Romans 11:16 BSB — MannaFest

Romans 11:16

If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And if the firstfruit is holy, so is the lump: and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

KJV

For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

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Commentary

4 voices

Irenaeus

Against Heresies Book I (202)

And that the Saviour received first-fruits of those whom He was to save, Paul declared when he said, "And if the first-fruits be holy, the lump is also holy," teaching that the expression "first-fruits" denoted that which is spiritual, but that "the lump" meant us, that is, the animal Church, the lump of which they say He assumed, and blended it with Himself, inasmuch as He is "the leaven."

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

For if the firstfruit be holy,.... Some by "the firstfruit" and "root" understand Christ, who is sometimes called, "the firstfruits of them that slept", 1Co 15:20, and "the root of Jesse and David", Isa 11:10, and indeed of all the righteous; and certain it is, that since he is holy, has all the holiness of his people in him, and is sanctification unto them, they shall be holy likewise; have it imparted to them in this life, and perfected in them in another: but this does not seem to agree with the apostle's argument.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Some by the first-fruits understand those of the Jews that were already converted to the faith of Christ and received into the church, who were as the first-fruits dedicated to God, as earnests of a more plentiful and sanctified harvest. A good beginning promises a good ending.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

For if the first fruit be holy - As the consecrating the first fruits to God was the means of drawing down his blessing upon the rest, so the conversion of Abraham to the true faith, and the several Jews who have now embraced Christianity, are pledges that God will, in process of time, admit the whole Jewish nation into his favor again, so that they shall constitute a part of the visible Church of Christ.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

16 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
εἰ	ei	If	G1487 →
δὲ	de	now	G1161 →
ἡ	hē	the	G3588 →
ἀπαρχὴ	aparchē	firstfruit	G536 →
ἁγία,	hagia	[is] holy,	G40 →
καὶ	kai	also	G2532 →
τὸ	to	the	G3588 →
φύραμα·	phurama	lump;	G5445 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
εἰ	ei	if	G1487 →
ἡ	hē	the	G3588 →
ῥίζα	rhiza	root	G4491 →
ἁγία,	hagia	[is] holy,	G40 →
καὶ	kai	also	G2532 →
οἱ	hoi	the	G3588 →
κλάδοι.	kladoi	branches.	G2798 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Proverbs 3:9
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest;
leads to
- Exodus 23:19
  Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 26:2–15
  you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go…
- 1 Corinthians 16:2
  On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a portion of his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will be needed.
- Proverbs 14:31
  Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
- Philippians 4:17–18
  Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account.
Through
James 1:18
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
leads to
- Romans 8:29–31
  For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
- 1 Peter 1:23
  For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
- John 3:3–5
  Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

Featured studies on this passage

On Romans 11:16

Firstfruits

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Israel and the Olive Tree: Romans 9–11, MannaFest

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Trees — Eden, Cross, New Jerusalem

Two trees stood in Eden and framed the first choice. One stood on Calvary and absorbed the consequence of the wrong one. The tree of life closes the canon, multiplied and unguarded.

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Walks through Romans 11

The Armor of God

Roman legionary equipment surveyed by Paul as Christian discipline (Eph 6:10–18). Six pieces of armor and a seventh element — prayer — that is posture, not armor. Every piece carries an OT echo.

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Abraham Goes to the Land of Canaan — engraving by Gustave Doré

Walks through Romans 11

Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism, MannaFest

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Walks through Romans 11

The Covenants

Six covenants in succession, cumulative rather than replacing. Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, New. Each narrowing the line of promise while widening the scope of fulfillment.

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About Romans

The Crucifixion — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Romans: the study guide →Read chapter 11 →The featured study →

Continue: Romans 11 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Romans

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Romans