Romans 10:19-21
“But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.”
King James Version
The Gentiles provoking Israel to jealousy, Paul's strategy in Romans to explain Israel's partial hardening and future restoration.
Fulfillment References
Deuteronomy 32:21 Isaiah 65:1-2 Romans 11:11
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalPaul shows that Israel's stumbling and the Gentiles' inclusion were foretold: God would 'provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people' (Deut. 32:21), and Isaiah's bold word — 'I was found of them that sought me not' — describes the Gentiles, while to Israel God stretched out His hands all day. The one God's plan, written long before, was to gather a people from the nations in the Lord Jesus, and so to provoke Israel to return.
JewishPaul reads Deuteronomy 32:21 and Isaiah 65:1-2 of Israel's unbelief and a 'no-people' provoking them; the interpretation serving the Gentile mission is Paul's.
CatholicGod's foretold inclusion of the Gentiles and patient appeal to Israel; the mystery of Israel and the nations (Rom. 9-11).
ProtestantThe Gentiles found by God who sought Him not, and Israel's resistance — foretold in Moses and Isaiah, fulfilled in the gospel.
AcademicPaul strings together Deut. 32:21 and Isa. 65:1-2 to argue Scripture anticipated both Gentile faith and Israel's obduracy.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.