04_Reasoner_388-404 28/10/14 10:43 Pagina 392 392 MARK REASONER verse, “Can vows and holy meat ward off evils from you? Or will you escape from these?”, we find Jeremiah’s description of Israel as an olive tree, which we shall consider below. Besides the em- phatic insistence that Paul is praying for his people’s salvation at Rom 10,1, we may also note that the beginning and ending of this section on Israel contain prayer language related to the place of Is- rael in the divine economy 14. Third, against Jeremiah’s word (Jer 7,29) that God has rejected his people — avpedoki,masen ku,rioj kai. avpw,sato th.n genea.n th.n poiou/san tau/ta, the same verb appears in Rom 11,1 to assert that God has not rejected them — Le,gw ou=n( mh. avpw,sato o` qeo.j to.n lao.n auvtou/* mh. ge,noito 15. The catchword “reject” is found in exactly the same inflection in both texts, avpw,sato. Fourth, against Jeremiah’s word that his people will fall (Jer 6,15b) — dia. tou/to pesou/ntai evn th/| ptw,sei auvtw/n kai. evn kairw/| evpiskoph/j auvtw/n avpolou/ntai( ei=pen ku,rioj, Rom 11,11 asserts that the chosen people have not stumbled so as to fall — Le,gw ou=n( mh. e;ptaisan i[na pe,swsin* mh. ge,noito.16 Verbal links are the catchwords pi,ptw (“fall”) and ptai,w (“stumble”) that are found in both texts. While I am not arguing for Paul’s conscious, intentional inversion of these Jeremiah texts, it may be noted here that Rom 11,11, which uses these two key words from Jer 6,15b while contradicting that text, begins its question with “I say, then” (le,gw ou=n). Perhaps this is marking an inversion from a previous text, as if the Romans text is signaling “In contrast to Jeremiah, I say then … ” 17. Fifth, Rom 11,16-17 juxtaposes two metaphors for God’s people — the first fruits section of a lump of dough, then an olive tree with roots and branches. Most Romans commentators find nothing in Paul’s scriptures behind his unexpected assertion that if the first 14 Rom 9,3 (cf. Exod 32,32); 11,33-36. 15 Jer 7,29b (see also Lam 5,22); Rom 11,1. 16 Cf. also Jer 8,4 — [Oti ta,de le,gei ku,rioj Mh. o` pi,ptwn ouvk avni,statai* ― with Rom 11,11. Origen has already noticed the connection between Jer 8,4 and Rom 11,11 in his commentary (8.8.30-32; ed. C. Ham- mond Bammel 682). 17 Paul may be tapping into the introductory prophetic topos of the prophets, “It shall no more be said … , but … ” (Isa 47,5; 62,4; Jer 3,16; 7,32; 16,14; 19,6; 23,7; 31,29).