Graft

Grafting, the horticultural process of inserting a branch or bud of one plant into another so that they unite and grow, is used by Paul in Romans 11 as an extended metaphor for the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in God's redemptive purposes. Paul describes the Gentile Christians as wild olive branches grafted into the cultivated olive tree of Israel (Rom. 11:17–24), while natural branches (unbelieving Israel) have been broken off. The metaphor is deliberately "contrary to nature" — normally one grafts cultivated shoots onto wild stock, not the reverse — which Paul acknowledges (11:24), making the point that God's inclusion of the Gentiles is a supernatural act of grace, not a natural development. The metaphor warns Gentile believers against arrogance toward Israel and sustains hope for Jewish restoration.