The Word is Near You: A Study of Deuteronomy 30: 12-14 in Paul's Letter to the Romans in a Jewish Context (Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Fur Die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft)

The study deals with a difficult and much-debated text in Pauls Letter to the Romans, 9:30-10:21. The study in particular analyses Pauls use and interpretation of Deuteronomy 30:12-14 in Romans 10:4-17. Scholars have characterized Pauls exegesis here as idiosyncratic, fanciful, baffling, and arbitrary. By a comparison with Jewish writings near Paul in time, such as the writings of Philo of Alexandria and Baruch, the thesis is argued that Pauls  treatment of Deuteronomy 30:12-14 can be located within Jewish exegetical method, expository structure, terminology as well as content and context.