Descending to Bring Up “The Knowledge of the Son of God”: The Descent–Ascent Use of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8–10, Compared with Romans 10:6–8’s Use of Deuteronomy 30

Abstract

This paper offers a new explanation for the quotation of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8. There are at least three puzzles in this text: (1) the significance of the quotation within the argument in the Ephesians passage (and why the apparent interruption between 4:7 and 4:11); (2) the divergent form of the quotation from the MT and LXX vis-a-vis the giving of gifts versus receiving; (3) why is only one set of gifts—proclaiming/verbal gifts, not gifts of service or discernment—mentioned in 4:11–12? This paper argues three points. First, diversity of spiritual gifts is not the focus of Eph 4:7–16, but rather, the same gift given to many: the word of truth about Jesus’s identity as Messiah and Son of God and his resurrection. Second, Ephesians 4:8–10 is comprehensible in context if viewed through another lens: Romans 10:6–8, the motif of “Messiah ascending victorious after having previously descended”. Third, the invocation of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8–10 matches the Aramaic textual tradition, over-against the MT and the LXX. Paul’s use of the verse mirrors the proto-Targumic understanding of the “gifts given to the sons of mankind” as the Law of Moses. Paul is adopting this motif of “ascending with the Law-truth”, but with his own implied substitution of “the truth about Jesus”.

1. Introduction

This paper offers a new explanation for the quotation of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8. The meaning of this quotation—its textual form, its relation to Ephesians 4:9–10, and its significance for the argument within the passage—is much debated in the history of interpretation.

No fewer than three puzzles emerge upon careful examination of this text. First, why might Paul quote Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8? What significance does it add to the argument in the passage, and why the apparent interruption between 4:7 and 4:11? Second, why does Ephesians 4:8 diverge from Psalm 68:18, especially regarding the giving of gifts versus the receiving of gifts? Third, if Ephesians 4:7–16 is indeed setting out to describe the diversity of spiritual gifts given “to each one” in the church, why is only one set of spiritual gifts—proclaiming/verbal gifts, not gifts of service or discernment—mentioned in 4:11–12?

Interlocking arguments for several alternative readings are offered in this paper, attempting to (dis)solve these puzzles. The first thesis is that diversity of spiritual gifts is not the focus of this passage. Rather, the focus is the same gift given to many, in varying degrees of clarity and imperative to action. The “grace” or “gift” given to Christ’s people is the word of truth about Jesus’s identity as Messiah and Son of God, and his resurrection. This gift is given to all who believe it. Some are given special offices and giftings to share this word of truth (4:11), but it is received in some measure by all believers.

A second thesis is that Ephesians 4:8–10 is comprehensible in context if viewed through the lens of Romans 10:6–10. The motif of “Messiah ascending victorious after having previously descended” is also found in Romans 10:6–8, in which Paul substitutes “belief in the incarnate, crucified and risen Christ” for “adherence to the Law of Moses” in his interpretation of Deuteronomy 30:11–14.

A third thesis, building on the first two, is that the invocation of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8–10 matches the Aramaic textual tradition, over-against the MT and the LXX. Paul’s use of the verse mirrors the proto-Targumic understanding of the “gifts given to the sons of mankind” as the Law of Moses. Paul is adopting this motif of “ascending with the Law-truth”, but with his own implied substitution of “the truth about Jesus”.

In presenting these arguments, I hope to dissolve the problems of the textual basis of the quotation in Ephesians 4:8 and its interpretation, by a comparison to another Pauline text. I also hope to redirect exegesis of Ephesians 4:7–16 in a more fruitful direction, away from the ‘diverse gifts’ understanding.

2. Authorship

I recognize that Ephesians is one of the letters commonly regarded as Deutero-Pauline.1 However, since the main argument pertains to the use of the Old Testament and concepts from the Letter to the Romans, which is an undisputed Pauline letter, the authorship of Ephesians is not terribly relevant. My own tendency is to view Ephesians as Pauline in authorship/authorization;2 thus, throughout this paper I will follow tradition in referring to Paul as the author of both Romans and Ephesians. But I do not regard Pauline authorship of Ephesians as crucial to the argument—only that the author of Ephesians3 is aware of Romans 10 and made similar use of a motif.4

3. Definitions: “Diverse Gifts” vs. “The Truth About Jesus”

At the heart of the alternative reading proposed in this article is the question what generally is meant by the “grace” or “gift” given to “each one” in Ephesians 4:7. Before offering the arguments proper, it is helpful simply to define a shorthand for the main view and the alternative view.

By “diverse gifts” or “the diverse-gifts view”, I mean the traditional view that Ephesians 4:7–16 refers a diversity of gifts that accomplish different functions within one body. This reading links 4:7 and 4:11 to other lists of “spiritual gifts” in the Pauline literature, including Romans 12:3–8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4–11. These lists together are thought to comprise a non-exhaustive list of “spiritual gifts”, at least one of which is given to each believer at the moment of regeneration and Spirit-indwelling. This is the reading offered by all commentators on Ephesians 4 of which I am aware.5

The alternative view is that the grace or gift in view in Ephesians 4:7–16 is the truth about Jesus’s identity as crucified and risen Lord, or some elaboration on these core truths of Christian confession. We will refer to this as “the truth about Jesus” view. While the precise content of the confession is not clearly defined in Ephesians 4 (except perhaps in 4:4–6), the main idea is that this one sort of gift is given to every believer—he or she must know, believe and confess it in order to be part of the body. Some believers (the offices listed in 4:11) are especially and foundationally tasked with conveying the truth about Jesus, but every believer shares responsibility for believing and conveying this truth.

In this paper, I do not dispute the idea of “diverse Spiritual gifts” given for the edification of the body. I merely argue that Ephesians 4:7–16 is not mainly conveying this idea, but is rather about the one ‘truth about Jesus’ which is shared by all believers and which, if properly internalized by all, results in unity and maturity of the body of Christ (4:13–16).

4. Defining the Puzzles

In this section, we will refine the articulation of the problems in view, and sample some commentators who have attempted to make sense of this passage by addressing these problems.

As is well acknowledged, Ephesians 4 represents a turn in the book: Paul begins to expound the significance of the truths established in chapters 1–3 for the church community; 4:1–16 begins the hortatory section with a focus on unity, and then 4:17–6:9 gives more specific guidance on Christian living in the interests of preserving that unity. Within 4:1–16, unity is highlighted by the use of ἑνότητα in verses 3 and 13, the seven occurrences of “one” in verses 4–6, and the “body” imagery in verses 12 and 16. The purpose of the χάρις given to each one in verses 7 and 11–13 is equipping and building up, with the end goal of “unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (4:13).6

4.1. The Interpolation Between Ephesians 4:7 and 11

The first puzzle, then, is why Paul interrupts the flow of 4:7 into 11–13 by inserting the (apparent) quotation from Psalm 68:18 and his interpretation. Perkins notes, “A digression interrupts the development that v. 7 anticipates” (Perkins 1994, p. 420).

Best rightly notes that “unity” is a theme of 4:1–6, but then says, “the ‘one’ of v. 7 also introduces a new turn of thought in setting out the diversity as deriving from the variety of gifts among the members of the church” (Best 1998, p. 375).7 He describes 4:8–10 “a quotation seemingly drawn from Ps 68.18 to which is added a midrashic-type interpretation”, but then observes:

It might seem that vv. 8–10 could be omitted without disturbing the flow of the argument, but if they were v. 11 would jar with v. 7 in that, unlike the latter, it offers a limited range of gifts to a minority of believers. The gifts went unidentified in v. 7; v. 11 specifies them, not as functions to be exercised, but as ‘officials’ who are given to the church. This variation causes some problems. The function of these officials towards other believers is then expressed (v. 12) and also the goal for all to aim at, first positively (v. 13) and then negatively (v. 14). All of vv. 12–16 depend on v. 11.

(Best 1998, p. 375)

Note that Best begins with the assumption that diverse gifts are in view, and thus the interpolation softens the apparent discord between v. 7 and 11 with respect to the diversity of gifts.8 He notes that the holders of the offices listed are primarily given to the church to share the truth about Jesus, even though mature belief and proclamation of this truth is something “for all to aim at” in verses 13–14. (I will argue below that the “discord” between 4:7 and 11 is entirely generated by the unfounded assumption that “diverse gifts” are in view in the passage—a focus on the “truth about Jesus” resolves this discord).

4.2. The Divergence of the “Quotation” of Psalm 68:18 from the MT and LXX

Many commentators have discussed the key divergences of Ephesians 4:8 from the received forms of Psalm 68:18 [MT/Tg 68:19; LXX 67:19]. The most relevant divergence for our study is the substitution of “received gifts” (MT לקחת מתנות, LXX ἔλαβες δόματα) with “gave gifts” (ἔδωκεν δόματα, Eph 4:8). This is puzzling for the obvious reason that Eph 4:7 and 11 are about gifts given by God to human beings, but these forms of the psalm refer to God receiving gifts.9

As Thielman notes, “the targum of Ps. 68:19 is the only unambiguous evidence of a Jewish exegetical tradition that actually replaces the verb ‘received’ with the verb ‘gave’” (Thielman 2010, p. 267).10 Moses receives the Torah, and then gives it to humans:

You ascended to the firmament, O prophet Moses; you took captives, you taught the words of the Law (אלפתא פיתגמי אוריתא), you gave them as gifts to the sons of man (יהבתא להון מתנן לבני נשא), even among the rebellious who are converted and repent does the Shekina of the glory of the LORD God dwell.

(Stec 2004, p. 131)

In the Tg reading it is not YHWH who gives the gifts directly to humans, but Moses. Still, it diverges from the MT and LXX, which describe the deity receiving gifts rather than giving them. One hypothesized origin for either Paul’s reading or the Targum reading (or both) is that an alternate textual form read חלקת, “you apportioned”, which overlaps with “giving”, instead of לקחת.11

Another relevant question is whether Paul intentionally adopted the alternate text (Taylor 1991), or made the change independent of the rabbinic tradition reflected in the Targum.12 Numerous scholars who argue for an intentional change independent of the proto-Targumic tradition have attempted to show that Paul’s change nevertheless accords with the overall message of Psalm 68.13

4.3. Christ’s “Descent” in Relation to His Ascent with Gifts

The third puzzle is the long-debated destination of Christ’s “descent” in Ephesians 4:9–10. Other commentators have summarized the debates over the grammar and the theology of κατέβη εἰς τὰ κατώτερα [μέρη] τῆς γῆς, “he descended into the lowermost parts of/namely the earth” (inter alia, Thielman 2010, pp. 264–73).

Best notes, “If he ascended into heaven to where did he descend and when did he do so? The almost unanimous answer of the Fathers was that Christ descended into Hades after his death… They take τὰ κατώτερα τῆς γῆς (a partitive genitive) as indicating a place lower than the earth and as in contrast to ὑπεράνω” (Best 1998, p. 383). The other two interpretations require reading τῆς γῆς appositionally (“lower regions—namely, the earth”). One is that this “descent” refers to Pentecost: after Christ’s ascension the Holy Spirit descends to the earth. This view fits with the assumption that ‘diverse Spiritual gifts’ are in view in 4:7 and 11: the gifts are given by the Holy Spirit.14 Against this reading, Thielman argues:

Two problems, however, make this reading unlikely. First, in Acts 2 Christ sends the Spirit from heaven to all believers, but in Eph. 4:11 Christ sends certain gifted individuals to the church. Second, Paul makes a special point of saying in 4:10 that it was exactly the same person (αὐτός, autos), Christ, who both ascended and descended, and yet in Ephesians the work of Christ and the work of the Spirit are kept separate. The Spirit makes available to those who believe the gospel what Christ has accomplished (1:13; 2:22).

(Thielman 2010, p. 269)15

Another interpretation is that Paul refers to the incarnation: Christ descends “to the lower parts—the earth” (Campbell 2023, pp. 173–75; O’Brien 1999, p. 296). This “incarnation” reading was prominently (re-)introduced by Calvin, of whom Thielman writes, “He was one of the first in a long line of interpreters to do this. By 1883 Eadie could say that this interpretation was the position of ‘the majority of expositors’, and a century later Schnackenburg claimed that the old descensus ad infernos understanding had ‘now been abandoned’” (Thielman 2010, p. 270).

4.4. Evaluation/Summary

The interpolation of the quotation and exposition of Psalm 68:18 creates problems for interpretation of Ephesians 4:7–16. Without clear logical connection, it might be seen simply as a diversion. Furthermore, the connection of “gifts given” by Christ is derived from an apparent misquoting of the Scripture. Finally, Paul’s interpretation of the “descent” corresponding to Christ’s ascension is obscure.

In the following sections, I argue that Paul’s rationale for using the form of Psalm 68:18 related to Targumic tradition can be more satisfactorily explained if we understand the gift/grace as “the truth about Jesus”, and understand Ephesians 4:7–16 in light of Romans 10:4–13.

5. Gift of Christ, Grace of Christ: Range of Meaning

One of my key arguments is that Paul is not concerned in Ephesians 4:7–16 with diverse sorts of “spiritual gifts”, but rather with the single “gift” of the truth about Jesus. Several points may be made against the ‘diverse gifts’ reading and in favor of the ‘truth about Jesus’ reading.

Initially, it is noteworthy that the “grace” given (4:7) and the five offices listed (4:11) are never called “spiritual” or as having come “from the [Holy] Spirit”—rather, they come from Christ.16 This is not definitive, since Romans 12:3–8 does not mention the Spirit, either (in contrast to 1 Cor 12:3–11, which uses the words “Spirit” and “spiritual” repeatedly). Moreover, elsewhere in Ephesians, the Holy Spirit plays a role in belief in “the truth about Jesus”—so no one would argue that the Spirit is not part of this equation. But nothing so far, in verse 7, indicates explicitly that spiritual gifts are in view.

Next—more importantly—Paul lists only offices related to the sharing of the word and “equipping the saints” (4:11).17 Lists of spiritual gifts elsewhere in the Pauline literature include non-verbal sorts of gifts as well, such as serving, healing, giving, and helping (Rom 12:6–8; 1 Cor 12:8–10, 28–30). Most commentators describe Paul’s list in 4:11 as a “non-exhaustive” list of spiritual gifts—but given that only one sort of office is listed, the focus seems to be on the “word” itself, not on spiritual gifts.

The goal of the gift of the five word-offices for “equipping” and “building up” (4:12) is “unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (4:13). The other results relate to truth and proper doctrine/belief, as well (4:14–15).

Third, when we consider the specific terms used in 4:7 to describe the gift of grace, we find that the range of meaning in the Pauline corpus is sufficiently broad to allow for the interpretation that these are different measures of the same gift of the truth about Christ: “But to each one of us, [the] grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Ἑνὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν ἐδόθη [ἡ] χάρις κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ χριστοῦ).18 Elsewhere in the Pauline corpus, δωρεὰ and χάρις are paired together as pertaining to the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ:

• Rom 5:15—“the grace (χάρις) of God and the gift (δωρεὰ) by the grace (ἐν χάριτι) of the one Man, Jesus Christ”;
• Rom 5:17—“those who receive the abundance of the grace [of the gift] of righteousness” (οἱ τὴν περισσείαν τῆς χάριτος καὶ [τῆς δωρεᾶς] τῆς δικαιοσύνης λαμβάνοντες);
• 2 Cor 9:6–15—“The indescribable gift” (τῇ ἀνεκδιηγήτῳ αὐτοῦ δωρεᾷ) of “the surpassing grace of God” (τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ) in the Corinthian believers is a comprehensive ministry of service (9:10), which is understood as “obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ” (τῇ ὑποταγῇ τῆς ὁμολογίας ὑμῶν εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ χριστοῦ). Similar to Ephesians 4:11–12, the proclamation and acceptance of the truth about Christ results in works of service.

The most relevant comparison, however, is within the book of Ephesians itself. In 3:7, Paul describes himself as having been “made a minister” of the gospel (cf., 3:6), “according to the gift of the grace of God which was given to me according to the working of his power” (κατὰ τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς δοθείσης μοι κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ). “This grace” was given to Paul to preach to the Gentiles (3:8). In this passage, even though specific offices are mentioned—“holy apostles and prophets” (3:5) and “deacon/minister” (3:7)—the gift in view is the knowledge or truth that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and partakers of the promise. The focus is on the previous hiddenness of the gift of truth and the enormity of the scope and significance of the gift—not the diversity of “gifts” or diverse applications of one gift.

Finally, we notice that the “grace given” in Ephesians 4:7 is “according to the measure (κατὰ τὸ μέτρον) of Christ’s gift”. As in 4:13—“into the measure (εἰς μέτρον) of the stature of the fullness of Christ”—μέτρον means not the apportionment of distinct parts but the measure of the whole.19 By comparison, Romans 12 explicitly says that the members of one body “do not have the same function” (οὐ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχει πρᾶξιν, 12:4), and that believers have “gifts that differ according to the grace given to us” (χαρίσματα κατὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν διάφορα, 12:6). 1 Corinthians 12 repeatedly uses the terms “variety” (διαιρέσεις, 12:4–6) and “to another” (ἑτέρῳ and ἄλλῳ, 12:9–10) in listing different sorts of spiritual gifts. By contrast, in Ephesians 4:7, Christ’s one gift—which I argue is the truth of “the knowledge of the Son of God”—is a single kind of gift, given to all believers. Ephesians 4:7–16 does not describe a treasury of diverse gifts given to different individuals.20

Rather, the grace given in Ephesians 4:7 and 11 would seem to be the truth—that is, the unifying confession that is found in 4:4–6, and “the knowledge of the Son of God” in 4:13—and the offices that are listed in 4:11. These offices are all offices of “word” or proclamation: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. The equipping of the people (4:12) through these offices achieves “unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God” (4:13), implying that the purposes of these particular offices is to convey knowledge of Jesus so that people believe.

Even though the grace is given especially to the “offices of the word”, each believer receives a measure of this grace/gift (4:7). This seems to mean that every believer knows the truth about who Jesus is, and every believer is expected to believe/live/proclaim accordingly—even if the special offices are for some to do it more foundationally and vocationally.

Some might respond that this description or articulation of the gift is rather undefined or amorphous. We do not see an explicit confession such as “Jesus is Lord” or “Jesus is risen” in 4:7–16. In the following section, we will see how parallels with Romans 10:4–13 illumine this “gift” of Ephesians 4:7 and bring more precision to the articulation of “the truth about Jesus”.

6. Romans 10’s Use of Deuteronomy 30 and Its Relevance to Ephesians 4

In this section, I trace Paul’s transformative interpretation of Deuteronomy 30:11–14 in Romans 10:6–10. In place of the hypothetical need in Deuteronomy 30:12–13 to “bring down” or “bring over/up” law-understanding and law-obedience, Paul substitutes the actions of Jesus in descending and ascending on behalf of God’s people. Thus, all that is truly needed to fulfill the law is faith in and verbal confession of Jesus’s identity and resurrection (Romans 10:9–10; cf., Deut 30:14).

I argue that Ephesians 4:8–10 and its reading of Psalm 68:18 matches this interpretive move undertaken in Romans 10:6–10 with respect to Deuteronomy 30:11–14. The parallel is more apparent when the proto-Targumic interpretation of Psalm 68:18 is considered.

6.1. Romans 10: Belief and Confession Substituted for Law Obedience

Romans 10 continues Paul’s discussion of how the Jewish people as a collective have come to be alienated from their God. In 9:30–33, he makes a distinction between “pursuing the law” ὡς ἐξ ἔργων, which has led to non-attainment for the Jews (9:31, 32), and the Gentiles who did not even pursue righteousness but received righteousness ἐκ πίστεως (9:30). One key missing piece for the Jewish nation, Paul says, is “knowledge”: “…zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge; for not knowing about God’s righteousness…” (10:2b–3a). The truth of which they have no knowledge (or did not acknowledge) is that “Christ is the τέλος of the law toward righteousness, for anyone who believes” (10:4).

This sets the table for Paul’s creative interpretation of Deuteronomy 30:11–14, which substitutes Christ and the profession of faith in Christ for the law and law observance.

Deuteronomy 30 contains a tension within it, on the question of whether the commandments would prove to be unattainable for Israel. Despite that 30:1–10 seems to imply that the Law would prove to be too difficult (prior to exile, repentance, and heart-circumcision, 30:6), 30:11–14 states that the Law is not unattainable—rather, it is accessible to Israel, in the mouth and in the heart so that they can do it (30:14). It is not necessary to bring the law to the habitable realm from some inaccessible realm—up in heaven, or across an uncrossable/subterranean sea (30:12–13). Within the story of Israel, as Paul and his audience well know, Israel on the whole did not follow the Law, which has led to their present situation of distance from their Messiah.

Paul’s creative reading of Deuteronomy 30:12–14 seeks to resolve this tension by putting Christ in the formula in place of ”the Law”. Paul reinterprets the “bringing Law [adherence] down from heaven” and “bringing Law [adherence] up from the underworld” statements of Deut 30:12–13 narrativally as referring to Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection (Rom 10:6–7). The “word of faith which we proclaim”21 that “Jesus is Lord and is risen” (10:8–10) is substituted for the recitation and internalization of, and obedience to, the Law of Moses (Deut 30:14). He loosely quotes Leviticus 18:5 to establish that τὴν δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ νόμου “righteousness which is from the law” will allow a person to live by it (Rom 10:5). This has proven to be impossible for unregenerate humans, except for one perfect human: Christ. Thus, for Paul, Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection fulfill the purpose of the Law (10:4), and those who confess “Jesus is Lord and is risen” are considered “Law-keepers” for the purpose of receiving life (cf., Deut 30:15).

6.2. Ephesians 4:8–10: Psalm 68:18’s “Gifts” Becomes the Truth About Christ

Paul’s substitution of “belief in the incarnate, crucified and risen Christ” for “adherence to the Law of Moses” in his interpretation of earlier scripture has parallels in his interpretation of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8–10. The adapted quotation of Psalm 68:18 and Paul’s explanation in Ephesians 4:8–10 relies on this same substitution of the “faith and confession” formulation for the Law of Moses that Paul does in Romans 10:1–13.

The picture that Paul adopts from Psalm 68 is of a victorious king ascending back to the capital city on the hill, leading captives, and giving out spoils of war to his loyal people. The captives are the king’s subjects whom he has rescued from captivity. Similar to Romans 10:6–8, the “gift” and “grace” (4:7) are won by the risen Christ for his people after he has become incarnate and passed through death (“descended into the lowermost parts of the earth”), and raised and ascended (“he ascended on high”).22 The gifts (δόματα, “gift portions”) are not different spiritual gifts, but the word of truth about Jesus himself: his identity (as victorious King/Liberator), and what he came to accomplish.

The parallels to Rom 10:6–8 are particularly apparent if we observe that the Eph 4:8 quotation follows the proto-Targumic tradition. First, as discussed previously, the text states not that God “received gifts” but “gave gifts”. But another dimension of the proto-Targumic interpretation is implied by Paul, as well. According to TgPss 68:18, the “gifts to the sons of men” from on high is the Law, retrieved by Moses. For Paul, the “gift given from on high” seems to be the gospel message that Jesus is Lord: “the knowledge of the Son of God” (Eph 4:13).

Paul’s “midrash” (if we wish to call it such) on Psalm 68:18 relies on an image of a mediator descending to bring the truth down from heaven and back from an inaccessible abyss,23 for the benefit of God’s people. In both Romans 10:6–8 and Ephesians 4:8–10, Jesus replaces Moses in this image, and the confession about Jesus24 replaces the Law given to Moses.

7. Conclusions

The comparison of Ephesians 4:8–10 with Romans 10:6–8 helps to explain the quotation of Psalm 68:18, which has historically been read as a misquotation of the scripture, and as a diversion or distraction from the main reasoning of Paul’s discussion of ‘diverse gifts’.

The substitution of “the word of faith which we proclaim” about Christ, in place of the Law of Moses in Romans 10:8, matches the Aramaic tradition of Psalm 68:18 and the later Targumic elaboration, which makes the “gift given to men” the Law from Sinai. This may explain why Paul chooses this form of the Scripture (“gave gifts” rather than “received gifts”): he is assuming this same motif of “ascending and descending to bring the Law to humanity”, and substituting “the truth about Jesus” for “the Law” in Ephesians 4 just as he does in Romans 10.

If ‘diverse gifts’ are not initially assumed to be Paul’s main focus, then Psalm 68:18 does not seem quite as out of place—in fact, the textual tradition Paul has chosen makes sense within his overall message of Christian unity based on the truth (Eph 4:1–6). The focus in Ephesians 4:7–16 is not diverse gifts in the church, but the one gift of the truth about Jesus, which all Christians must believe and communicate to others (even though some offices, the word-offices, are especially tasked with proclaiming and equipping others to proclaim).