‘What advantage then does the Jew have? Or what is the profit of circumcision?'
The question then arises that if the Jew who is unrighteous has no special privileges because of his unrighteousness (Romans 2:11-13; Romans 2:21-24), and if physical circumcision loses its validity for man when he is unrighteous (Romans 2:25-29), what are the advantages (to perisson - here meaning to have what is beyond what others have) of being a Jew and what profit is there in being circumcised? This is the first question put by his imaginary opponent, phrased, of course, by Paul. Many Jews believed that the advantage was that, whatever they might suffer in this life, they would have eternal life because God was bound by His covenant.