Making Israel Jealous?

In Romans 11, Shaul, apostle to the gentiles, writes, “Have they [Israelites] stumbled so as to fall? Certainly not! But through their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous (παραζηλῶσαι αὐτούς; parazelosai autous).” It’s not uncommon to hear that, according to this verse, “Gentiles are supposed to provoke Jews to jealousy.” But how, in Paul's thinking, would a first-century Roman do that? Needless to say, I have heard a few interpretations of how this might happen, and maybe you have as well.

According to one creative modern interpretation, this jealousy will come from the gentiles observing the Torah in the same way that Jews do, or even better, particularly by keeping the Sabbath, eating kosher, wearing ritual fringes, etc. Farfetched? I assure you, this is not something that most of Paul's first-century disciples would have imagined, but today, some people are actually attempting this.

The supposition is that by seeing this gentile Torah observance, Jews will become “jealous” of the nations, which, in turn, will lead to Jewish national repentance and revival. Honestly, I don't think this is what Saul of Tarsus had in mind. In Paul’s thinking, the nations were not supposed to adopt a Jewish lifestyle but rather learn how to reflect the core values of love and forbearance that they themselves have experienced by interacting with one true and living God of Israel. I believe that this divine disposition of lovingkindness is what will make Israel jealous!

The word for “jealous” in Romans comes from the Greek ζῆλος (zelos), which can also means “zealous.” It's pretty straightforward. Earlier in the letter, Paul had used this term to describe Israel’s “zeal (ζῆλος; zelos) for God, but not in accordance with knowledge” (10:2) — in other words an enthusiasm for God, but not according to the knowledge (ἐπίγνωσις; epignosis) of Messiah (10:4). In his letter to Romans, Paul asks and then answers his own questions. Often, the readers of Romans zero in on the answers but miss the pertinence of Paul's questions. But questions themselves frame his answers. The apostle asks if Israel did “not understand” the divine intention for Gentiles to worship God along with them (10:18) - what does that mean? He then responds to his own question by citing verses about the nations making Israel jealous. Let's looks at some details...