Albert Barnes Commentary Romans 3:1

"What advantage then hath the Jew? or what is the profit of circumcision?" — Romans 3:1 (ASV)

Romans Chapter 3

What advantage, etc. The design of the first part of this chapter is to answer some of the objections that might be offered by a Jew to the statements in the previous chapter. The first objection is stated in this verse. A Jew would naturally ask, if the view that the apostle had given were correct, what special benefit could the Jew derive from his religion? The objection would arise particularly from the position advanced (Romans 2:25–26) that if a Gentile should do the things required by the law, he would be treated as if he had been circumcised. Therefore the question, What profit is there of circumcision?