Romanos 11:16

First fruit

(απαρχη). See on 1 Corintios 15:20; 1 Corintios 15:23. The metaphor is from Números 15:19. The LXX has απαρχην φυραματος, first of the dough as a heave offering.The lump

(το φυραμα). From which the first fruit came. See on Romanos 9:21. Apparently the patriarchs are the first fruit.The root

(η ριζα). Perhaps Abraham singly here. The metaphor is changed, but the idea is the same. Israel is looked on as a tree. But one must recall and keep in mind the double sense of Israel in Romanos 9:6. (the natural and the spiritual).