Romans 11:12

Romans 11:12. Now if their trespass is, etc. ‘If' is logical, not conditional; Romans 11:11 has stated the fact here assumed.

Their diminishing. The word rendered ‘ diminishing' means, becoming inferior, suffering defeat. It has here a numerical sense: the reduction in number of the Jewish people, ‘inasmuch, namely, as the unbelieving portion by its unbelief practically seceded from the people of God' (Meyer). But the idea of a defeat is not necessarily suggested. The contrast with ‘fulness' opposes the sense of ‘impoverishment,' or ‘degradation;' while the common explanation: ‘the minority of them,' is objectionable on both lexical and grammatical grounds. The fact that the nation, regarded as the people of God, had been thus reduced proved to be the riches of the Gentiles, i.e., thus the Gentile nations were enriched through the Gospel preached to them. This is parallel to the previous phrase, ‘the riches of the world.'

How much more their fulness. ‘Fulness' has three senses: (1.) that with which anything is filled; (2.) that which is filled, the state of fulness; (3.) the act of filling. The first sense is most common, and is to be accepted here in the numerical sense (comp. Romans 11:25): that which fills up the nation to completeness. If the diminution of Israel through unbelief had such a blessed result, how much more their full number when they as a nation become believers. Some find here their full restoration or blessedness, contrasted with their impoverishment (‘diminishing'). But this leaves out of view the numerical sense, giving to both the contrasted terms a less obvious meaning, and identifies the thought of this verse with that of Romans 11:15. The reference to the filling up of the number of the elect is far-fetched. Many fanciful views of the verse have been presented.