1. Romans 9-11 is dominated by the terms "Israel" (eleven times) and "Israelite" (two times). This is in marked contrast to Rom 1-8, where Paul speaks only of "Jews" (nine times). The shift from using "Jews" exclusively to using "Israel" and "Israelite" almost exclusively points to a subtle but significant distinction between these terms. The distinction originated when the tribes of Israel split into two kingdoms after the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 12). Ten tribes from the north broke away and formed the "house of Israel", while the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin became the "house of Judah". Over the next several centuries, the northern tribes and then the southern tribes were forced into exile, and most of them never returned. The small remnant that eventually returned from Babylonian captivity and resettled in Palestine in the sixth century B.C. became known as "Jews", taking their name from the dominant tribe (Judah) and occupying the land around Jerusalem in the south (Judea). By Paul's day, the term "Jew" was used more broadly to mean someone who followed the Mosaic religion of Judaism and looked to the Temple of Jerusalem as the focal point of spiritual life, regardless of whether he lived in Judea or abroad. Most religious Jews traced their lineage to the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. It seems, then, that when Paul begins talking about "Israel" in Rom 9-11, he is shifting to a larger historical perspective that stretches beyond the compass of "Jews" and evokes memories of "all Israel" as a national family of twelve tribes (Deut 27:9; Josh 3:17; 2 Sam 5:5; 1 Chron 9:1; Ezra 6:17; Tob 1:4-6, etc.). Paul seems aware, in other words, that the classical notion of "Israel" is more inclusive and far-reaching than the contemporary notion of "Jews".

2. As Paul develops his argument in Rom 9-11, he draws from passages of the Old Testament that promise salvation for all the tribes of Israel. Tribes from the Northern Kingdom of Israel are in view in several passages (e.g., Is 10:22-23 at Rom 9:27-28, and 1 Kings 19:10 at Rom 11:4), and tribes from the Southern Kingdom of Judah are in view in others (Is 1:9 at Rom 9:29, and Joel 2:32 at Rom 10:13).

3. When Paul describes himself as an "Israelite" in Rom 11:1, he does so with explicit reference to his tribal affiliation (the tribe of Benjamin).

4. Paul's hope for the salvation of "all Israel" is in line with the prophetic hopes of the Old Testament, where the spiritual restoration of all twelve tribes, after centuries of division and exile among the Gentiles, is one of the towering expectations for the messianic age (Sir 36:11; 48:10; Is 11:11-12; 49:6; Jer 3:18; 50:17-20; Ezek 37:15-28; 48:1-35; Zech 8:13, etc.). The same hope for a restoration of the twelve tribes is expressed in ancient Jewish sources outside the Bible (e.g., 4 Ezra 13:39-48; Psalms of Solomon 17:28, 44; Testament of Benjamin 9:2; 10:11; 2 Baruch 78:4-7).

HOW IS ALL ISRAEL SAVED?

At least two different views of how Israel comes to salvation are current today.

1. The two-covenant view, developed in modern times, holds that Israel will be saved apart from Christ and apart from any acceptance of the gospel. In other words, proponents of this view envision a bi-covenantal arrangement where the Mosaic covenant continues in force alongside the New Covenant, with the former intended to save the Jews and the latter to save the Gentiles. In support, advocates contend that "Christ" is never explicitly mentioned in Romans 11, that "the Deliverer" foretold by Isaiah refers to Yahweh rather than the Messiah (Is 59:20 cited in Rom 11:26), and that the "covenant" of forgiveness mentioned by Isaiah is the Mosaic covenant rather than the New Covenant (Is 27:9, alluded to in Rom 11:27).

2. The New Covenant view, held by the vast majority of interpreters through the ages, holds that Israel will be saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. This second view is far more probable than the first, as it alone is consistent with the immediate context of Rom 9-11 and the wider context of Paul's theology and writings. In point of fact, the bi-covenantal view collides with the whole message of Romans, namely, that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings "salvation" to Jews and Gentiles alike (Rom 1:16), that one must confess faith in Jesus to be "saved" (Rom 10:9), and that Paul thinks of his missionary efforts among the Gentiles as a means to "save" his Israelite kinsmen (Rom 11:14). There is every reason to suppose, moreover, that Paul is thinking of Christ and the New Covenant when he quotes the words of Isaiah in Rom 11:26-27. For Paul, the risen Jesus is our Deliverer (1 Thess 1:10) and the one who takes away sin through the sacraments of the New Covenant (Rom 6:1-11). By contrast, the Mosaic covenant is something that condemns rather than saves (Acts 13:38-39; Rom 3:20; 2 Cor 3:4-11). In Paul's mind, then, there is no "alternative way" of salvation for Israel apart from the grace of Jesus Christ that comes through the preaching and acceptance of the gospel (Rom 10:14-17; CCC 765; 839-40).

THE CLIMAX of Paul's discussion is the revelation that Israelites from all twelve tribes will be saved by the Messiah through the mercy and forgiveness of the New Covenant (Rom 11:26-27). Seen in this way, the teaching of Paul simply echoes the teaching of Jesus, who not only selected twelve apostles to signify the messianic restoration of Israel (Mt 10:2-5), but sent them out to recover the "lost sheep" of Israel (Mt 10:6) and promised to seat them on twelve thrones over "the twelve tribes of Israel" (Mt 19:28). None of this is surprising when we consider that the Church, which is the messianic kingdom of Jesus (Mt 16:17-19; Lk 22:28-30), is modeled on the ancient kingdom of David, which unified all twelve tribes under the anointed king (2 Sam 5:1-5; 1 Kings 11:42), even as it stretched beyond the borders of Israel to encompass the Gentiles (1 Kings 4:21; Ps 2:8; 72:8-11). For further details on this theme in the New Testament, see note on Lk 1:33, essay: Kingdom Restoration at Acts 15, and related passages in Acts 26:7, Jas 1:1, and Rev 7:18; 21:10-14. « Back to Romans 12:1.

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