Romans 11:1 – We Preach, He Enlightens
I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Truth to Learn
We are to preach the gospel to everyone, whether they will believe or not.
Behind the Words
You will notice in this translation the word “not” doesn’t appear in the first sentence, whereas in other translations it does. The word actually is in the Greek text but it should not necessarily be written in the translation. Let me explain why. The Greek word in question is me, which is a negative particle and should in most cases be translated as “not.” There is another Greek word that is translated as “not,” however, which is ou. The difference is that ou has an absolute negative interpretation whereas me has a relative negative interpretation. In fact, me is often used, as is the case in the current verse, to express a question that anticipates a negative answer.
The words “Certainly not!” are translated from me genoito, which is often translated as “May it not be.” In today’s vernacular we would say “No way!”
“Seed” is translated from sperma, meaning “that which is sown, containing the germ of life which will produce new fruit.” It is an indication that Paul is a direct descendant of Abraham.
The word “tribe” is from phulē, which is based on the verb phuō, meaning “to generate or produce.” In the common usage of this word, phulē, refers to “a tribe or a clan.”
Meaning Explained
To a Christian Jew living in Rome reading through this letter (or listening to someone read it to him or her), it may have appeared that Paul was teaching that God had rejected the Jews. This would seem preposterous to them since God had chosen them as a covenant people. So in order to clarify what he means, Paul anticipated the objection and states it as a rhetorical question, “has God cast away His people?”
As we pointed out above, this question is asked in such a manner that it requires a negative answer. This would make it immediately clear to the reader (or hearer) that Paul does not even entertain the notion that God would totally reject all Jews. So, he is asking the rhetorical question in such a way that the reader would not immediately reject his statement and would continue on.
He follows-up the question with his familiar me genoito, “No way!” As proof that God has not rejected all Jews, Paul demonstrates that he, himself, is an Israelite and not an adopted one but a natural born Israelite, a direct descendent of Abraham. The Israelites took great pride (and still do today) in knowing the tribe and sometimes even the family of Israel of which they descended. Paul states at the end of this verse that he is of the tribe of Benjamin. He will continue this thought in the following verse.
Application
In verse seven of this chapter, Paul will explain that many of the Jews have been blinded from seeing the truth. However, that does not excuse us from preaching the gospel even to those who cannot see the truth. It is not our responsibility to determine who will believe. It is simply our responsibility to preach the gospel truth. The rest is up to God.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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