Chapter 11 closes Paul's long discussion of the roles of Jewish and Gentile Christians, comparing Gentile Christians with a new olive branch grafted onto the old tree of Judaism. All Israel would eventually be saved.

We looked at some translation issues in Romans 11 -- the good News Bible appeared to add extra explanation by appending the words "the false god" to the word "Baal", though the original Greek does not support this. The imagery of the "table" that as a "snare" and a "trap" was lost in this translation, though it was the only translation to hand that noted that Paul's concept of "hospitality" may well have been wider than the idea of entertaining fellow-Christians.

It has been suggested that the New Testament is good theology but poor farming -- the parable of the Sower -- in which the sower recklessly misuses priceless see corn -- has been thought of as a parable that would amuse an agricultural audience, whicle explaining the complex theology that the response to the Word depends on the listener. Paul appears to have the theory of grafting backwards; usually one grafts a new branch onto an less advanced tree, whereas Paul's image does the opposite when explaining how Christianity will be a "wild branch" grafted onto the rich tree of Judaism.