Albert Barnes Commentary Romans 2:17

"But if thou bearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the law, and gloriest in God," — Romans 2:17 (ASV)

Behold. Having thus stated the general principles on which God would judge the world; having shown how they condemned the Gentiles; and having removed all objections to them, he now proceeds to another part of his argument, to show how they applied to the Jews. By the use of the word behold, he calls their attention to it as an important subject; and with great skill and address, he states their privileges before he shows them how those privileges might enhance their condemnation. He admits all their claims to preeminence in privileges, and then with great faithfulness proceeds to show how, if abused, these might deepen their final destruction. It should be observed, however, that the word rendered behold is, in many manuscripts, written in two words, ei de, instead of ide. If this, as is probable, is the correct reading there, it should be rendered, If now you are, etc. Thus, the Syriac, Latin, and Arabic read it.

You are called. You are named Jew, implying that this name was one of very high honour. This is the first thing mentioned on which the Jew would be likely to pride himself.

A Jew. This was the name by which the Hebrews were at that time generally known, and it is clear that they regarded it as a name of honour and valued themselves greatly on it. See Galatians 2:15; Revelation 2:9. Its origin is not certainly known. They were called the children of Israel until the time of Rehoboam. When the ten tribes were carried into captivity, only two remained: the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The name Jews was evidently given to denote those of the tribe of Judah. The reasons why the name of Benjamin was lost in that of Judah were probably:

1. because the tribe of Benjamin was small and comparatively without influence or importance.
2. The Messiah was to be of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10); and that tribe would therefore possess a consequence proportioned to their expectation of that event. The name Jews would therefore be one that would suggest the facts that they were preserved from captivity, that they had remarkably received the protection of God, and that the Messiah was to be sent to that people. Hence, it is not surprising that they should regard it as a special favour to be a Jew, particularly when they added to this the idea of all the other favours connected with their being the peculiar people of God. The name Jew thus came to denote all the peculiarities and special favours of their religion.

And rest in the law. The word rest here is evidently used in the sense of trusting to or leaning upon. The Jew leaned on or relied on the law for acceptance or favour; on the fact that he had the law, and on his obedience to it. It does not mean that he relied on his own works, though that was true, but that he leaned on the fact that he had the law and was thus distinguished above others. The law here means the entire Mosaic economy, or all the rules and regulations which Moses had given. Perhaps it also includes, as it sometimes does, the whole of the Old Testament.

Make your boast of God. You boast, or glory, that you have the knowledge of the true God, while other nations are in darkness. On this account the Jew felt himself far elevated above all other people and despised them. It was true that they only had the true knowledge of God, and that he had declared himself to be their God (Deuteronomy 4:7; Psalms 147:19–20); but this was not a ground for boasting, but for gratitude. This passage shows us that it is much more common to boast of privileges than to be thankful for them, and that it is no evidence of piety for a man to boast of his knowledge of God. A humble, ardent thankfulness that we have that knowledge—a thankfulness which leads us not to despise others, but to desire that they may have the same privilege—is an evidence of piety.