Romans 11:11,12 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Have they stumbled—? &c.— The English reader may imagine that as the same word fall is used in the translation, so it is in the same word in the Greek. But their fall, and the fall of them, is παραπτωμα, the same word which we render offence, ch. Romans 5:15; Romans 5:17-18 whereas that they should fall, is ινα πεσωσι. Now πιπτω, to fall, is used sometimes in a sense so very emphatical as to signify being slain; and it is in this sense that St. Paul uses it here; when he says, that they should fall, he means a fall quite destructive and ruinous: whereas by their fall, and the fall of them, he means no more than such a lapse as was recoverable; as in the case of Adam's offence. Through their fall, must imply only, "Through that which occasioned their fall:" for it should be well observed, that the fall of the Jews was not in itself the cause or reason of the calling of the Gentiles, or of their obtaining salvation: for, whether the Jews had stood or fallen, whether theyhad embraced or rejected the Gospel, it was the original purpose of God to take the Gentiles into the church; and that purpose, which he purposed when he made the covenant with Abraham, was the reason why the Gentiles were taken into the church,—and not the fall of the Jews. Nor, for the same reason, was their fall the necessary means of salvation to the Gentiles; for the unbelief of the Jews could be no cause of the faith of the Gentiles. Therefore their fall must not be here understood simply, but under its proper circumstances, or in connection with its cause; or as connecting the dispensation which occasioned it. The extensiveness of the divine grace, which threw down the boundaries of their peculiarity, occasioned their fall; and thus through their fall salvation came to the Gentiles; or that which made them fall, brought salvation to us. Their fall is put for the cause of their fall, by a metonymy of the effect; nor is this mode of speech objectionable, any more than that, 1 Corinthians 11:10. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head, because of the angels; where power is put for a veil, the token of man's superiority, and the woman's subjection. And so the glory of God, Romans 3:23 is put for that whereby God is glorified; and the enmity, Ephesians 2:15 is put for the cause of their enmity. Though the same word is used here and Romans 11:14 that is used ch. Romans 10:19 which is there well enough rendered provoked to jealousy; yet in this place it is improperly translated in that manner: for it is to be understood here, in the good and laudable sense; namely, being excited to emulate the good and virtuous; and therefore should be rendered, to excite them to emulation. The extensiveness of the divine grace occasioned the fall of the Jews; which extensive grace brought salvation to the Gentiles. And the Jews seeing the Gentiles enriched with the honours of God's people, appearing illustriously in the gifts of the Spirit conferred upon them, ought to have been thereby convinced of their mistake, and excited by repentance and faith to have recovered the degree of dignity whence they were fallen. Thus the Jews were so far from being fallen beyond a possibility of recovering themselves through grace, that their fall was so circumstanced, as to afford them a motive to be zealous in attempting to gain what they saw they had lost. See Locke.