ROMANS 12:20; PROVERBS 25:21-22: HEAPING COALS OF FIRE

 “No, if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.'” (Romans 12:20)

In general, this is a pretty straightforward verse except for the last phrase.

“Love your enemies; it will drive them crazy.” Is that what this means? Let's first examine the context of this verse. It is better to use the plural "contexts" and look at all of them from the broadest to the most specific.

Whole Bible  Notice that Paul is quoting from the Old Testament (Proverbs 25:21-22). The wording is basically the same as in the early Greek version (Septuagint). However, the Proverbs passage adds “and the LORD will reward you.” This is a promise of blessing for those who do these things. By omitting that last phrase, Paul shifts the emphasis to the effect your actions will have on your enemy. There is one other change in wording that we will mention a little later. The immediate context in the OT passage really has little to add since the proverbs tend to be stand-alone sayings.

New Testament context: The natural place to go for the treatment of one's enemies is Christ's teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. Since these commands center around treating our enemies with love, Paul's word on that subject obviously cannot contradict the teachings of his Lord., whatever Paul may have in mind in these verses.

Book of Romans is written to a church he hadn't visited at the time, and therefore the letter has been considered as the closest thing we have to Paul's universal theology, in contrast to most other epistles which were more concerned with situations specific to the churches addressed. So we might consider the commands here to be important for us today and very applicable to all time.

In most of Paul's letters, he begins by setting the scene with a theological background before going on with ethical teachings or commands. In Romans, the theological portion includes the first eleven chapters, with the ethical only beginning in chapter 12. So it is appropriate that he gives his overall theme to the second half in 12:1-2. Note the connecting word “therefore” which indicates that the moral behavior he is going to be talking about in the rest of the letter is based on the theology which precedes it. And that theology is centered around the fact that we are saved by grace, not our works. So however we might interpret Romans 12:20, it can't describe behavior on our part that is needed to earn our salvation. Let's keep zeroing in closer to the passage in question.

Proximate Context: Chapters 12-13 have their own simple structure that is fairly easy to pick out, with B and B' dealing with our relationships to those generally favorable to us and C and C' dealing with those who are more antagonistic.

A. Be transformed (12:1-2)

B. Love within the body (12:3-13)

                                C. Attitude toward enemies (12:14-21)

                                C'. Attitude toward authorities (13:1-7)

B'. Love for neighbor (13:8-10)

A'. Put on Christ (13:11-14)

According to this organization, the overall theme for these two chapters is expressed in A and A'.

Immediate Context: As shown below, two similar principles bookend the smaller section highlighted. And verses 19-20 are seen to be parallel to the command not to repay evil for evil.

1. Principle: Bless those who persecute you and don't curse them. (v. 14)

        2. Live in harmony (15-16)

                3. Don't repay evil for evil (17)

        2'. Live peaceably with all (18)

                3'. Don't take revenge (19-20)

1'. Principle: Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (v. 21)

If you go back to our verse under question, remember that Paul begins his quote with the word “No.” That is a logical connector with what has just preceded, v. 19: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord [Deuteronomy. 32:35].'” The connecting idea is that we should not take revenge ourselves but leave it to God. So it is obvious that heaping coals of fire on someone's head is not to be taken literally. But then what does the imagery mean?

Comparing the Septuagint (LXX) of Proverbs 25:21 with Paul's Greek wording in Romans 12:20, Paul 

interestingly does not use the verb for feeding in LXX (the generic trepho); instead he substitutes the 

rarer word psomizo. “The change may be significant: psomizo describes the act of feeding as giving.” 

 (Beale and Carson, Commentary on the NT Use of the OT, p. 681)  This latter word signifies:

    “to feed with bits as a child” (Young's Analytical Concordance)

    “to feed with morsels, as nurses do children” (Vine's Expository Dictionary)

    “to break into crumbs” or “to spend everything on food” (F. W. Grosheide, The First Epistle to the 

Corinthians)

These ideas go well beyond just throwing a loaf of bread to an enemy. They demonstrate care and 

sacrifice on our part.

The main problem with figurative language such as similes and metaphors is to determine what aspect of the literal image is being referred to. Let's at last return to our example of heaping coals of fire on someone's head. Here are some explanations for this action that I have found in the literature: Remember that we have pretty much eliminated the literal meaning from consideration, but that still leaves several possibilities:

        1. It will store up even more future punishment for him by God. (The Hebrew word for burning coals appears seventeen times in the OT, most of which are images of God's judgment)

        2. Our actions will shame him into repentance. (There was an ancient Egyptian ritual in which people submitted to having burning coals in a bowl put on their head to demonstrate their contrition.

        3. Either 1 or 2 will result, depending on his response.

        4. It will represent the preliminary step in making a friend of him. “Since hot coals for the preparation of a meal would have been carried in an insulated container on the head, this might be a symbol of hospitality...a necessary preparatory stage toward a meal of reconciliation...” (Jacob W. Elias, 1&2 Thessalonians, p. 233) This last explanation appears to be a little far-fetched since only one of the seventeen appearances of hot coals in the Bible refers to their use in preparing food.

Literary Context

Lastly, it is important to point out that Paul is quoting a proverb, and proverbs by their very nature 

express principles, not promises. So you should not take Paul's words to mean that invariably your 

enemy will come around. He may still refuse to repend and so result #1 above will be his fate.