NT Text:
OT Source(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Echo
Connection Method(s): Analogy + Redemptive-Historical Progression
Significance: Paul employs an OT theme that there exists a fixed amount of sins to be committed, after which punishment will be meted out—the verb anaplēroō suggests the picture of a vessel or cup that is in a slow but constant process of being filled up, and once it is completely full, judgment will take place. The same verb is used in Genesis 15:16 LXX to describe the sins of the Amorites, which are said "to be not yet filled up," establishing the foundational concept that God, in his patience, waits until sin reaches a predetermined measure before executing judgment. The theme appears also in Daniel 8:23, Wisdom 19:4, and later Jewish writings (4 Ezra 4:34-37; 7:74; 2 Baruch 21:8; 48:2-5; Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 26:1-3). Paul's judgment in 2:16 apparently borrows from this common theme used by Jews to express anger at the faithlessness of certain members of their own race. Paul sees the opposition to the gospel not as an isolated incident but as the culmination of a long history of rebellion against God—the same patience God showed to the Amorites he has shown to rebellious elements within Israel, but that patience has limits. This is consistent with Paul's broader theology of God's righteousness and justice while maintaining that God's purposes for Israel as a whole remain secure (Romans 9-11).