Carey Baptist College
Reading Paul’s Politics Proverbially? Exploring the Impact of Paul’s Proverbs Citations in Romans 12:20 on the Interpretation of Romans 13:1-7
Few texts cause as much consternation as Romans 13:1-7. Paul’s language about governing authorities being instituted by God, and therefore requiring “submission” (13:1) has been used to justify the unjustifiable. Interpreters wrestling with Romans 13:1-7 often therefore suggest that political theology must draw Romans 13:1-7 into intertextual dialogue with other texts, and especially the anti-imperial visions of the Apocalypse.
In this paper, I contribute to this conversation by exploring how Paul’s citation of Proverbs in the immediately preceding pericope (12:20) might affect interpretation of Romans 13:1-7. While scholars have rarely explored the possible impact of Paul’s Proverbs citation on his political teaching, there are good reasons for doing so. First, the second half of Prov 25:22b, which Paul leaves unquoted, grounds enemy love in the fact that the “Lord will repay you with good (ἀγαθός; LXX).” This intertextual echo creates a link between 12:20-21 and 13:1-7, which repeatedly uses ἀγαθός language. Second, Paul’s suggestion that his audience might be inclined to resist the political authorities suggests they may have seen such authorities as enemies. If so, then Paul’s teaching in 13:1-7 is related to the theme of enemy love in the preceding section, the very section in which Paul quotes Proverbs’ teaching on this theme. Most importantly, however, Proverbs, as a whole and in the immediate context of Paul’s citation, provides extensive sapiential reflection on the king. And while Proverbs might be thought of as straightforwardly supporting Paul’s apparent affirmation of the state, close attention to Proverbs’ treatment of the king demonstrates the complexity and nuance of the book’s political theology.r
In this paper, then, I will explore the possible impact of Paul’s Proverbs citation on the interpretation of Romans 13:1-7. After exploring the intertextual links justifying a proverbial reading of Rom 13:1-7, I will explore aspects of Proverbs’ own nuanced account of political authority. In the conclusion, I will explore whether reading Paul’s politics proverbially might allow Romans 13:1-7 to offer political theology wise guidance for a politics oriented towards the justice of God.