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In Romans 3:21, most English translations distinguish the two uses of νόμος (law) by capitalizing the second:
Νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ πεφανέρωται μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, (NA28)
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it (ESV)
By this I understand that the second refers to scripture more broadly, perhaps determined by its use in the set phrase (?) «the Law and the Prophets.» Nowhere else in the ESV Romans 2-4 (actually anywhere in Romans that I see) is the word capitalized, and nowhere else does it appear as a part of this phrase. (The phrase dose appear repeatedly in the Gospels and Acts, where «Law» is always capitalized in the ESV.)
Reading on, in verse 31:
νόμον οὖν καταργοῦμεν διὰ τῆς πίστεως; μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ νόμον ἱστάνομεν. (NA28)
Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (ESV)
By the ESV’s rendering, we expect that «law» here refers to the «law that Moses received from God…the standard according to which membership in the people of Israel is determined» (quoting BDAG, which places 3:31 here) rather than «Scripture.» However, several translations do capitalize «Law» here. Also, I was reading the Expositors Greek Testament notes where it says:
Perhaps if Law were written with a capital letter, it would suggest the true meaning. [It is] all that we have ever called Law — the whole Jewish religion — that divinely established order, and everything of the same nature…
This seems to suggest a broader meaning still.
What is meant by νόμος in Romans 3:31?
