04_Romanov_391_415 04/11/15 15:13 Pagina 410 410 ANDREY ROMANOV 410 and to point to the single reality of the one who creates, intervenes in the life of the world, and ultimately saves. Similar ideas can be found in the 4 Ezra 6:6 which is very likely a Jewish writing contemporary with Paul 56. There God represents himself as “the one and only Creator” through whom the world is made. The Latin text (which is the oldest extant text of the book) renders the manner of creation using the preposition per 57; the same preposition is used to describe the coming of the eschatological events: “the end shall come through (per) me” 58. Thus according to the author, it is appropriate to ascribe the action “through” to God. Moreover, no one else can replace God in this action; in other words, it is through God alone that all things come into being and come to their end. The impressive picture of the eschatological events and the reference to the group which will be saved (“whoever remains after all that”) form, in my view, the strongest parallel with 1 Cor 8,6 in terms of content, except for the figure of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose functions, however, do not contradict the functions of God in Ezra. It is also worth noting that “Domine” (or “Dominator Do- mine”) is the normal form by which Ezra addresses God. Should we not consider these Jewish ideas (rather than preposi- tional metaphysics) as a much more plausible source for Paul’s cos- mological statements? Do not the prepositions which are used by Paul both in Rom 11,36 and in 1 Cor 8,6 stress the uniqueness of God and the Lord in a manner similar to Jewish thought, i.e. through the description of their universal functions? 56 The analysis of the textual and theological issues of the text as well as the English translation are made by B.M. METZGER, “The Fourth Book of Ezra”, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (ed. J.H. CHARLESWORTH) (Peabody, MA 2009) I, 517-524 (the introduction) and 525-559 (the translation). According to Metzger, traditionally chs. 1–2 and 15–16 are considered as a “Christian framework” (517), whereas the remainder of the text should be attributed to the Hebrew author and be dated around A.D. 100 (520). 57 “Facta sunt haec [these things ‒ in fact ‘all things’ as they are described in 6,1-6; cf. ‘creaturam tuam’ 5,56] per me solum et non per alium, ut et finis per me et non per alium” (the Latin text was consulted on the website of ‘The Online Critical Pseudepigrapha” http://ocp.tyndale.ca/4-ezra#6-6 last access 07.06.2014); per is the preposition used in the Vulgata to render dia, both in Rom 11,36 and 1 Cor 8,6. 58 According to Metzger, these words point to God as the “Judge at the final judgment”; METZGER, “4th Ezra”, 521.