Misunderstanding Paul's Message in Romans 11

Having grown up in the Catholic church, and having worked on staff at a Protestant church, I cannot recall ever being taught Romans 11 in-depth.

Perhaps this chapter presents a theological challenge for the prevailing traditions. I sense it is avoided because it creates more questions than answers.

Nevertheless, we will uncover a few missing keys to Paul's message that change how we understand it.

Midrashic Imports

In Romans 11, Paul leverages a few Midrashic themes from the Rabbinic tradition that many readers may not be familiar with. When understood, these further affirm the Jewish people's selection and enduring covenantal place with G_D.

Paul begins chapter 11 by asking:

I ask, then, has G_D rejected his people? By no means!

It seems to me Paul is purposely trying to stifle the seeds of an early Anti-Jewish sentiment among the Greeks in the synagogue communities.

Paul makes the observation that it is G_D who is engineering a spiritual blindness on the part of the Jewish people. Paul wrote that, had this concealment not taken place, the nations would have had no other means of redemption, an assertion he made in other letters as well¹.

If the Dough is Holy

In Romans 11:16, Paul states:

If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

An observant Jew would recognize this reference to a well-known practice known as; Hafrashat Challah². Here, one breaks off a small piece of dough or a fresh loaf of bread as an offering, set aside for G_D. Through that small offering, the rest of the loaf is elevated, and made worthy of consumption³. This kind of offering is known as Terumah, a word that itself means to elevate.

This is where Paul seems to borrow from an ancient Midrash which states that the forefathers were a Terumah offering for the nation of Israel:

Our forefathers were the Terumah of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is stated, Israel is holy to Hashem, "the first of His crop' (Jeremiah 2:3).
- Exodus Rabbah 15:6

By extension, this is how Israel serves a similar role on behalf of the nations.

The Olive Tree

Paul then leverages another Rabbinic idea that can be found in various sources from the Talmud, Midrash, and the Zohar, where Israel is represented by an olive tree.

In this metaphor, the Jewish people are a living tree into which the nations will ultimately be grafted⁴. It is through them that salvation will come to the world, a statement affirmed by Yeshua himself in John 4:22.

Paul writes:

"But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you." - Romans 11:17-18

Broken Off?

For those who uphold the tenets of Replacement Theology, the use of the phrase broken off is a reference to G_D's rejection of Israel. However, this misses the mark and contradicts with Paul's ultimate message.

However, Dr. Mark Nanos indicates the word often translated as "broken off" (ekklao) can be rendered as "broken", "cracked", or "bent." This nuance is important.

The Greek word usually translated “broken off” (formed from ekklaō), can be translated very differently and thereby communicate very different implications both within the allegory of the olive tree and for the analogies drawn about Paul’s view of his fellow Israelites. Ekklaō can be translated “broken,” as in when a branch is ‘bent” so as to suffer a “break” or “crack” in it; although injured, it remains on the tree.⁵

This is important as the grafting of branches involved bending or cracking a branch to allow the insertion of a new shoot. This is how the wild branches can still "share in the nourishing root of the tree", which would not be the case if the branches were severed totally.

The point is not to destroy the tree, but to allow for a more productive harvest.

Israel's Place In Redemption

Dr. Nanos continues;

A bent or cracked limb is “callused” to “protect” the injured area from further damage until it can be fully “healed”; in the meantime, it can continue to function within the tree toward its goal of producing fruit. “All Israel will be healed, protected, preserved, kept safe.”

Informed by the Midrashic tradition, we can better understand Paul's words and how they affirm the place of the Jewish people. This also allows us the room to understand the metaphor and it's inclusive stance towards the nations.

In this way, the original branches remain productive, bearing additional fruit through the grafting of wild shoots.

Paul's message beautifully portrays the way in which G_D will continue to move forward with His plan of global redemption, honoring His covenants, while steadily bringing revelation to those who were once far off.

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Notes:

Ephesians 2:12 - "...remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world."

² Jewish law requires that a portion of dough or finished baked product be set aside for what is known as “challah.” While any size portion is adequate for challah, it is customary to separate a portion the size of an olive. After separation, the challah is burned." - Kosher.com

³ "When the owner designates a specific portion as Terumah and separates it, he rectifies the produce and makes it suitable for eating." - Commentary on Exodus Rabbah 15:6

⁴ "And Rabbi Elazar said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed [nivrekhu]” (Genesis 12:3)? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Abraham: I have two good shoots to graft onto you: Ruth the Moabite, the ancestress of the house of David, and Naamah the Ammonite, whose marriage with Solomon led to the ensuing dynasty of the kings of Judea. “All the families of the earth” means: Even families that live in the earth, i.e., who have land of their own, are blessed only due to the Jewish people. Similarly, when the verse states: “All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him” (Genesis 18:18), it indicates that even ships that come from Galia to Hispania are blessed only due to the Jewish people." - Yevamot 63a

⁵ “The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable” (Romans 11:29): If So, How Can Paul Declare that “Not All Israelites Truly Belong to Israel” (9:6)? - Essay by Dr. Mark Nanos