Charles Ellicott Commentary Romans 1:2

"which he promised afore through his prophets in the holy scriptures," — Romans 1:2 (ASV)

Which he had promised.—More correctly, which He promised before by His prophets in holy writings. There is a subtlety of meaning expressed by the absence of the article before this last phrase. A slight stress is thus placed upon the epithet “holy.” It is not merely “in certain books which go by the name of holy scriptures,” but “in certain writings the character of which is holy.” They are “holy” as containing the promises referred to in the text, and others like them. Thus, it can be seen how even this faint shade of meaning works into the general argument. The writings in which the promises are contained, like the promises themselves, their fulfillment, and the consequences that follow from them, all are part of the same exceptional divine plan.

The prophetic writings describe not only salvation, the substance of the gospel, but also the preaching of salvation, the gospel itself. (See Isaiah 40:2, Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and following verses; Isaiah 42:4; Isaiah 52:1 and following; Psalms 19:4; Psalms 68:11 and others.)

Prophets.—In the wider sense in which the word is used, including not only Samuel (Acts 3:24), but also Moses and David, and all who are regarded as having prophesied the Messiah.