Macquarie University
Do Jews Rob Temples? Paul and his Hypocritical Interlocutor of Romans 2:22
The surest thing that can be said about Paul’s probing question at Romans 2:22 “You who abhor idols, do you rob temples”(NIV) is that scholars are unsure “about its precise meaning” (Kruse, 2012). “Temple robbing” was a crime regularlymentioned in vice lists and invectives. Yet it was an actual practice that many Roman commanders indulged in, including Augustus. Many scholars seek to identify this practice among Jews living in Palestine. However, when read against the Roman background, “temple robbing” in Romans becomes sharply focused on its sacrilegious connotation. What would aid our interpretation is a thoroughgoing understanding of the complex relationship that Romans had with the use of physical idols to represent the gods. Not all Romans thought that the gods should be represented in physical form. Therefore, Paul’s invective against idol making (Rom 1:23) would have a resonance with a Roman audience, both Jewishand gentile. Nevertheless, all would agree that respect for the sacred was immensely important. This paper will argue that Paul is not dismissing gentile religious devotion, but rather invoking a well-established agreement that the pious respect the sacred. It will be suggested that Paul is criticising Jews living in Rome who are behaving in a manner that their gentile neighbours would describe as sacrilegious. In the light of this, this paper will then consider Paul’s rhetorical purpose for using this common-place (Hermogenes) in Romans 2:21–23.