Based on a detailed history of research done mainly in the 19th and the 20th centuries, Hermann Lichtenberger has established in this study that the "I" of Romans 7 is the "I" of Adam (7:7-13) and the "I" of mankind (7:14-24). In his interpretation, he shows clearly how this "I" is a prisoner of sin and can be freed by Christ only. The author analyzes analogous and contrasting models in order to describe how the concepts of destiny, the imprisonment by guilt and freedom were seen in classical antiquity and in Hellenistic and rabbinic Judaism and shows their connection to Paul.
