Romans 1:3
in Romans 1regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
KJV
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
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This verse in Romans 1
Commentary
18 notes on this verseThose, therefore, who allege that He took nothing from the Virgin do greatly err, [since,] in order that they may cast away the inheritance of the flesh, they also reject the analogy [between Him and Adam].
This site's exposition
a descendant of David according to the flesh
on Romans 1:3-4
Paul's subject is the Son, David's descendant according to the flesh. Through the Spirit of holiness He was declared with power to be God's Son by His resurrection from the dead. The Greek horisthentos means marked out, so the resurrection showed the world what the Son already was.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
"Concerning his Son." It was fitting, since God promised his own Son to the world, that he should promise him through great men, so that from them it might be known how very powerful the one who was being preached was and so that he …
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS · Written before 253.
proposed
"Who is the Son, according to the flesh indeed, from the seed of David." He was made, without doubt, according to the flesh that which before he was not. But according to the Spirit he was before, and there was not a time when he was not. But certain persons meet us, raising most bitter questions: how Christ can be seen to descend from the seed of David, since it is agreed that he was not born from Joseph, into whom the line of the generation descending from David is brought down. Although it is troublesome to meet these objections according to the reasoning of the letter, nevertheless it is answered by our people that Mary, who, having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit, was without doubt joined according to the law to a man of her own tribe and kindred. And although it is said to her by the angel that Elizabeth also, your kinswoman, will herself likewise bear a son in her old age (and Elizabeth is said to be of the daughters of Aaron), nevertheless it is affirmed by our people that the name of kinship can suitably be applied not only to those of the same tribe, but also to all who are of the race of Israel, in relation to one another, as also the same Apostle says of all together: "Who are my kinsmen according to the flesh." These things indeed, and others like them, are answered; but how valid they are against the assertions of those who press us from the testimonies of the Scriptures, do you who read judge for yourself. […]
Well, I on my side will first explain the reason of his offence, that I may the more easily explode the scandal of our heretic. Now, that the very Lord Himself of all might, the Word and Spirit of the Father, was operating and preaching on earth, it was necessary that the portion of the Holy Spirit which, in the form of the prophetic gift, had been through John preparing the ways of the Lord, should now depart from John, and return back again of course to the Lord, as to its all-embracing original.
With a nature issuing from such fountal sources, and an order gradually descending to the birth of Christ, what else have we here described than the very flesh of Abraham and of David conveying itself down, step after step, to the very virgin, and at last introducing Christ,-nay, producing Christ Himself of the virgin? Then, again, there is Paul, who was at once both a disciple, and a master, and a witness of the selfsame Gospel; as an apostle of the same Christ, also, he affirms that Christ "was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh," -which, therefore, was His own likewise.
Thus does the apostle also teach respecting His two substances, saying, "who was made of the seed of David; " in which words He will be Man and Son of Man.
11 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers3 voices
I Glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who by Him has given you such wisdom. For I have observed that ye are perfected in an immoveable faith, as if ye were nailed to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, both in the flesh and in the spirit, and are established in love through the blood of Christ, being fully persuaded, in very truth, with respect to our Lord Jesus Christ, that He was the Son of God, "the first-born of every creature," God the Word, the only-begotten Son, and was of the seed of David according to the flesh, by the Virgin Mary; was baptized by John, that all righteousness might be fulfilled by Him; that He lived a life of holiness without sin, and was truly, under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch, nailed [to the cross] for us in His flesh. From whom we also derive our being, from His divinely-blessed passion, that He might set up a standard for the ages, through His resurrection, to all His holy and faithful [followers], whether among Jews or Gentiles, in the one body of His Church.
I Glorify God, even Jesus Christ, who has given you such wisdom. For I have observed that ye are perfected in an immoveable faith, as if ye were nailed to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, both in the flesh and in the spirit, and are established in love through the blood of Christ, being fully persuaded with respect to our Lord, that He was truly of the seed of David according to the flesh, and the Son of God according to the will and power of God; that He was truly born of a virgin, was baptized by John, in order that all righteousness might be fulfilled by Him; and was truly, under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch, nailed [to the cross] for us in His flesh. Of this fruit we are by His divinely-blessed passion, that He might set up a standard for all ages, through His resurrection, to all His holy and faithful [followers], whether among Jews or Gentiles, in the one body of His Church.
"Concerning His Son which was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh." What dost thou, O Paul, that after lifting up our souls so, and elevating them, and causing great and unutterable things to pass show before them, and speaking of the Gospel, and that too the Gospel of God, and bringing in the chorus of the Prophets, and showing the whole of them heralding forth many years before those things which were to come: why dost thou again bring us down to David? Art thou conversing, oh tell me, of some man, and giving him Jesse's son for a father? And wherein are these things worthy of what thou hast just spoken of? Yea, they are fully worthy. For our discourse is not, saith he, of any bare man. Such was my reason for adding, "according to the flesh;" as hinting that there is also a Generation of the Same after the Spirit. And why did he begin from that and not from this the higher? It is because that was what Matthew, and Luke, and Mark, began from. For he who would lead men by the hand to Heaven, must needs lead them upwards from below. So too was the actual dispensation ordered. First, that is, they saw Him a man upon earth, and then they understood Him to be God. In the same direction then, as He Himself had framed His teaching, did His disciple also shape out the way which leadeth thither. Therefore the generation according to the flesh is in his language placed first in order, not because it was first, but because he was for leading the hearer from this up to that.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Here he clearly shows two births; for through the words "concerning His Son," that is, the Son of God, he indicates the birth from above, and through the expression "of the seed of David" – the birth from below. And by the addition "according to …
Second, he continues the commendation on the part of the good things announced in the Gospel and which make up the content of the Gospel, which is Christ, whom he commends in three ways: first, from his origin; second, from his dignity or virtue, at …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Who was of the seed of David according to the flesh - That is, with regard to his human nature. Both the natures of our saviour are here mentioned; but the human is mentioned first, because the divine was not manifested in its full evidence till after his resurrection.
), that is, born of the virgin Mary, who was of the house of David ( Luke i. 27 ), as was Joseph his supposed father, Luke ii. David is here mentioned, because of the special promises made to him concerning the Messiah, especially his kingly office;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,....
Observe, When Paul mentions Christ, how he heaps up his names and titles, his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, as one that took a pleasure in speaking of him; and, having mentioned him, he cannot go on in his discourse without some expression of love and honour, as here, where in one person he shows us his two distinct natures.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Concerning his Son - This is connected with the first verse, with the word “gospel.” The gospel of God concerning his Son. The design of the gospel was to make a communication relative to his Son Jesus Christ. This is the whole of it. There is no “good news” to man respecting salvation except what comes by Jesus Christ. Which was made - The word translated “was made” means usually “to be,” or “to become.” It is used, however, in the sense of being born.
Concerning his Son - That is, the Gospel relates every thing concerning the conception, birth, preaching, miracles, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed-royal, being, as far as his humanity was considered, the son of David, and then the only rightful heir to the Israelitish throne.
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| περὶ | peri | concerning | G4012 → | 332 times |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| υἱοῦ | huiou | Son | G5207 → | 377 times |
| αὐτοῦ, | autou | of Him, | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τοῦ | tou | who | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γενομένου | genomenou | having come | G1096 → | 667 times |
| ἐκ | ek | of [the] | G1537 → | 911 times |
| σπέρματος | spermatos | seed | G4690 → | 43 times |
| Δαυὶδ | dauid | of David | G1138 → | 59 times |
| κατὰ | kata | according to | G2596 → | 468 times |
| σάρκα, | sarka | flesh, | G4561 → | 146 times |
περὶconcerning
periG4012 →332 times
τοῦthe
touG3588 →19766 times
υἱοῦSon
huiouG5207 →377 times
αὐτοῦ,of Him,
autouG846 →5565 times
τοῦwho
touG3588 →19766 times
γενομένουhaving come
genomenouG1096 →667 times
ἐκof [the]
ekG1537 →911 times
σπέρματοςseed
spermatosG4690 →43 times
Δαυὶδof David
dauidG1138 →59 times
κατὰaccording to
kataG2596 →468 times
σάρκα,flesh,
sarkaG4561 →146 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 1:14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
it leads to
- 1 John 4:9
This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
- 1 Timothy 3:16
By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world,…
- Galatians 4:4
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
- John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Isaiah 40:5
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
- 1 John 4:9
Through
Galatians 4:4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
it leads to
- Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Isaiah 7:14
Through
Matthew 1:1This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
it leads to
- Genesis 22:18
And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
- Genesis 22:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Romans
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 17 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES.71; Charles Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans; Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans; Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book III; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistle to the Romans; John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 1; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS; Tertullian, Against Marcion Book IV; Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ; Tertullian, Against Praxeas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Romans and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Romans.