Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical terms, "graft" refers to the agricultural practice of joining two plants together so that they grow as one. This concept is used metaphorically in the New Testament to illustrate spiritual truths, particularly in the writings of the Apostle Paul.
Biblical References:The primary biblical reference to grafting is found in
Romans 11:17-24. In this passage, Paul uses the imagery of an olive tree to explain the relationship between Israel and the Gentiles in God's redemptive plan. He writes:
"But if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you." (
Romans 11:17-18)
Paul continues to explain that the natural branches (Israel) were broken off due to unbelief, and the wild olive branches (Gentiles) were grafted in through faith. This grafting is not a cause for arrogance but a call to humility and reverence for God's kindness and severity.
Theological Significance:1.
Unity in Diversity: The metaphor of grafting highlights the unity of believers, both Jews and Gentiles, in Christ. It underscores the idea that salvation is available to all through faith, and that Gentiles are now partakers of the promises given to Israel.
2.
God's Sovereignty and Grace: The act of grafting illustrates God's sovereign choice and grace. It is by His grace that Gentiles are included in the covenant community, and it serves as a reminder of His mercy and the importance of faith.
3.
Warning Against Pride: Paul warns against boasting and pride among Gentile believers. The grafting metaphor serves as a caution that they should not consider themselves superior to the original branches, as they too can be cut off if they do not continue in faith.
4.
Hope for Israel: The passage also holds a promise for Israel. Paul expresses hope that the natural branches can be grafted back into their own olive tree if they do not persist in unbelief. This reflects God's ongoing plan and faithfulness to His covenant people.
Practical Application:Believers are encouraged to reflect on their inclusion in God's family with gratitude and humility. The grafting metaphor calls Christians to appreciate the richness of their spiritual heritage and to live in a manner worthy of their calling. It also serves as a reminder to pray for the salvation of Israel and to work towards unity within the body of Christ, recognizing the diversity of its members as a testament to God's inclusive love.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The process of inoculating fruit-trees (
Romans 11:17-24). It is peculiarly appropriate to olive-trees. The union thus of branches to a stem is used to illustrate the union of true believers to the true Church.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A small shoot or scion of a tree inserted in another tree, the stock of which is to support and nourish it. The two unite and become one tree, but the graft determines the kind of fruit.
2. (n.) A branch or portion of a tree growing from such a shoot.
3. (n.) A portion of living tissue used in the operation of autoplasty.
4. (n.) To insert (a graft) in a branch or stem of another tree; to propagate by insertion in another stock; also, to insert a graft upon.
5. (n.) To implant a portion of (living flesh or akin) in a lesion so as to form an organic union.
6. (n.) To join (one thing) to another as if by grafting, so as to bring about a close union.
7. (n.) To cover, as a ring bolt, block strap, splicing, etc., with a weaving of small cord or rope-yarns.
8. (v. i.) To insert scions from one tree, or kind of tree, etc., into another; to practice grafting.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
GRAFTgraft (egkentrizo; the Revised Version (British and American) "graft"; the King James Version, "graff"): The word occurs 6 times inRomans 11. Paul assumed that those living about Rome were familiar with the process of grafting olive trees, for olive culture had been adopted by the Greeks and Romans in Paul's time. The wild olive trees (Arabic colloquial, zeitun berri) are cut back, slits made on the freshly sawed branch ends, and two or three grafts from a cultivated olive (Arabic colloquial, zeitun jouwi) are inserted in such a way that the bark of the scion and of the branch coincide. The exposed ends are smeared with mud made from clay, and then bound with cloth or date straw, which is held by thongs made from the bark of young mulberry branches. The fruit thus obtained is good. Wild olives cannot be made cultivated olives by engrafting, as Paul implies (Romans 11:24), but a wild olive branch thus grafted would thrive. So Gentiles would flourish spiritually when grafted into the fullness of God's mercy, first revealed to the world through Israel.
James A. Patch
Greek
1461b. egkentrizo -- to ingraft,graft in... 1461a, 1461b. egkentrizo. 1462 . to ingraft,
graft in. Transliteration:
egkentrizo Short Definition: grafted. Word Origin from en
...1461. egkentrizo -- to take pride in, glory in
... to take pride in, glory in. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: egkentrizo Phonetic
Spelling: (eng-ken-trid'-zo) Short Definition: Igraft in Definition: I...
Library
Abide
... ABIDE. Abide in Me, and I in You"John 15..4. When a newgraft is placed in a vine
and it abides there, there is a twofold process that takes place....
The vine and the Branches
... theory of sanctification says: "But if I want a tree wholly made good I take it
when young and, cutting the stem off on the ground, Igraft just where it...
How Love Spreads Its Excellence Over the Other virtues, Perfecting...
... I Have seen, says Pliny, a tree at Tivoli grafted in all the fashions that one can
graft, and bearing all sorts of fruit; for upon one branch there were...
The Work of Regeneration.
... But let the gardenergraft a finely flavored pear upon the wild pear, or a beautiful
double tea rose upon the wild rose, and the former will yield luscious...
By a Comparison Drawn from the Wild Olive-Tree, Whose Quality but...
... if it remain in its former condition, viz., a wild olive, it is "cut off, and cast
into the fire;" [4513] but if it takes kindly to thegraft, and is changed...
The vine and the Branches.
... But when we turn to the cutting of the branch, we see reluctance and vacillation
and much to remind us that, in thegraft we now speak of, the Husbandman has...
Faustus Argues that if the Apostles Born under the Old Covenant...
... cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted
in; for God is able tograft them in again. For if...
Psalm LXVI.
... Before there had been cut off Jews, graffed in Gentiles; from the verygraft there
have been cut off heretics; but neither against them ought we to exalt...
Private Property and the Common Good
... In the Kingdom of God the "big, black book ofgraft" will be closed, and
men will no longer eat their protesting fellow-men. The...
Different Degrees of Knowledge.
... For thegraft uses as soil the tree in which it is engrafted.... [3423] Romans 12:17.
[3424] ie, thegraft is assimilated; so the Latin translator....
Thesaurus
Graft (1 Occurrence)... The two unite and become one tree, but the
graft determines the kind of fruit. 2.
(n.) A branch or portion of a tree growing from such a shoot.
...GRAFT.
...Grafted (4 Occurrences)
... (imp. & pp) ofGraft. Int.... Romans 11:23 They also, if they don't continue in their
unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able tograft them in again....
Unbelief (16 Occurrences)
... Romans 11:23 They also, if they don't continue in their unbelief, will be
grafted in, for God is able tograft them in again. (WEB...
Graffed (4 Occurrences)
Ingraft (1 Occurrence)
... 2. (vt) To subject to the process of grafting; to furnish with grafts or scions;
tograft; as, to ingraft a tree. Multi-Version Concordance...
Engraft
... (vt) See Ingraft. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ENGRAFT. en-graft' (James
1:21 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) IMPLANT)....
Persist (10 Occurrences)
... (WEY). Romans 11:23 They also, if they don't continue in their unbelief, will be
grafted in, for God is able tograft them in again. (See RSV NIV)....
Powerful (93 Occurrences)
... (See NIV). Romans 11:23 Moreover, if they turn from their unbelief, they too will
be grafted in. For God is powerful enough tograft them in again; (WEY)....
Bud (23 Occurrences)
... 6. (vt) Tograft, as a plant with another or into another, by inserting a bud from
the one into an opening in the bark of the other, in order to raise, upon...
Stock (16 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) The stem, or main body, of a tree or plant; the fixed, strong, firm part;
the trunk. 2. (n.) The stem or branch in which agraft is inserted....
Resources
What does it mean that the church has been grafted in Israel's place? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the Hebrew Roots movement? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is New Israel? | GotQuestions.orgGraft: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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