richmahn_en_tn/rom/11/intro.md

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Romans 11 General Notes

Structure and formatting

Some translations prefer to set apart quotations of the Old Testament. The ULB and many other English translations indent the lines of 11:9-10, 26-27, 34-35, which are quotations from the Old Testament.

Special concepts in this chapter

Engrafting

Paul uses the image of "engrafting" to refer to the place of the Gentiles and Jews in the plans of God. Grafting is the process whereby one plant is permanently made to be a part of another plant. While the Gentiles are grafted into the plans of God as a wild branch and partake of some blessings, the Jews remain the major focus of God's plans in the history of the world.

Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter

"Did God reject his people? May it never be"

Whether Israel (the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) has a future in the plans of God, or if they have been replaced in the plans of God by the church, is a major theological issue in chapters 9-11. This phrase is an important part of this section of Romans. It seems to indicate that Israel remains distinct from the church. Not all scholars arrive at this conclusion. Despite their current rejection of Jesus as their Messiah, Israel has not exhausted the grace and mercy of God. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/christ, rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/grace and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/mercy)

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