Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν εὑρηκέναι Ἀβραὰμ τὸν προπάτορα ἡμῶν κατὰ σάρκα;

Says 4:1 opens with τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν, as in 6:1; 7:7; 8:31; 9:14, 30. Abraham is τὸν προπάτορα (propatora, "forefather") ἡμῶν, the only NT use of προπάτωρ. εὑρηκέναι (heurēkenai, "to have found") is a perfect infinitive whose place and presence vary in the manuscripts (var.Rom.4.1.heurekenai; on πατέρα, var.Rom.4.1.propatora).

Uncertain How the sentence is construed. This note leans to (a): Abraham is the subject of εὑρηκέναι, and κατὰ σάρκα goes with προπάτορα: "What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has discovered?" (BSB). Grounds: κατὰ σάρκα follows προπάτορα ἡμῶν directly, and Paul uses it of physical descent (1:3; 9:3, 5); 4:2 then asks what Abraham gained. Two alternatives are named. (b) κατὰ σάρκα goes with εὑρηκέναι, "found by the flesh," that is, by his own effort; the Byzantine word order favors this. (c) A break after ἐροῦμεν: "What then shall we say? Have we found Abraham to be our forefather according to the flesh?" (Wright, by reference).

Implies On any construal, 4:1 turns to Abraham as the test case for 3:27–31: boasting is excluded, and the one God justifies circumcised and uncircumcised alike by faith (note.language.Rom.3.27.nomos-pisteos; note.language.Rom.3.28-Rom.3.30.pistei-ek-dia).