ABSTRACT
Romans 3:1 is commonly understood to be asking about an advantage that Jews alone possess. This essay challenges that understanding and argues that a “benefit from the Jew” is a more likely interpretation of the phrase τὸ περισσὸν τοῦ Ἰουδαίου. The first section argues on the basis of contemporary linguistic usage that this would have been the more natural interpretation of this phrase. The second section shows how this interpretation of Rom 3:1 fits into the surrounding discourse, suggesting that 3:1–2 clarifies the previous discussion of Jewish vocation in 2:17–29, that it anticipates the point that will be most fully expressed in the climactic section of 11:11–32, and that it introduces a very important “benefit from the Jew” in 3:1–4. Thus, the salvation that is now for Jew and Gentile alike is a salvation that “much in every way” comes from the Jews.
