When John Calvin published in 1540 his first commentary on the Bible, an interpretation of St. Paul's letter to the Romans, he joined a lively conversation that had been taking place in the Christian church ever since its inception. Paul's letter was itself a kind of commentary, a reinterpretation of stories and songs from the Old Testament, especially from Genesis and the book of Psalms. Paul was convinced that these ancient Hebrew writings had taken on a new meaning as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

His reinterpretation of older biblical traditions was itself reinterpreted by such stalwarts of the early church as Origen, Augustine, and John Chrysostom. Medieval interpreters repeated and revised these early insights and added their own, many of which were preserved in such standard exegetical works as the Glossa ordinaria and the Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra. By 1540 there was a substantial body of literature on Romans, including several recent works by Calvin's contemporaries. Aspiring commentators, confronted by this body of exegetical literature, might well have been forgiven if they had wondered whether there was anything fresh to say about Romans. Calvin concluded there was, but not before he had read a generous sample of the exegetical tradition, including the impressive commentaries by Philip Melanchthon, Heinrich Bullinger, and Martin Bucer.