Romans 15:4 (ὅσα γὰρ προεγράφη)

Greek: ὅσα γὰρ προεγράφη, εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν διδασκαλίαν ἐγράφη, ἵνα διὰ τῆς ὑπομονῆς καὶ διὰ τῆς παρακλήσεως τῶν γραφῶν τὴν ἐλπίδα ἔχωμεν.

Potential date of writing for Romans: Written between 55-60 CE.

Within the context of verse 4, Paul has just exhorted those who are "strong" in Rome to bear the frailties of those who are "weak." Much of the discussion concerns eating and drinking or matters of conscience. The apostle urges his readers to act for the good of their neighbors, then he appeals to Christ's example as he quotes Psalm 69:9. From there, the letter refers to ὅσα γὰρ προεγράφη or "For whatever was written in former times . . ."

γὰρ obviously makes a connection with what comes before it ("for"), but what is the referent of the things that were written beforehand? Is Paul including secular and sacred literature of the Greco-Roman world? Does the passage include Tanakh and the NT? After all, he employs ὅσα in this correspondence.

The context reveals that Paul likely has Tanakh in mind (the Hebrew Bible), and he quotes from the Psalms, which adds some credibility to this view. It is very doubtful that the apostle is referring to literature outside of Scripture that was written to upbuild or encourage Christians (εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν διδασκαλίαν ἐγράφη). He is talking about the Torah, the Prophets and the writings: these things were composed to give hope and encouragement--to help Christians endure (Romans 15:5). Cf. 2 Timothy 3:14-17.

Another thing that helps us to perceive what the things written beforehand are, is διὰ τῆς παρακλήσεως τῶν γραφῶν. Yes, comfort issues forth through the holy writings (Scripture). It is not just any writings that impart hope and help us to endure but it's God's Word, which encompasses the Tanakh along with the NT that supply these things. Compare the use of γραφάς in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

Brief Bibliography for Works Dealing with Biblical Inspiration

Abraham, William J. The Divine Inspiration of Holy Scripture. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.

Achtemeier, Paul J. Inspiration and Authority: Nature and Function of Christian Scripture. Grand Rapids MI: Baker Academic, 2010.

Berkouwer, G. C. and Jack Rogers. Holy Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub, 1975.

Bloesch, Donald G. Holy Scripture : Revelation, Inspiration & Interpretation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006.

Carson, D. A. 2016. The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Feinberg, John S. 2018. Light in a Dark Place: The Doctrine of Scripture. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

Hanson, R.P.C. The Inspiration of Holy Scripture. Columbia University Press, 1961.

House, Wayne. "Biblical Inspiration in 2 Timothy 3:16," Bibliotheca Sacra 137: 545 (1980): 54-61.

O'Collins, Gerald. Inspiration: Towards a Christian Interpretation of Biblical Inspiration. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

William, Lee. 1857. The Inspiration of Holy Scripture : Its Nature and Proof ; Eight Discourses Preached Before the University of Dublin. 2nd ed. London & Dublin: Rivington ; McGlashan & Gill.

Philip W. Comfort on 2 Timothy 3:16

I'm making a new post for Comfort's observations since the comment box skews the characters from the book:

Source: New Testament Text and Translation Commentary, page 676.

"All Scripture" or "Every Scripture"? (John Feinberg and 2 Timothy 3:16)

The Greek word pasa may be translated either “all” or “every.” If the former is used, then what this verse says relates to Scripture taken as a whole. If the latter rendering is chosen, then the verse claims that each or every individual Scripture, taken distributively (i.e., verse by verse, and even sentence by sentence), has the qualities named in the rest of 3:16. Either rendering of pasa is possible in this context. Some say it must mean “every” because the next word, graphē, appears without the definite article.11 Others don’t find this compelling because graphē is so frequently used in the NT to refer to Scripture that there is no need for a definite article to designate which writing is under consideration.12 Yet others opt for “every” on contextual grounds. Their point is that in verse 15 Paul speaks of the whole of Scripture with the phrase “sacred writings,” so now in verse 16, as a counterbalance to verse 15, he focuses on each individual passage of Scripture.13 In my judgment, there are neither grammatical nor sufficient contextual grounds to favor one rendering over the other. Thankfully, no significant theological point hinges on whether we translate pasa as “all” or “every.” If we choose the former, it is all-inclusive, so no specific passage need be left out. If the latter, where every passage of Scripture taken individually is the thought, no passage is omitted, so the meaning is the same as "all" anyway. There is a point, however, that must not be missed. Whether one renders pasa as “all” or “every,” this word means that the qualities attributed to the thing pasa modifies, i.e., graphē, are qualities possessed by every single part of the graphē. That is, Paul affirms that every single verse of Scripture possesses equally the qualities he will mention. The word pasa in this verse is a major reason why evangelicals believe in the plenary (full, total) inspiration of Scripture. Of course, 2 Timothy 3:16 isn’t the only source of this notion, as we shall see.

Feinberg, John S. Light in a Dark Place (Foundations of Evangelical Theology) (pp. 119-120). Crossway. Kindle Edition.