THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS
,resent time" links these sufferings with the old age of salvation history,
onquered in Christ but remaining as the arena in which the Christian must live
ut his or her new life.18
Paul was certainly not the only ancient author to contrast present suffer­
gs and future glory; see, for example, 2 Apoc. Bar. 15:8: "For this world is to
.em [the righteous] a struggle and an effort and much trouble. And that accord­
gly which will come, a crown with great glory." But, since the Christian's glory
· s a partaking of Christ's own glory ("glorified with him"), Paul puts more stress
does Judaism on the righteous person's participation in this glory.19 In light
,f this focus on certainty, and since Paul conceives the Christian's glory to be
something that has, in some sense, already been determined (8:30), we are
,robably justified in seeing in "to be revealed" the nuance of a manifestation of
!that which already exists. "Glory," like salvation in 1 Pet. 1:4-5, can be conceived
as a state that is "reserved for us," a state that Christ, our forerunner, has already
,entered. This is not, then, to say that the Christian already possesses this glory,20
ibutthat the last day, by bringing the believer into the scope of the glory of God,21
!will manifest the decision that has already been made on our behalf.22
18. The Greek is 1otl v'Uv xmpoll. See the use of xmp6i:; in Rom. 11:5(?), 1 Cor.
7:29, and 2 Cor. 6:2, where in each case it is equivalent to aicov: the whole phrase is
synonymous with "the present e vil age" (6 ai&voi:; 6 EvEcrtOli:; 1tOVT1p6i:;, Gal. 1:4; cf., e.g.,
Gaugler; Hendriksen).
19. G. Kittel, TDNT JI, 250. Paul may allude to the certainty of this glory with the
tunsually worded phrase 't/iv µD.,.ouc,cxv &ll;cxv /:mo:><W.U$9iivrn •is 1'\µi'<,- ''the glory about
;to be revealed in us" (>i\v &l�cxv µfilouc,av lx1t0>GC<A.u$9iivrn would be expected). This may
be simply a stereotyped phrase, "the coming glory" (Turner, 350; cf. also the note in Maule,
Idiom Book, pp. 169-70; and note a similar phenomenon in Gal. 3:23), though I Pet 5: 1 - 'Tis
µvJ.,,150'T], lxnoml.umec,9rn 561;�<;, "the about-to-be-revealed glory" - makes this doubtful.
The µtAl.ouc,cxv might, then, be part of a periphrasis for a future tense (e.g., Cranfield); or it
might stress the imminence of the revelation ofthis glory (e.g., Kasernann), orits certainty (e.g.,
S-H). A survey of Paul's use of µfilro in periphrastic constructions is inconclusive (certainty
appears to be stressed in 4:24; 8:13; 1 Thess. 3:4; 2 Tim. 4:1; simple futurity in Gal. 3:23 and
1 Tllil. 1:16; and several of these could connote imminence). Perhaps, consi_dering Paul's focus
in this paragraph, a nuance of certainty is the best alternative.
20. As Chrysostom, followed by Cranfield, suggests.
21. Paul speaks of this glory as being revealed di; r,µai;, a phrase difficult to render
into English. The dynamic meaning of CmoxcxA:61ttco, combined with the fact that Paul does
not normally use etc; with the meaning of EV ("in"; cf. Turner, 256; Zerwick, 106-10),
suggests that we should probably not translate "to be revealed in us" (KJV, NN; cf.
Robertson, 535). However, the main alternative translation, "to be revealed to us" (NRSV,
NASB, TEV), is not much better, for it suggests the idea, normally conveyed by the dative,
that believers are simply the recipients of revelation (see, e.g., Matt. 16:17; 1 Car. 2:10).
Paul's choice of •ls (this is the only place in the NT where •is follows /xnoml.umco)
suggests that the glory reaches out and includes us in its scope (cf. J\.1.ichel). Perhaps the
NEB captures it best: "Which is in store for us."
22. See Dunn. CtnoxaA.'61ttw, as in 1:17 and 18 (see the notes there), refers not to
8:18-30 THE SPIRIT OF GLORY
19 Verses 19-25 support in some way what Paul has said in v. 18.23
But in what way? Is Paul explaining and demonstrating the suffering he has
mentioned;24 giving reasons for the patient endurance commanded by impli­
cation in v. 18; 25 supporting the certainty of the future manifestation of glory;26
or giving evidence of the transcendent greatness of the glory?27 None of these
suggestions does justice to the focus of these verses, which is on the longing
anticipation of future transformation shared by both the creation and Chris­
tians. In these verses, therefore, Paul supports and develops "to be revealed"
in v. 18 by showing that both creation and Christians (1) suffer at present
from a sense of incompleteness and even frustration; and (2) eagerly yearn
for a culminating transformation.
Paul begins with the yearning of creation: "For the eager expectation of
the creation is awaiting28 the revelation of the sons of God." The word "eager
expectation" suggests the picture of a person craning his or her neck to see what
is coming.29 Paul further enhances the idea of anticipation by using a common
literary device: "eager expectation," the grammatical subject, is put in place of
the real subject, "creation." But what does Paul include in this "creation"?30
Noting the naturally broad meaning of the word, and Paul's addition of "the
whole" in v. 22, some interpreters argue that Paul must mean the entire created
universe - human beings, animals, plants, and so on.31 Others, however, insist
intellectual perception but to an activity, a manifestation, or coming to pass in this world
of God's purpose.
23. The yClp in v. 19 has a causal force.
24. Gode!.
25. Murray.
26. Meyer; Gifford.
27. Alford.
28. The Greek verb is /xno6txoµm, a linking word in this paragraph (cf. vv. 23,
25; cf. also 1 Car. 1:7; Gal . 5:5; Phil. 3:20; 1 Pet. 3:20).
29. The Greek word is ootOxa.pcxOOxia, from x6:pa, "head'' + OExoµm, "stretch," with
the prefix b.no- perhaps meaning "away from." See Phillips's paraphrase: "the creation is on
tiptoe ... "). The word is extant only in Christian literature (in the NT only here and in Phil.
1:20), although the cognate verb occurs elsewhere (e.g., Josephus, J. W 3.264). G. Bertram
("/xnO>Gapa6o,cia," ZNW 49 [1958], 264-70) finds a note of anxiety in the word, but this is
improbable (cf. D.R. Denton, "l\.no>GClpcx6o,c(a," ZNW73 [1982], 138-40).
30. Gk. xticn.c;. This word means "act of creating" (perhaps Rom. 1:20) or, more
often, "that which has been created," either in an individual sense-" creature" (Rom.
8:39; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Col 1:23)- or in the most general sense-the "creation"
(Mark 10:6; 13:19; Rom. 1:25; Col. 1:15; Heb. 4:13; 9:11; 2 Pet. 3:4; Rev. 3:14; in 1 Pet.
2:13, it has the unusual meaning "authority" - cf. BAGD). The meaning "creation,"
broadly defined, is required here.
31. Many would, however, exclude spiritual beings, and many also think that the
focus is on the subhuman part of creation. See, e.g., W. FOerster, TDNT Itr, 1031; Balz,
Heilsvertrauen, pp. 47-48; Kasemann.
 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS
that the distinctly personal activities Paul attributes to the creation ("anticipat­
ing," "set free," "groaning") show that he has only the human part of creation
in view (cf. Col. I :23) - either all humankind (Augustine) or unbelievers only-32
However, while we may agree with Schlatter that the transition from v. 22 to v. 23
- "we ourselves" - plainly excludes believers from the scope of creation in
vv. 19-22, Paul's insistence in v. 20 that the "vanity" to which this creation was
subjected was not of its own choice appears to exclude all people, not just
believers. With the majority of modem commentators, then, I think that creation
here denotes the "subhuman" creation. 33 Like the psalmists and prophets who
pictured hills, meadows, and valleys "shouting and singing together for joy" (Ps.
65:12-13) and the earth "mowning" (Isa. 24:4; Jer. 4:28; 12:4), Paul personifies
the subhuman creation in order to convey to his readers a sense of the cosmic
significance of both humanity's fall into sin and believers' restoration to glory.34
32. Schlatter; N. Walter, "Gottes Zorn und das 'Harren der Kreahir': Zur Korre­
spondenz zwischen Romer 1,18-32 und 8,19-22," in Christus Bezeugen: FUr Wolfgang
Trilling (ed. K. Kertelge, T. Holtz, and C.-P. Marz; Freiburg!Base!Nienna: Herder, 1990),
pp. 220-23.
33. x-rimi; occurs with this meaning in Wisdom of Solomon: 2:6; 5:17(?); 16:24;
19:6. While the early Fathers exhibit no consensus on this point (cf. Schellde), many
adopted this interpretation ( see Cranfield). Among the modems, see especially Godet; Zahn;
Kuss; and Cranfield.
34. Scholars have speculated about other sources for Paul's use of the creation
ri:totif here, with particular attention being given to apocalyptic motifs. The cosmological
picru.re of hope as a "new creation," especially prominent in the latter parts of Isaiah,
became a key element in apocalyptic eschatology (see the survey in P. Stuhlmacher,
''Erwagungen zum ontologische Charakter des xmvfi x'tlmi; bei Paulus," EvT 27 [1967],
10-20). Many texts speak of a renewal of the earth, a new creation, etc., that will charac­
terize the "age to come" (cf. 1 Enoch 45:5; 51:4-5; 72:1; 2 Apoc. Bar. 29; 32:6; 44:12;
57:2; Jub. 1:29; 4:26). But the most famous text is 4 Ezra 7, for here, in addition to the
hope of a renewed earth "irt the days of the Messiah" (vv. 29, 75), the present corruption
of the world is linked t'J the sin of human beings:
For I made the world for their sake, and when Adam transgressed my statutes,
what had been made was judged. And so the entrances of this world were made
narrow and sorrowful and toilsome; they are few and evil, full of dangers and
involved in great hardships. But the entrances to the greater world are broad and
safe, and really yield the fruit of immortality. Therefore unless the living pass
through the difficult and vain experiences, they can never receive these things that
have been reserved for them. (vv. 11-14)
Does Paul depend on these motifs, perhaps even incorporating into vv. 18-30
preexisting apocalyptic material (see esp. H. Paulsen, Uberlieferung und Auslegung in
Romer 8 [WMANT 43; NeukirchenerMuyn: Neukirchener, 1974]; Osten-Sacken, Romer
8, pp. 78-101)? Paul probably knows of these traditions but gives little indication of
dependence on them. Certainly the paragraph contains "apocalyptic motifs," but wholesale
dependence on intertestamental Jewish traditions is not demonstrable (see, e.g., Bindemann,
8: 18-30 THE SPIRIT OF GLORY
The "revelation of the sons of God_'' that creation keenly anticipates is
the "unveiling" of the true nature of Christians. Paul has already made clear that
Christians are already "sons of God" (vv. 14-17). But, experiencing suffering
(v. 18) and weakness (v. 26) like all other people, Christians do not in this life
"appear" much like sons of God. The last day will publicly manifest our real
status.35 Nevertheless, since this "being revealed" as God's sons takes place
only through a further act of God - causing his glory to reach out and embrace
us (v. 18), transforming the body (v. 23) - we are justified in attaching a degree
of dynamic activity to "revelation" here also. The "revelation" of which Paul
speaks is not only a disclosure of what we have always been but also a dynamic
process by which the status we now have in preliminary form and in hiddenness
will be brought to its final stage and made publicly evident.
20 In this verse and in v. 21 (which make up one sentence in Greek)
Paul explains what many of his readers would naturally be wondering: Why
must the creation be eagerly anticipating the revelation of the sons of God?
The reason, Paul says, is that the subhuman creation itself is not what it should
be, or what God intended it to be. It has "been subjected to "frustration. "36
In light of Paul's obvious reference to the Gen. 3 narrative - Murray labels
these verses "Paul's commentary on Gen. 3:17, 18" -the word probably
denotes the "frustration" occasioned by creation's being unable to attain the
ends for which it was made.37 Humanity's fall into sin marred the "goodness"
of God's creation, and creation has ever since been in a state of "frustration. "38
But creation's frustration, Paul reminds us, came "not of its own will,
but because of the one who subjected it." The "one who subjected it" has
been identified with (I) Adam, whose sin brought death and decay into the
world (cf. Rom. 5: 12);39 (2) Satan, whose temptation led to the Fal];40 and
Hoffnung der Schopfung, pp. 24-29). Nor is the more specific proposal of 0. Christoffers­
son (The Earnest Expectation of the Creature: The Flood-Tradition as Matrix of Romans
8:18-27 [CBNT 23; Stockholm: Almquist & Wiksell, 1990]), that Paul was indebted to
the intertestamental Jewish "flood tradition," acceptable.
35. The NT writers, drawing from Jewish apocalyptic, often use Cl1t0%W\,1J\J.rt<; and
its cognates with this nuance.
36. <ii µcnm6nrn. µcnm6"IT\s occurs only here and in Eph. 4: 17 and 2 Pet. 2: 18
in the NT, although several cognates are found. Some interpreters think that it may connote
the "vanity" that the author of Ecclesiastes deplores (32 of the 47 LXX occurrences of
the word are in this book)- the "emptiness" or "absurdity" of things in general.
37. Cf., e.g., S-H, Murray, Cranfield.
38. Bruce thinks that Paul might also see this subjection in terms of the rule of
evil spiritual forces over the cosmos (the cognate µCltmoi; refers to idolatry in Rom. 1 :20),
but this idea is not clear.
39. E.g., G. W H. Lampe, "The New Testament Doctrine of Ktisis," SJT 17 (1964),
458; Baiz, Heilsvertrauen, p. 41; Chzysostom; Godet (and Satan also); Zahn; Schlier.
40. Cf., e.g., Godet (with reference also to Adam).
 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS
(3) God, who decreed the curse as a judgment on sin (Gen. 3:17).41 Reference
to Adam, however, is unlikely; as Bengel says, "Adam rendered the creature
obnoxious to vanity, but he did not subject it." Nor did Satan, whatever his
role in the Fall, "subject" creation. Paul must be referring to God, who alone
had the right and the power to condemn all of creation to frustration because
of human sin.42 But this decree of God was not without its positive side, for
it was issued "in hope." 43 Paul probably has in mind the protoevangelium �
the promise of God, given in conjuoction with the curse, that "he [the seed
of the woman] will bruise your [the serpent's] head" (cf. Rom. 16:20). The
creation, then, though subjected to frustration as a result of human sin, has
never been without hope; for the very decree of subjection was given in the
context of hope. As Byrne puts it, this phrase is the "pivot" of Paul's argument
in vv. 19-22,44 because he now moves from explanation of the reason why
creation should need to be looking ahead in hope to the nature of that hope
and its relationship to the "revelation of the sons of God" (v. 19).
21 In this verse, Paul specifies the content of the hope that he men­
tioned at the end of v. 20:45 "[the hope that] the creation itse!f46 would be set
free from the bondage to decay into the freedom of the glory of the children
41. Most commentators; e.g., S-H; Kasemann; :Michel; Cranfield; Fitzmyer.
42. The aorist passive U1tei:ccyTl, "was subjected," also points in this direction,
since it probably denotes an action of God. Note also Ps. 8:6, quoted by Paul in 1 Cor.
15:27: "He [God] has subjected [imtml;sv] all tlrings under his [man's] feet." The main
objection to this interpretation is grammatical: Paul uses Ota with the accusative, which
suggests that the person indicated is not the agent of the subjection - as God is - but
the reason for it. But this may be a case in which 6u:t. with the accusative means the same
as 6ux with the genitive (cf. John 6:57; BAGD; BDF 223[3]), or Paul may be choosing to
emphasize God's decree as the cause of the subjection; in either case. this grammatical
point cannot overcome the strength of the lexical and theological arguments.
43. Gk. E<p' EA.1t{fo; the translation "in" for tn{ is justified because the prepo­
sition denotes the "condition" in which the action took place (Turner, 272). Since o'Ux
bwUcra ("not of its own will") is balanced by t:l),)..,U. BUX tOv 'llnotCt�avta ("but because
of the one who subjected it"), it is better to construe Ef E.A-niot with \lm-rctyri (e.g., "it
was subjected in hope") than with '01totCl�avta (e.g., "because of the one who subjected
it in hope").
44. P. 106.
45. Ifwe adopt the reading Ot6n (see the note on the textual variant in the translation
above), v. 21 will give the reason why Paul can attribute hope to the creation (cf. KJV); for,
while 6lO'tl can mean "that" (BAGD, lvlM) in Hellenistic Greek, this meaning for the word is
not otherwise attested in the NT (Cranfield). However, while the call is a close one, we should
probably read Ott instead of Ot&tt. In this case, while a causal meaning is still possible, it is more
likely that fut functions to introduce a noun clause (see Phil. 1 :20).
46. The combination of x.a.{- which means "even" here - and the emphasizing
pronoun a:lYrft ("itself") conveys a sense of wonder: "Why, even the creation itself is
going to be set free!"
8:18-30 THE SPIRIT OF GLORY
of God." Creation, helplessly enslaved to the decay47 that rules this world
after the Fall, exists in the hope that it will be set free to participate in the
eschatological glory to be enjoyed by God's children. Paul describes this glory
in terms of freedom; we might paraphrase, "the freedom that is associated
with the state of glory to which the children of God are destined."48 The
repetition of the "freedom" idea here - "set free ... into49 the freedom" -
suggests that it is only with and because of the glory of God's children that
creation experiences its own full and final deliverance (Chrysostom). As in
v. 19, then, the hope of the creation is related to, and even contingent upon,
the glory to be given Christians.50 We might also note that the idea of creation
"being set free" strongly suggests that the ultimate destiny of creation is not
annihilation but transforniation. When will this transformation take place? If
one adopts a premillennial structure of eschatology (see Rev. 20:4-6), then it
is tempting to apply the language Paul uses here to that period of time. But
we cannot be certain that Paul has the millennium in mind because there is
some evidence that the language he uses could also apply to the eternal state
(see, e.g., the description of "the new heaven and new earth" in Rev. 21:1-
22:7).
47. Gk. s�<; 6ouA.<ia<; s�<; $Sop&<;. �0opa can denote "destruction" (cf. Gal. 6:8
for eschatological condemnation), but, with reference here to the subhuman creation,
probably refers rather to "decay," combining the ideas of both mutability and corruption
(cf. Col. 2:22; I Cor. 15:42, 50). The genitive has been explained as subjective - "the
state of slavery that comes from decay" (Cranfield), qualitative - "slavery characterized
by decay" (noted as a possibility by Tum.er, 213), and epexegetic- "the slavery that is
decay" (Lenski, Murray); but, in light of the meaning of the words, it is probably objective
- "slavery to decay" (BAGD [p. 858]; Byrne, 107).
48. The Greek features an accumulation of genitives that is very typical of Paul:
t1)v EAE.u8Epiav tfji; M�rii; t&v 'tE%VCOV to'U 8Eo'U. The last two are almost certainly loosely
"possessive" -·the glory (or, the glorious freedom; see below) "belongs to" the children
who, in turn, "belong to" God (this last is often classified more narrowly as a "genitive
of relationship"). The first genitive, 1:fji; ei6�TI<;, is often taken as a genitive of quality -
"glotious freedom" (Moule, Idiom Book, p. 175; cf. KJV, RSV, NIV, TEV) - but is
probably loosely possessive - "the freedom that belongs to, is associated with, the state
of glory" (Alford; Byrne, 107; Phil. 3:21, "the body that belongs to the state of humilia­
tion/state of glory" [= so crcliµa <�<; sanetvcilcr£rog"tij<; 661;11<;], is similar).
49. Gk. Eii;, in contrast to OO't6, expresses the goal of creation's being set free
(Bengel).
50. While Paul obviously says some important things in this paragraph about the
renewal of creation, his focus is consisently on anthropology (see esp. J. Baumgarten,
Paulus und die Apokalyptic: Die Auslegung apokalyptischer Oberlieferungen in den echten
Paulusbriefen [WMANT 44; Neukirchen/Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1975], pp. 175-78, passim;
Bindemann, Hoffung des SchOpfung; A. VOgtle, "ROm 8, 19-22: eine schOpfungstheologie
oder anthropologisch-soteriologische Aussage?" in Melanges bibliques in hommage au
Heda Rigaux, pp. 351-66).
 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS
22 This verse, concluding the subparagraph on the hope of the cre­
ation, comes back to the theme with which the paragraph began (v. 19): the
longing of creation for deliverance. "We know," 51 Paul says, "that the whole
creation52 groans together and suffers birth pangs together up to the present
time."53 Paul uses the simple verb " groan" in 8:23, and in 2 Cor. 5:2 and 4,
to depict the "groans of eschatological anticipation."54 And, while neither the
verb "suffer birth pangs together" nor the simple "suffer birth pangs" is used
elsewhere in the NT in this sense,55 the noun form of this verb is used in
Mark 13:8 (= Matt. 24:8) to depict the times of distress preceding the end.
Indeed, the image is a natural one, for the difficulties and trials of this age
are, for Christians and the creation, fraught with the knowledge that they will
ultimately issue in victory and joy. Our Lord makes this application in John
16:20b-22, as he addresses the disciples:
You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman
is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is
delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that
a child is born into the world. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you
again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from
you.
The "with" idea in both verbs means not that creation is groaning and in birth
pangs with believers,56 but that the various parts of the creation are groaning
together, are in birth pangs together, uttering a "symphony of sighs" (Phillips).
23 In vv. 19-22, Paul has described the yearning anticipation of
creation for deliverance and tied that deliverance to the "glory to be revealed"
51. Paul generally uses ot6aµ.EV yctp On ("for we know that") to introduce a
commonly recognized truth (see also 2:2; 3:19; 7:14; 8:28), and it may be that he sees the
violence and disasters in nature as evidence of the "yearning" he speaks of in this verse.
52. Gk. tt<icm Tl xtimc;. While the "rule" that 1tfu; with an articular noun means
"the whole of" - as opposed to its use with an anarthrous noun, in which it has a
distributive force ("every, each") - is not always followed in biblical Greek (cf. F. C.
Conybeare and St. George Stock, A Grammar of Septuagint Greek [Grand Rapids: Zonder­
van, 1980 (= 1905)], �63), it is observed here: not "each creation" but "the whole of
creation."
53. Gk. &xpt -wU v'Uv. Some scholars give this phrase theological force- "the
decisive moment when God's purposes are fulfilled" (Barrett; see also Kasemann, Dunn)
-but it probably has simple temporal meaning, as in Phil. 1:5, Paul's only other use of
the phrase (Wilckens).
54. The verb Paul uses in v. 22 is crucrtev&.l;co, which occurs nowhere else in the
NT.
55. Again, the compound verb cruvcoOivco occurs only here; the simple form COO{vro
in Gal. 4:19, 27; Rev. 12:2.
56. E.g., Tooluck.
8:18-30 THE SPIRIT OF GLORY
to believers. Now he shows how believers share-this same eager hope. The
transition from creation to Christian is made via the idea of " groaning"; not
only is the creation "groaning together," but "we ourselves, having the first
fruits of the Spirit, groan in ourselves,57 awaiting adoption, the redemption
of our bodies." By saying that Christians " groan in themselves," Paul suggests
that these groans are not verbal utterances but inward, nonverbal "sighs,"
indicative of a certain attitude.5B This attitude does not involve anxiety about
whether we will finally experience the deliverance God has promised - for
Paul allows of no doubts on that score (cf. vv. 28-30) - but frustration at the
remaining moral and physical infirmities that are inevitably a part of this
period between justification and glorification (see 2 Cor. 5:2, 4) and longing
for the end of this state of "weakness."59
Paul defines those who experience this frustrated longing for final
deliverance as those "who have the first fruits of the Spirit." The word "first
fruits" signifies a ministry of the Spirit that is very characteristic in Paul. The
word alludes to both the begimiing of a process and the unbreakable connec-
57. crtEV&.l;oµev is the main verb in the verse, and both the cdl'toi after &J,J..,rJ.. xai
at the beginning of the verse and the Cl'l)'to{ following T}µ£ti:; xai go with this verb. The
apparent reason for this awkward repetition of a'U'to{ is that Paul decided in mid-stream to
introduce a participial qualifier of the main verb, and the clause is long enough that he felt
it necessary to repeat the emphatic pronoun when he came back again to the main clause.
58. Murray, Cranfield, Dunn; contra, e.g., Kasemann.
59. The verb cr'tev6.1;co and its cognate, O"tevayµ6i:;, occur infrequently in the NT,
but more often in the LXX. They are used characteristically of the " groaning" occasioned
by oppression, and often of entreaty to God for deliverance from oppression. In the NT,
CTT£VCt1;co refers to the same frustrated longing for deliverance in 2 Cor. 5:2 as in this verse
(cf. the compound (J'l)o,:evui;w in v. 22): Mark 7:34, though not entirely clear, probably
refers to a prayer of strong entreaty. In both Heb. 13:17 and Jas. 5:9, it denotes "groaning"
in the sense of "complaining." The noun CTT£Vayµ6i:; occurs elsewhere in the NT only in
Acts 7:34, in a quotation of Exod. 3:7. In the LXX, cnevayµ6<; refers to the groaning
occasioned by pain (e.g., childbearing- Gen. 3:16: cf. Isa. 35:10, 51:11; Jer. 45:3), but
. more often, in a more metaphorical sense, the " groaning'' under oppression; cf., e.g., Lam.
1:22; Ezek. 24:17.
But even more characteristic are texts in which " groans" are cries to God of the
righteous person who is ·being oppressed, cries that suggest both the expression of pain
and a plea for deliverance. Ps. 38:9 is typical: after complaining of physical and spiritual
agony, David says, "LoRD, all my longing is known to thee, my sighing (6 CTT£Vayµ6i:;
µou) is not hidden from thee" (see also Exod. 2:24; 6:5; Judg. 2:18: Pss. 6:6; 12:5; 31:10;
79: 11; 102:20). ITT£Vct�co is used less often with reference to prayer in this way, although
cf. Job 24:12 and Toh. 3:1 (in codex K): xa\ nepiA.uno<; yev6µevo<; <ii IJfUXTI i<a\ cruval;a<;
b<l.cxucra xa\ �pl;uµ�v npocreuxecrem µe-ril cr,;evayµiiiv ("Then in my grief I wept, and I
cried out, groaning, and began to pray with groans ... "). Paul, therefore, has chosen a
word that very aptly conveys both the sense of frustrated longing occasioned by the
continuing pressures of "this age" and the sense of entreaty to God for deliverance from
that situation.