Abstract
Sitting at the climax of Romans 9-11 is one of the most hotly debated verses in the New Testament, Romans 11:26. Much of modern scholarship has interpreted “πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται” (“All Israel will be saved,” 11:26) as referring in some way to the salvation of ethnic Jews. Some believe that all of the Jews of Israel will be saved because they are God’s people and God has a different plan for and relationship with Israel compared to the Gentiles. Others believe that Romans 11:26 speaks of the salvation of just the elect from within Israel throughout history. The majority position though, is that all Jews, regardless of any prior faith in Christ, will find salvation at the Parousia as Christ reveals himself to his people, just as he did to Paul on the Damascus Road. There is a small group of scholars, old and new, who understand Ἰσραήλ in Romans 11:26 to include both Jews and Gentiles.
In this thesis, I look at Paul’s use of the “remnant” in Romans 9-11 and how this idea of a remnant of faithful believers might help us find our way through the debate on 11:26. Paul draws on the Old Testament extensively in Romans 9-11, and in doing so leans on Isaiah’s concept of “the remnant.” It will be shown that Paul’s use of the remnant in Romans 9-11 makes it more likely than is usually recognized, that in Romans 11:26, Paul has the Gentiles on his mind, as well as Jews, when he says “πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται.”