And if some of the branches be broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
some.
Psalm 80:11-16 She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river…
Isaiah 6:13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
Isaiah 27:11 When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
being.
Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Galatians 2:15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
Ephesians 2:11-13 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; …
among them.
Deuteronomy 8:8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;
Judges 9:8,9 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us…
Psalm 52:8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
and you, a wild olive shoot,
The "wild olive shoot" represents Gentile believers who have come to faith in Christ. In ancient agriculture, wild olive trees were considered inferior and unproductive compared to cultivated ones. This metaphor highlights the unexpected and gracious inclusion of the Gentiles into the blessings originally given to Israel. It underscores the theme of God's grace extending beyond ethnic Israel to include all nations, fulfilling the promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3).
have been grafted in among the others
Grafting is an agricultural practice where a branch from one tree is inserted into another tree so that it can grow and produce fruit. This process symbolizes the inclusion of Gentiles into the spiritual blessings and promises given to Israel. Theologically, it emphasizes the unity of Jews and Gentiles in the body of Christ, as both are now part of the same spiritual family (Ephesians 2:11-22). This inclusion is not based on heritage or works but on faith in Jesus Christ.
to share in the nourishment of the olive root,
The "olive root" represents the patriarchs and the covenants God made with them, particularly the Abrahamic covenant. The nourishment signifies the spiritual blessings and promises that flow from these covenants, including salvation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. By being grafted in, Gentile believers partake in these blessings, becoming heirs to the promises of God (Galatians 3:29). This sharing in the nourishment underscores the continuity of God's redemptive plan and the fulfillment of His promises through Christ, who is the ultimate fulfillment of the law and the prophets.
• Paul is speaking of ethnic Israelites who refused to believe in Jesus—“They were broken off because of unbelief” (Romans 11:20).
• God had earlier pictured Israel as “a green olive tree, beautiful in form” (Jeremiah 11:16), yet branches can be removed when fruitless (John 15:2).
• Only “some” were cut off; a faithful remnant remains (Romans 11:5). This shows both God’s righteous severity (Romans 11:22) and His continuing covenant faithfulness.
• “You” refers to Gentile believers—people once “separate from Christ… strangers to the covenants of the promise” (Ephesians 2:12).
• A wild shoot grows outside cultivated orchards: it lacked privilege, yet God reached out in grace (Acts 14:27; 1 Peter 2:10).
• The contrast underscores that salvation never rests on pedigree but on faith (Galatians 3:26–29).
• Grafting joins what was once foreign to a living tree; Gentiles are now united with the believing Jewish remnant (Ephesians 3:6).
• In Christ “there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16).
• This new position carries humility: “Do not be arrogant, but stand in awe” (Romans 11:20). God can just as readily graft Israel back in (Romans 11:23–24).
• The “root” points to the patriarchs and the unconditional promises made to them (Romans 11:28; Genesis 12:3).
• Through faith we partake of the same rich sap—“the blessing of Abraham… the promise of the Spirit” (Galatians 3:14).
• Our life is sustained by the covenant God who “cannot lie” (Hebrews 6:17–18), guaranteeing continual nourishment, growth, and fruitfulness (Psalm 1:3).
Romans 11:17 teaches that some unbelieving Israelites were removed, while believing Gentiles were graciously joined to the faithful remnant to enjoy the life-giving promises rooted in Abraham. The picture highlights God’s justice toward unbelief, His mercy toward faith, and the shared spiritual inheritance all believers now possess in Christ.
(17-24) The admission of the Gentile to the privileges of the Jew is no ground for boasting on his part. It is merely an admission. The Gentile is, as it were, a branch grafted into a stem that was none of his planting. Nor is his position absolutely secured to him. It is held conditionally on the tenure of faith. He ought, therefore, anxiously to guard against any failure in faith. For the moment God has turned towards him the gracious side of His providence, as towards the Jew He has turned the severe side. But this relation may easily be reversed, and the Jew received back into the favour which he once enjoyed.(17) And.--Rather, but.
Among them--i.e., among the branches of the olive-tree generally, both those which are broken off and those which are suffered to remain. This seems on the whole the more probable view; it would be possible to translate the words, in place of them (the branches broken off).
Partakest of the root and fatness.--The meaning of this is sufficiently obvious as it stands. If, as perhaps is probable, we ought to drop the second "and," reading, "of the root of the fatness," the sense is that the rich flow of sap in which the wild olive par-takes does not belong to the wild olive itself, but is all drawn from the root.
The evidence for the omission of the second "and" is that of the Vatican, Sinaitic, and rescript Paris manuscript--a strong combination.
Verses 17, 18. - But if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree (i.e. of the stock of a wild olive tree; cf. ch. Romans 11:24) wast grafted in among them, and wast made partaker with them of the root and the fatness of the olive tree, boast not against the branches. But if thou boastest, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. In thus addressing the Gentile in the second person singular, the apostle brings his warning home to any individual Gentile Christian who might be inclined to boast; though regarding him still as representing Gentile believers generally. They are compared to slips of the wild olive tree (ἡ ἀγριέλαιος, oleaster), which was unproductive (cf. "Infelix superat foliis oleaster amaris"), acquiring richness and fertility by being grafted into the cultivated tree (ἡ καλλιέλαιος, oleo). Whether or not such a reversal of the usual system of grafting would have the imagined effect does not matter, as long as the illustration serves St. Paul's purpose well, and helps us to grasp, his conception. The common process is -"... to marry
A gentle scion to the wildest stock,
And make conceive a bark of baser kind,
By bud of nobler race." In the illustration before us a scion of wildest stock is supposed to be made to conceive through the stock of nobler race to which it is united. The selecting the olive tree for illustration is happy, inasmuch as it was not only a characteristic produce of Palestine, but also regarded as symbolical of a plant of grace; cf. Psalm 52:8, "I am a green olive tree in the house of God;" also Jeremiah 11:16; Hosea 14:6. See also the parable of Jotham (Judges 9:8, 9), where the trees apply first to the olive tree to be their king; and observe also there the word "fatness," used here also by St. Paul: Μὴ ἀπολείψασαα τὴν πιότητα μου ἐν ῇ δοξάσουσι τὸν Θεὸν ἄνδρες πορεύσομαι κινεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τῶν ξύλων; (LXX.). The "branches" against which the ingrafted scion is warned not to boast are not exclusively either the broken-off or the remaining ones, but, as the sequel shows, the natural branches of the tree generally. The Gentile Christian is not to contemn the race of Israel because so large a portion of it is at present apart from the Church and under judgment; for it is, after all, from the stock of Israel, into which he has been engrafted, that he derives all his own fertility. As to the Christian Church being ever regarded as derived from that of Israel, the fulfilment and outcome of the ancient covenant, see note on Romans 1:2; and cf. John 4:22, "For salvation is of the Jews."
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