Gen 3:15 and Rom 16:20
There are several reasons,
however, to doubt such an allusion to Gen 3:15 in Rom 16:20 as well as its direct
influence on Paul’s thought. First, Paul’s wording does not follow either
the Hebrew or Greek versions of Gen 3:15, which suggests Rom 16:20 does not
contain either a citation or echo of the text of Genesis in mind. Second,
Paul’s verb choice does not seem to fit the possible allusion to Genesis 3.
Whereas the MT has the Hebrew verb שׁוף (“to bruise”) and the LXX confusingly
uses τηρέω (“to guard” or “to keep”), Paul employs the more violent συντρίβω
(“to crush” or “to break”). Third, if Gen 3:15 is in Paul’s mind here, one
would probably expect to find the Greek term for serpent (ὁ ὄφις) instead of ὁ
σατανᾶϛ. Although by the first century C.E. the serpent of the Genesis
narrative was likely identified with the figure of Satan, Paul’s only other
allusion to the serpent of Genesis 3 uses the term ὁ ὄφις (2 Cor 11:3), not ὁ
σατανᾶϛ. Finally, although Luke 10:19, Heb 2:14, and Rev 12:7 are cited as
additional NT allusions to the “Proto-Evangelium” – none of which are certain
allusions – this theological motif is not common. in the rest of the New
Testament writings and conspicuously absent in Paul. If Gen 3:15 has influenced
Paul’s thought here, it has done so indirectly through the broader
apocalyptic hope of an ultimate defeat of the evil powers and of Satan being
“crushed under foot.” (Derek R. Brown, The God of This Age: Satan in the Churches
and Letters of the Apostle Paul [Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen
Testament 2. Reihe 409; Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2015], 106)
Psa 110:1 and Rom 16:20:
Rather than reading Rom 16:20 as
an allusion to the Genesis narrative and the ancient promise of the crushing of
the serpent, what seems to be the case is that Paul is evoking the early
Christian appropriation of Ps 110:1 as a means of emphasizing the believer’s
share in God’s defeat over all evil, including Satan and those who oppose the
community of faith. This textual allusion is more probable for several reasons.
First, Ps 110 – at times interpreted in conjunction with Ps 8:7 – was the most
cited Hebrew Bible text within early Christianity writings. Second, Paul
alludes to or echoes the text of Ps 110:1 elsewhere within his letters. This
suggests there is a greater likelihood that Paul would have drawn from the
language of Ps 110 than the Genesis text. Third, unlike the alleged Gen 3:15
allusion which lacks a clear verbal link, the phrase ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας in Rom
16:20 corresponds directly to the LXX text of Ps 8:7 (LXX 8:6) and 110:1 (LXX
109:1) (ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν/ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν) as well as conceptually to the
Hebrew expressions in the respective Psalms ( הדם לרגליך/תחת־רגליו ). In view
of these points, the most plausible explanation of the scriptural allusion in
Rom 16:20 is that Paul has incorporated both the words and metaphorical imagery
of Pss 8 and 110 in order to underscore his reminder of Satan’s assured
eschatological demise. (Derek R. Brown, The God of This Age: Satan in the Churches
and Letters of the Apostle Paul [Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen
Testament 2. Reihe 409; Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2015], 106-7)
