Romans 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD, with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, who adds his own greeting in Romans 16:22.
This chapter concludes the section of the letter in which "St. Paul teaches us about the eternal providence of God"Luther, M., Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans, translated by Andrew Thornton, OSB, 1983, accessed on 14 October 2024 with particular reference to the election of a chosen people, Israel (Romans 9:11), who have become disobedient (Romans 11:31), and in whose place a remnant have been chosen (Romans 11:5) and grafted into place (Romans 11:17-24).
Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 36 verses.
Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: In Greek: Codex Vaticanus (AD 325–350) Codex Sinaiticus (330–360) Codex Alexandrinus (400–440) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (; extant verses 1–14) in Gothic language Codex Carolinus (6th/7th century; extant verses 33–36) in Latin Codex Carolinus (6th/7th century; extant verses 33–36)
Old Testament references Romans 11:1–2 references Psalm 94:14 Romans 11:3 references 1 Kings 19:10,14 Romans 11:4 references 1 Kings 19:18 Romans 11:8 references Deuteronomy 29:4 and and Romans 11:9–10 references Psalm 69:22, 23 Romans 11:27 references Isaiah 59:20, 21 Romans 11:34 references Isaiah 40:13, Wisdom 9:13 and Jeremiah 23:18 Romans 11:35 references Job 41:11
New Testament references Romans 11:1 references Philippians 3:5 references
Has God rejected Israel? Paul reiterates in verses 1-11 his answer to the same question in chapter 9, focussing here on other cases where a remnant has been preserved.
Verse 1
Paul opens this part of his letter with another rhetorical question: "Has God cast away His people?" He also uses the phrase "Certainly not!" or *God forbid" () regularly in this letter. On this occasion, he puts himself forward as an example to evidence his argument, "to show that God has not rejected His people en masse. An Israelite of pure descent, he is, nevertheless a true believer".Vincent, M. (1887), Vincent's Word Studies on Romans 11, accessed 26 September 2016 Later in the chapter (Romans 11:13), Paul also refers to himself as the "apostle of the gentiles" ().
Verse 25–27
Historian Paula Fredriksen reads these verses as Paul's attempt to explain why, by the middle of the first century AD, gentiles appeared to outnumber Jews in the Christ-following movement. She argues that Paul offered a reinterpretation of an apocalyptic prophecy: God has deliberately made most of Israel temporarily insensible to the gospel, so that apostles like Paul would have more time to reach gentiles across the nations. Only after the full complement of nations had been gathered in would God restore Israel's receptivity. For Paul, she contends, this was not a rejection of Jews, but a temporary postponement; God's promises to Israel remained irrevocable. She then traces how centuries later, Augustine of Hippo reinterpreted this same passage, arguing that "all Israel" referred not to actual Jews but to "spiritual Israel," meaning the church.
Verse 34
Romans 34 cites both Isaiah 40:13 and Jeremiah 23:18.
See also Abraham Baal Benjamin David Elijah Israel Zion Other related Bible parts: Deuteronomy 29, 1 Kings 19, Job 41, Psalm 69, Isaiah 40, Isaiah 59, Jeremiah 23
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links King James Bible – Wikisource English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) Multiple bible versions at Bible Gateway (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)