Those Whom He Foreknew, He Has Not Rejected

Even now there remains a remnant of Israelites, for the Lord has not rejected any of his people whom he foreknew, for those whom he foreknew he also predestined, and those whom he predestined he also called, and this calling was not from works but by grace alone according to the sovereign will of the One who calls, to the Jew first and also to the Greek; but eternal punishment awaits all who stubbornly insist upon pursuing a law of righteousness apart from the One who has fulfilled the law and accomplished righteousness for those who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for there is no partiality with God.

11:1-10 Arc

editing

Romans 11:1-10

na28

mine

Λέγω οὖν,

Therefore, I say,

μὴ ἀπώσατο ὁ θεὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ;

By no means has God rejected his people!

μὴ γένοιτο•

questionanswer

ideaexplanation

καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ Ἰσραηλίτης εἰμί, ἐκ σπέρματος Ἀβραάμ, φυλῆς Βενιαμίν.

For I, also, an Israelite belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, am of the offspring of Abraham.

ground

οὐκ ἀπώσατο ὁ θεὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ὃν προέγνω.

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew,

ἢ οὐκ οἴδατε

or do you not know

ἐν Ἠλίᾳ τί λέγει ἡ γραφή,

what the Scripture says by Elijah

ὡς ἐντυγχάνει τῷ θεῷ κατὰ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ;

as he appeals to God against Israel,

temporal

κύριε, τοὺς προφήτας σου ἀπέκτειναν,

"Lord, your prophets they killed,

τὰ θυσιαστήριά σου κατέσκαψαν,

your altars they destroyed,

κἀγὼ ὑπελείφθην μόνος

and I alone am left,

καὶ ζητοῦσιν τὴν ψυχήν μου.

and they are seeking my life."

progression

actionmanner

ἀλλὰ τί λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ χρηματισμός;

Instead, the divine reply [speaks this correction and] says to him,

κατέλιπον ἐμαυτῷ ἑπτακισχιλίους ἄνδρας,

"I kept for myself seven thousand men

οἵτινες οὐκ ἔκαμψαν γόνυ τῇ Βάαλ.

who have not bowed the knee to Baal."

generalspecific

situationresponse

οὕτως οὖν καὶ

Therefore, in this manner also,

ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ

in the present time,

λεῖμμα κατʼ ἐκλογὴν χάριτος γέγονεν•

there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

inference

εἰ δὲ χάριτι,

Now if by grace,

οὐκέτι ἐξ ἔργων,

no longer from works,

conditional

ἐπεὶ ἡ χάρις οὐκέτι γίνεται χάρις.

otherwise grace no longer is being grace.

Τί οὖν;

What then?

ὃ ἐπιζητεῖ Ἰσραήλ,

That which Israel is seeking,

τοῦτο οὐκ ἐπέτυχεν,

this it has not obtained.

actionresult

ἡ δὲ ἐκλογὴ ἐπέτυχεν•

Now, the election obtained.

οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἐπωρώθησαν,

Now, those who remain were hardened.

καθὼς γέγραπται•

just as it has been written,

ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ὁ θεὸς πνεῦμα κατανύξεως,

"God gave them a spirit of stupor,

ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν

eyes to not see,

καὶ ὦτα τοῦ μὴ ἀκούειν,

and ears to not hear

series

ἕως τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας.

until this very day,"

καὶ Δαυὶδ λέγει•

and David says,

γενηθήτω ἡ τράπεζα αὐτῶν

"Let their table become to them

εἰς παγίδα

a snare,

καὶ εἰς θήραν

a trap,

καὶ εἰς σκάνδαλον

a stumbling block,

καὶ εἰς ἀνταπόδομα αὐτοῖς,

and a recompense,

σκοτισθήτωσαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτῶν τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν

let their eyes to not see be darkened,

καὶ τὸν νῶτον αὐτῶν διὰ παντὸς σύγκαμψον.

and you shall bend their back through all."

negativepositive

Chiasm? A: God has not rejected his people B: Israelite C: σπερμα of Abraham B': Tribe of Benjamin A': God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew

Dative of advantage? -Added by Paul, not in LXX -Indicative of God working for his own sake

na28

discourse

Diagram

scripturetext

components

Romans 11:1-10

na28

text

οὖν

subjectverb

solid

drop

equal

revrocket

line

pred

Λέγω

directobject

shelf

cword

vertical

ὁ

θεὸς

ἀπώσατο

τὸν

λαὸν

prepphrase

pstack

αὐτοῦ

μὴ

γὰρ

ἐγὼ

εἰμί

καὶ

predicate

Ἰσραηλίτης

φυλῆς

Βενιαμίν

ἐκ

σπέρματος

Ἀβραάμ

ὁ

θεὸς

ἀπώσατο

οὐκ

τὸν

λαὸν

αὐτοῦ

προέγνω

ὃν

smartline

dashed

free

ttext

ἢ

οἴδατε

οὐκ

ἡ

γραφή

λέγει

τί

ἐν

Ἠλίᾳ

ἐντυγχάνει

indirectobj

τῷ

θεῷ

κατὰ

τοῦ

Ἰσραήλ

ὡς

table

κύριε

line1

rocketship

ἀπέκτειναν

τοὺς

προφήτας

σου

κατέσκαψαν

τὰ

θυσιαστήριά

σου

κἀγὼ

μόνος

ὑπελείφθην

ζητοῦσιν

τὴν

ψυχήν

μου

καὶ

ἀλλὰ

vsnum

Romans 11:4

Romans 11:3

Romans 11:2

Romans 11:1

ὁ

χρηματισμός

λέγει

τί

αὐτῷ

οἵτινες

ἔκαμψαν

οὐκ

γόνυ

τῇ

Βάαλ

οὖν

Romans 11:5

λεῖμμα

γέγονεν

οὕτως

καὶ

ἐν

τῷ

καιρῷ

νῦν

κατʼ

ἐκλογὴν

χάριτος

δὲ

Romans 11:6

οὖν

Romans 11:7

Τί

Ἰσραήλ

ἐπιζητεῖ

ὃ

line2

ἐπέτυχεν

οὐκ

τοῦτο

δὲ

ἡ

ἐκλογὴ

ἐπέτυχεν

δὲ

οἱ

λοιποὶ

ἐπωρώθησαν

γέγραπται

ὁ

θεὸς

ἔδωκεν

πνεῦμα

κατανύξεως

ὀφθαλμοὺς

τοῦ

infinitive

βλέπειν

μὴ

ὦτα

τοῦ

ἀκούειν

μὴ

ἕως

τῆς

ἡμέρας

σήμερον

αὐτοῖς

καθὼς

καὶ

Romans 11:8

Romans 11:9

καὶ

Δαυὶδ

λέγει

ἡ

τράπεζα

γενηθήτω

αὐτοῖς

εἰς

παγίδα

εἰς

ἀνταπόδομα

εἰς

θήραν

εἰς

σκάνδαλον

καὶ

αὐτῶν

οἱ

ὀφθαλμοὶ

σκοτισθήτωσαν

αὐτῶν

τοῦ

βλέπειν

μὴ

σύγκαμψον

τὸν

νῶτον

αὐτῶν

διὰ

παντὸς

καὶ

[εστιν]

οὐκέτι

ἐξ

ἔργων

ἡ

χάρις

γίνεται

οὐκέτι

χάρις

ἐπεὶ

[εστιν]

χάριτι

εἰ

[λεγει]

κατέλιπον

ἄνδρας

ἑπτακισχιλίους

ἐμαυτῷ

γένοιτο

μὴ

Romans 11:10

Means or agency?

BDAG 8b?

Dative of advantage -Save IO for when there is no other nuance. -Be as precise as you can

diagram

Grammar Notes, Questions

Parsing -συνκαμψον (συνκαπτω) - perf act imp 2 sg -ανταποδομα - neut acc sg παγιδα (παγις) - fem acc sg Translation -Therefore, I say, it is not that God has rejected his people, is it? By no means! For I, also, an Israelite belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, am of the offspring of Abraham. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew, or do you not know what the Scripture says by Elijah as he appeals to God against Israel, "Lord, your prophets they killed, your altars they destroyed, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." Instead, the divine reply says to him, "I kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." Therefore, in this manner, also in the present time, he has caused there to be a remnant according to the election of grace. Now if by grace, no longer from works, because grace no longer is grace. What then? That which Israel seeks, this it has not obtained. Now, the elect obtained. Now, those who remain were hardened, just as it has been written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to not see, and ears to not hear until this very day," and David says, "Let their table become to them a snare, a trap, a stumbling block, and a recompense, let their eyes to not see be darkened, and you shall bend their back through all." Grammar Notes -εν Ηλιᾳ --> Means or instrument (BDAG, 5b) -κατα του Ισραηλ --> Against (BDAG, 2b) -προεγνω in Rom. 8:29, 11:2 - Those who are truly his people are those whom he foreknew. Those he has rejected were neither foreknown, predestined, called, justified, or glorified. -κατ᾽ εκλογην --> "Stative verbs override the transitive force of prepositions . Almost always, when a stative verb is used with a transitive preposition, the preposition’s natural force is neutralized; all that remains is a stative idea." (Wallace, 358) -2 Cor. 11:15; 1 Cor. 14:40; Gal 1:11, 4:28, 5:23; Eph. 3:7; Phil 3:6; Titus 3:7; -3rd Person Imperatives -->" With the aorist, the force generally is to command the action as a whole, without focusing on duration, repetition, etc. In keeping with its aspectual force, the aorist puts forth a summary command... One final note: the third person imperative is normally translated Let him do, etc. This is easily confused in English with a permissive idea. Its force is more akin to "he must." (Wallace 485) Questions 1. How are the OT quotations functioning in this passage? 2. How is εκλογη being used in vv. 5, 7?

Other Notes

Exegetical Notes -ως phrase in v. 2 functioning as a temporal conjunction (BDAG, 8b, p. 1105) --> The significance is that he is situating the current question in the context of a previous question of the same sort. Elijah questions the integrity of the people of God, and God assures him that there is a remnant of 7000, kept by him and for him. The current conversation is questioning God's ability to -Articular infinitives (Wallace, 590) --> In context, these appear to be purpose infinitives revealing the intention of God -οι λοιποι - 2. pert. to being one not previously cited or included, other, rest of (BDAG, 602) --> If these who are left over were not previously included, it must be asked, "What were not included in?" -->The answer would be, "The election." -προεγνω most naturally refers back to Rom. 8:29, contra Moo (674-75), who insists upon preserving a Jew/Gentile contrast. This word is only used by Paul twice, both times in Romans. The only other use is Rom. 8:29, and with Romans 9-11 being an apologetic for the truths declared in Romans 8, it makes all the more sense to see this exact same inflection ( προεγνω ) functioning in the same way. Additionally, Paul's two supporting statements (continuing the similar pattern of all of Rom. 9-10 thus far) have to do with the salvation of himself and of a remnant kept by God. It makes little sense for him to insert a statement about the non-salvific blessing of the nation of Israel into this context. Questions 1. How are the OT quotations functioning in this passage? -1 Sam 12:22 in Rom. 11:1-2 --> 1 Sam 12:19-25 ----> The Lord has not rejected his people, but he preserves them for his name's sake, all of those who fear the Lord, serve him faithfully, and do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver because they are empty --> Num 14:11-24 ; Exod. 32:1-14 ----> These passages seem to have a similar idea of preservation of a sinful people, but they do not have as explicit a reference to the perseverance of the ones who will not be rejected -1 Kgs. 19:10-18 in Rom. 11:2-4 --> What Elijah was saying against the people of God then is the same thing that you are saying about the people of God now. Now, as it was then, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. -Isa. 29:10 & Deut. 29:4 in Rom. 11:8 --> Deut 29:18-28 - -->"The Deuteronomic text thereby comes to serve Paul's purpose as a witness to divine hardening (11:7)...Paul implicitly understands the act of judgment pronounced in Isa. 29:10 as coming upon the ignorance and rebellion already present in Israel according to Deut 29:4." (Seifrid 670) ----> Seifrid sees the contexts of Isaiah (Isa. 29:18) and Deuteronomy (Deut 30:6) indicating a hopeful future in spite of the present darkness; however he seems to neglect the fact that Paul states that this day of hope has already come (quoting Deut 30:11-14 in Rom. 10:6-13), and those who continue to do wickedly will be swept away (1 Sam 12:25) [Seifrid, 670] -Psa. 69:22-23 in Rom. 11:9-10 --> Additionally, Seifrid blunts the force of this quotation by placing the emphasis on a quote of Psa. 69:9 in Rom. 15:3 . Again, he neglects the fact that this quotation, in which Christ suffers the reproaches of those who reproached God, precedes the quotation here in the context of the original Psalm. It is after Christ bears the reproaches of those who reproached God that he takes up his discourse and pleads with God that they would be blotted out of the book of the living and kept from the enrollment of the righteous ( Psa. 69:22-28 ). Nevertheless, the Lord will save Zion, and those who love his name shall dwell in it (Psa. 69:34-36) 2. How is εκλογη being used in vv. 5, 7? -κατ᾽ εκλογην --> "Stative verbs override the transitive force of prepositions . Almost always, when a stative verb is used with a transitive preposition, the preposition’s natural force is neutralized; all that remains is a stative idea." (Wallace, 358) -2 Cor. 11:15; 1 Cor. 14:40; Gal 1:11, 4:28, 5:23; Eph. 3:7; Phil 3:6; Titus 3:7; -The εκλογην χαριτι appears to stand in contrast to εργων. -The last time the "purpose of election" was referred to was Rom. 9:11-13, and "ουκ εξ εργων αλλα εκ του καλουντος" is the phrase that follows, further grounded by the citation "Jacob I loved, Esau I hated." -Once again, here in 11:5, 7, the choosing is not based on works but on grace. However, Israel, being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own righteousness by pursuing a law of righteousness, has not obtained it. The election obtains it. The rest were hardened. -So, the choosing of grace, based not on works but on the one who calls, is what makes a child of promise, an offspring of Abraham, a true member of Israel. Doxological Response -It is grace and nothing but grace that God has kept any of us from falling. He is the one who keeps for himself those whom he has foreknown, so we do not need to fear, for what can man do to us? No one can separate us from God's love if he is the one who freely bestows it upon us. No one can snatch us out of his hands if he is the one who has plucked us out of the flames. Those who fail to understand this continue to seek salvation according to their works, not knowing that their efforts are in vain. Their hearts remain hard, refusing to believe the report of the one who came near to accomplish salvation on their behalf. Their eyes remain blind, refusing to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, melting hearts of stone and opening blind eyes to turn from their wicked efforts to produce their own righteousness to the one who has become righteousness for us. May we stay the course, not turning aside to things that cannot profit because they are empty, in order that we who love his name might dwell in Zion forever.

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