and maintains this grace useful and lively, firm and steadfast, at least in being, which sometimes seems almost perished and gone; he increases it, and causes his people to abound in the exercise of it, and continues it even unto death. The Ethiopic version reads, "the God of our promises", which are what hope has respect unto, and builds upon:

fill you with all joy and peace in believing. This is a petition to the God of hope. The apostle has recourse again to prayer, knowing that all his exhortations would be useless, without the grace of God accompanying them: and it is observable, that he prays for the same things mentioned in the above prophecies and promises, as joy, peace, and hope; for though God has promised ever so great things concerning his people, he will be inquired of by them to do them for them. One part of this petition is, that God would "fill them with all joy"; not with every kind of joy; not with worldly joy, or with the joy of hypocrites, who rejoice in sin, or in their own boastings, which is evil; but with spiritual joy, joy in God as a covenant God and Father; in Christ, in his person, righteousness, and salvation; and in the Holy Ghost, the author of it, whose fruit it is; and in the Gospel, doctrines, blessings, and promises of it; and in the view and hope of the heavenly glory, amidst various afflictions and tribulations: and it designs an abundance of it, even a fulness thereof; though the petition implies, that as yet it is not full; it is frequently interrupted and broke in upon by the corruption of nature, and falls into sin, by the temptations of Satan, through divine desertions, and various trials and exercises; yet it supposes it may be increased, as by the renewed discoveries of the love of God, of interest in Christ, and through the gracious influences of the Spirit; and even made full and complete, though not in this, yet in the other world: another branch of the petition is, that God would fill with "peace", with a sense of their peace with him, made by the blood of Christ; with a conscience peace in their own breasts, arising from a view of their justification by the righteousness of Christ, and from the sprinklings of his blood upon them; and also with peace one among another, which was much wanting, and the apostle was very desirous of: and all this he asks, that it might come to them "in believing"; in the way of faith, and the exercise of that grace; for joy comes this way; faith and joy go together; where one is, the other is also; and as the one increases, so does the other; a believing view of interest in Christ is attended with joy unspeakable, and full of glory: and so peace comes in at the door of faith: there is no true peace till a soul is brought to believe in Christ; and that is promoted and increased by repeated acts of faith on Christ, or by a constant living by faith on him; see Isa 26:3. The end for which this petition is made is,

that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. By hope is meant that grace which God is the author, object, and promoter of; and the Syriac version reads it, "in his hope", or "the hope of him"; of enjoying him, of meeting with him, and having communion with him in his house and ordinances; of having fresh supplies of grace from him, and of being favoured with all the blessings of grace laid up in an everlasting covenant, and at last with eternal life and glory: to "abound" herein, is to be in the free and frequent exercise of this grace, being encouraged by the grace of God, and an enlarged experience of it, and supported by faith, the substance of things hoped for: and this "through the power of the Holy Ghost"; not by might or power of man, but by that same divine power which first began the good work, and must fulfil it; which at first implanted the grace of hope, and must perform the work of that, as of faith. The same power is requisite to cause grace to abound, or saints to abound in the exercise of it, as was to the first production of it. The Vulgate Latin reads, "that ye may abound in hope, and in the power of the Holy Ghost"; but there is no copulative in the Greek text.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rom 15:12.[157] Ἡσαΐας, Isaiah) Three sayings had been quoted without the name of Moses and David; he now mentions the name of Isaiah, of whose book the Haphtara (The portion publicly read in the synagogue) with this Saying, is read on the eighth day of the Passover, at that time of the year, at which this epistle seems to have been written.—ἔσται ἡ—καὶ ὁ—ἐπʼ αὐτῷ—) Isa 11:10, LXX. καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἡ—ὁ—ἐπʼ αὐτὸν.—ἡ ῥίζα, the root) Christ is elsewhere called the root of David, Rev 22:16; but, if we compare this passage taken from the passage in Isaiah quoted above with Rom 15:1, He is called the root of Jesse. The descent of kings and of the Messiah from His house was divinely appointed to Jesse in His own name, before it was so in the name of David, and that descent might have been expected even from another son of Jesse, 1Sa 16:7. But David was king, not Jesse; and the kingdom of Christ was in some measure hereditary from David, Luk 1:32, in respect of the Jews, but not in respect of the Gentiles. He is therefore called here, not the root of David, but, that which was next to it, the root of Jesse. The Messiah, who was to descend from Jesse, had been promised neither entirely to him, nor to the Gentiles: and yet He was bestowed on both. Those things, however, which immediately precede, where He is called the root of Jesse, and the passage, 1Sa 16:7, where it is said of the first-born son of Jesse, I have refused him, testify that the Messiah was divinely appointed to Jesse.—ὁ ἀνιστάμενος) So the LXX. interpreted the word of Isaiah, נם, a banner: There is a pleasant antithesis: the root is in the lowest place; the banner rises on high [to the greatest height], so as to be seen even by the remotest nations.—ἘΛΠΙΟῦΣΙΝ, shall hope, [trust]) Divine worship is implied here as due to Christ even in His human nature. The Gentiles formerly had no ‘hope,’ Eph 2:12.

[157] Αἰνεῖτε, praise ye) on account of grace and truth. For these things follow in the Psalm, where Israel cries aloud to the Gentiles.—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_15:12. Isa_11:10, with omission of ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ after ἔσται, literally after the LXX., who, however, translate the original inaccurately. The latter runs: And it comes to pass at that day, that after the root-shoot of Jesse, which stands as a tanner of peoples (לְּנֵם עַמִּים), Gentiles shall inquire; see Umbreit in the Stud. u. Krit. 1835, p. 553, and the explanation in reference thereto, p. 880 f.; Drechsler and Delitzsch, in loc. But the words of the LXX., as Paul has quoted them, run as follows: There shall be the root-shoot of Jesse and (i.e. and indeed, explanatory) He who arises (raises himself) to rule over Gentiles; on Him shall Gentiles hope. This passage and its entire connection are Messianic, and that indeed in so far as the idea is therein expressed, that the promised descendant of David, the ideal of the theocratic king, will extend His kingdom over Gentiles also, and will be the object of their desire (according to the LXX. and Paul: of their believing hope). This prophecy likewise Paul sees fulfilled through the magnifying of the divine mercy by the already converted Gentiles (Rom_15:7; Rom_15:9). Observe that ἐθνῶν and ἔθνη are without the article, and hence do not denote the Gentile world (Hofmann).

ἡ ῥίζα is here, according to the Heb. שֹׁרֶשׁ, the root-shoot; comp. Sir_47:22; Rev_5:5; Rev_22:6; 1Ma_1:10; Sir_40:15. He is the root-shoot of Jesse, because Jesse is the root from which He springs, as the ancestor of the Messianic king, David, Jesses son, sprang from it. This descendant of Jesse is the Messiah (comp. Isa_11:1; Isa_53:2), who (according to the original text) is a banner for peoples, and consequently their leader and ruler. Christ has entered on this dominion at His exaltation, and He carries it out by successive stages through the conversion of the Gentiles.

ἐπʼ αὐτῷ] of the resting of hope upon Him (Hemsterh. ad Xen. Eph. p. 128), 1Ti_4:10; 1Ti_6:17; LXX. Isa_42:4. Comp. πιστεύειν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ, Rom_9:33, Rom_10:11. The contents of the hope is the attainment of eternal salvation, which will be fulfilled in them at the Parousia.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 15:12 . καὶ πάλιν Ἡσαίας λέγει : Isa 11:10 . Paul again follows the LXX, only omitting ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ after ἔσται . The words are meant to describe the Messianic kingdom and its Davidic head. It is a universal kingdom, and the nations set their hope in its King, and therefore in the God of salvation whose representative He is. Such a hope in God, the Apostle’s argument implies, will result in the praise which glorifies Him for His mercy (Rom 15:9 ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_15:12

And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to rule over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust, Isa_11:1, Isa_11:10. This is an explicit prediction of the dominion of the Messiah over other nations besides the Jews. Here again the apostle follows the Septuagint, giving, however, the sense of the original Hebrew. The promise of the prophet is, that from the decayed and fallen house of David, one should arise, whose dominion should embrace all nations, and in whom Gentiles as well as Jews should trust. In the fulfillment of this prophecy Christ came, and preached salvation to those who were near and to those who were far off. As both classes had been thus kindly received by the condescending Savior, and united into one community, they should recognize and love each other as brethren, laying aside all censoriousness and contempt, neither judging nor despising one another.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And again, Esaias saith-- (Isa 11:10).

There shall be a--"the"

root of Jesse--meaning, not "He from whom Jesse sprang," but "He that is sprung from Jesse" (that is, Jesse's son David)--see Rev 22:16.

and he that shall rise, &c.--So the Septuagint in substantial, though not verbal, agreement with the original.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

12. And again, Isaiah, etc., This prophecy is the most illustrious of them all: for in that passage, the Prophet, when things were almost past hope, comforted the small remnant of the faithful, even by this, — that there would arise a shoot from the dry and the dying trunk of David’s family, and that a branch would flourish from his despised root, which would restore to God’s people their pristine glory. It is clear from the account there given, that this shoot was Christ, the Redeemer of the world. And then, he added, that he would be raised for a sign to the Gentiles, that might be to them for salvation. The words do indeed differ a little from the Hebrew text; for we read here, arise, while in Hebrew it is stand for a sign, which is the same; for he was to appear conspicuous like a sign. What is here hope, is in Hebrew seek; but according to the most common usage of Scripture, to seek God is nothing else but to hope in him.

But twice in this prophecy is the calling of the Gentiles confirmed, — by the expression, that Christ was to be raised up as a sign, and he reigns among the faithful alone, — and by the declaration, that they shall hope in Christ, which cannot take place without the preaching of the word and illumination of the Spirit. With these things corresponds the song of Simeon. It may be further added, that hope in Christ is an evidence of his divinity.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(12) And again, Esaias saith.—St. Paul still adheres to the LXX., which here diverges more widely from the Hebrew. The sense of this is rightly given by the Authorised version of Isa_11:10—“In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek.” In either case the passage is Messianic.

A root of Jesse.—Strictly, the root, or, root-shoot of Jesse, as in Pro_5:5—i.e., the expected descendant of Jesse’s line, which, to bring out its intimate connection with the founder of the line, and to distinguish it from all other collateral branches, is identified with the very root, or first shoot, of the line itself.

Trust.—The same word as “hope” in the next verse, the introduction of which was probably suggested, through the association of ideas, by the concluding words of the LXX. quotation—“On Him shall the Gentiles place their hopes. Now the God of hope, &c.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. a root] Lit. the root. The quotation is from Isa_11:10 : verbatim with LXX. The Heb. reads, “It shall come to pass … the root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto it (or Him) shall the Gentiles seek.” Here the LXX. forms a sufficient rendering of the substance of the Heb.

trust] Lit. hope.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

Ver. 12. In him shall the Gentiles trust] Isaiah hath it, "To him shall the Gentiles seek:" to seek to God then argues trust in God. He that hopes not, praises not, or but faintly.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Esaias saith - Isa 11:1, Isa 11:10.

There shall be a root - A descendant, or one that should proceed from him when he was dead. When a tree dies, and falls, there may remain a “root” which shall retain life, and which shall send up a sprout of a similar kind. So Job says Job 14:7, “For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.” So in relation to Jesse. Though he should fall, like an aged tree, yet his name and family should not be extinct. There should be a descendant who should rise, and reign over the Gentiles. The Lord Jesus is thus called also the “root and the offspring of David;” Rev 22:16; Rev 5:5.

Of Jesse - The father of David; 1Sa 17:58. The Messiah was thus descended from Jesse.

He that shall rise - That is, as a sprout springs up from a decayed or fallen tree. Jesus thus “rose” from the family of David, that had fallen into poverty and humble life in the time of Mary.

To reign over the Gentiles - This is quoted from the Septuagint of Isa 11:10. The Hebrew is, “Which shall stand up for an ensign of the people;” that is, a standard to which they shall flock. Either the Septuagint or the Hebrew would express the idea of the apostle. The “substantial” sense is retained, though it is not literally quoted. The idea of his “reigning” over the Gentiles is one that is fully expressed in the second psalm.

In him ... - Hebrew, “To it shall the Gentiles seek.” The sense, however, is the same. The design of this quotation is the same as the preceding, to show that it was predicted in the Old Testament that the Gentiles should be made partakers of the privileges of the gospel. The argument of the apostle is, that if this was designed, then converts to Christianity from among the “Jews” should lay aside their prejudices, and “receive” them as their brethren, entitled to the same privileges of the gospel as themselves. The “fact” that the Gentiles would be admitted to these privileges, the apostle had more fully discussed in Rom. 10–11.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And again, Esaias saith; viz. in Isa 11:10; see the notes there. This is a plain prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles; their being received to mercy is implied in the former testimonies, but here it is expressed. The Son of David (the Savionr) shall rise and spring out of Jesse’s root, and reign over the Gentiles by his word and Spirit. He shall gather them by the preaching of his cross, as by an ensign, and they, as it is in the prophet, shall seek to him; or, as it is here, shall trust or hope in him. The apostle, as he is wont, doth follow the LXX., which makes some little variation from the Hebrew text; but it is rather in sound than in sense. You have other prophecies and promises of the Gentiles’ mercy, as Isa 42:1,6; Isa 49:22; 60:3,5; but the apostle thought, that these he had mentioned were sufficient for his purpose.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. Again, Esaias—(Isa_11:1.) In the first of these passages Jehovah is confessed among the Gentiles; in the second and third the Gentiles are called upon to unite in praising Jehovah in unity with his Church; and in the third it is under the offspring of Jesse, in whom the Gentiles shall trust, that this oneness of both races in the Church shall take place.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

There shall be the root of Jesse - That kings and the Messiah should spring from his house, was promised to Jesse before it was to David. In him shall the gentiles hope - Who before had been "without hope," Eph. ii, 12. Isaiah xi, 10

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And again, Isaiah saith, There shall be the root of Jesse, And he that ariseth to rule over the Gentiles; On him shall the Gentiles hope . [The quotations found in verses Rom_15:9-12 are presented to confirm Paul's teaching that it was God's original, eternal purpose to include the Gentiles in Israel, the passages forming a parenthesis elucidating the idea of verse 7; viz., "even as Christ received you." The first passage is from Psa_18:49 ; and introduces David as confessing and praising as theocratic King under God not apart from, but among, the Gentiles. In the second, taken from Deu_32:43 ; Moses exhorts the Gentiles to rejoice in God together with all his people, or Israel. The third, from Psa_117:1 ; repeats the thought of the second; while the last, from Isa_11:10 ; is a definite announcement of the reign of Messiah as the root of Jesse, or head of the Davidic dynasty (and hence Jewish) over the Gentiles also, and that not as a foreign oppressor, but as a hope-fulfilling native king. The great prophetic fact forecast in all these quotations is a coming day of joint praise for Jew and Gentile. What a consolation and what an aid toward patience these Scripture quotations must have been to Paul, in his work as apostle to the Gentiles! (See v. 4.) The trend of the argument toward his apostolic ministry forms a transition leading to the epistolary conclusion which follows the benediction of the thirteenth verse.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. Again Isaiah saith. The quotation that follows is from Isaiah 11:10, a chapter which is throughout a prediction of Christ and his kingdom. Jesse, the father of David, was an ancestor of Jesus. The passage quoted shows very clearly that Christ was to be the Savior of the Gentiles.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

root of Jesse

Jesse was the physical father of King David. AT: "descendant of Jesse" (See: Metonymy)

in him the Gentiles will have hope

Here "him" refers to the descendant of Jesse, the Messiah. Those who are not Jews will also trust him to fulfill his promises. AT: "The people who are not Jews can trust him to do what he has promised" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

Isaiah

Jesse

Gentile

confidence

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

12. ἔσται ἡ ῥίζα. Isa 11:10 LX[297]. The climax of the most definite Messianic passage in Isaiah 1-40; the Messiah, the Davidic king, will include the Gentiles in His dominion by their voluntary ‘resort’ to Him (for ἐλπιοῦσιν—‘seek’ R.V., ‘resort’ Cheyne).

[297] LXX the Septuagint Version of the Old Testament

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12.] The universality of the praise to be given to God for His merciful kindness in sending His Son is prophetically indicated by the first citation. In the latter a more direct announcement is given of the share which the Gentiles were to have in the root of Jesse. The version is that of the LXX, which here differs considerably from the Heb. The latter is nearly literally rendered in E.V.: “And in that day there shall be a root (Heb. ‘and it shall happen in that day, a branch’) of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people: to it shall the Gentiles seek.”

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. Ἔσται ἡ ῥίζα κ.τ.λ.: from Isa 11:10, a description of the Messianic kingdom, which is to take the place of that Jewish kingdom which is soon to be destroyed. The quotation follows the LXX, which is only a paraphrase of the Hebrew; the latter runs (RV.) ‘And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the Gentiles seek.’

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Root. See on Nazarene, Mt 2:23. Root is a sprout from the root. He that shall rise to reign. Rev., that ariseth to reign. Literally from the Septuagint. Ariseth to reign is a paraphrase of the Hebrew stands as banner. Bengel says : "There is a pleasant contrast : the root is in the lowest place, the banner rises highest, so as to be seen even by the remotest nations."

Shall - hope. So Septuagint, which is a free rendering of the Hebrew seek or resort to.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vv. 12. Quotation from Isa 11:10. The literal meaning of the Hebrew is: “And in that day there shall be a shoot of Jesse, which shall be set up as a banner for the peoples.”...For the figure of an erected banner, the LXX. have substituted the idea of a person rising up to reign; Paul quotes after them. In meaning it comes to the same thing.

With what emotion does St. Paul refer to all these passages, each of which was the motto, as it were, of his own work among the Gentiles! One understands, in reading such quotations, what he said in Rom 15:4, undoubtedly from his own experience, of the patience and consolation which are kept up in the believer by the daily use of the Scriptures, as well as of the ever new hope which they inspire. This idea of hope is that which is expressed in the prayer uttered Rom 15:13. For this adoration of the Gentiles, to which the four preceding quotations refer, is the fruit not only of the enjoyment of present blessings, but also, and above all, of the hope of future blessings.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.