(1) What advantage then hath the Jew ? or what profit is there of cir- cumcision ? The conclusion at which the apostle had arrived at the close of the preceding chapter was, that the Jews, as well as Gentiles, are to be judged according to their works and by their knowledge of the divine will ; and being thus judged, they are exposed to condemnation, notwith- standing their circumcision, and all other advantages. The most obvious objection to the mind of a Jew to this conclusion must have been, that it was inconsistent with the acknowledged privileges and superiority of his nation. This objection the apostle here presents. He states the diffi- culty himself, that he may have the opportunity of removing it. The word here rendered advantage., when used as a substantive, properly means that which is over, the excess, and then pre-eminence, superiority. This is its meaning here, ' what then is the pre-eminence of the Jew over the Gentile? according to your reasoning, there is no such thing;' com- pare, on this word, Matt. 5 : 47. 11 : 9. Luke 7 : 26. The second inter- rogation in this verse is nearly equivalent to the first; as circumcision may be taken as the sign of Judaism, ' what is the profit of being a Jew ]' Still as Paul had considered circumcision in the preceding chapter as a distinct ground of confidence, and as the Jews attributed to it so much importance, it is probably to be understood here of the rite itself.
(2) Much every way : chiefly because unto them were committed the ora- cles of God. This is the answer of the objection presented in the first verse. It consists in a denial of the correctness of the inference from the apostle's reasoning. It does not follow, because the Jews are to be judged according to their works, that there is no advantage in being the peculiar people of God, having a divine revelation, &c. &c. Paul, there- fore, freely admits that the advantages of the Jews are great in every respect. The words rendered cA?e/??/ may be variously explained. They may, by supplying the verb is, be rendered ' the principal thing is ;' see Luke 15 : 22. 19 : 47. Acts 25 : 2. Or they may be taken, as by our translators, and rendered chiefly, especially ; see Matt. 6 : 33. 2 Pet. 1 : 20; or what is perhaps more natural, in the first place ,- 'Their advan- tages are great, for first,' &c. That no enumeration follows, with secondly j