The “I” Who Laments: Echoes of Old Testament Lament in Romans 7:7–25 and the Identity of the ἐγώ

The identity of the “I” in Rom 7:7–25 remains one of the most baffling interpretive issues in Paul’s most famous letter. Interpreters have proposed numerous solutions while employing a variety of approaches. Despite such industriousness, the intertextual nature of the passage is often neglected. This study aims to correct that deficiency by assessing the metaleptic echoes of OT lament and their value for the identification of the “I.” My overarching argument is that the literary interplay between Rom 7:7–25 and its echoes of OT lament produce unstated points of resonance that provide valuable biographical information about the “I.” The “I” is in fact any embodied figure indwelled by sin who, like an OT lamenter, suffers, cries out, and in some instances receives an answer in Paul’s gospel.