9:3 I could wish that I myself were … cut off … for the sake of my people. Although nothing could separate Paul from Christ (8:39), he, like Moses, would sacrifice himself for his people (Ex 32:32–34). 9:4 Jewish people celebrated the gifts that Paul lists here. Paul lists these historical claims in a way that would also appeal to his audience rhetorically: in Greek, a series of feminine nouns ending as follows in -thesia, -a, -ai, -thesia, -a, -ai. 9:5 who is God over all. Jewish doxologies praised