<p>11:16 <em>And if the firstfruit is holy, so is the lump; and if the root is holy, so are the branches</em>- The &quot;firstfruit&quot; is the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 15:20,23), and the lump always elsewhere refers to the mass of believers (Rom. 9:21; 1 Cor. 5:6,7; Gal. 5:9). The holiness of the Lord Jesus is imputed to all in Him. This leads us to likewise connect &quot;the root&quot; with the Lord Jesus and the &quot;branches&quot; with all in Him. Rom. 15:12 (along with Rev. 5:5; 22:16) will define &quot;the root&quot; as the Lord Jesus. The parable of the vine in John 15 is so similar- the Lord Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, and those who do not bear fruit are cut off from Him. The similarity with this allusion to the olive tree is exact. Perhaps the olive is chosen because Paul's theme is the ministry of the Spirit, and the oil of the olive tree is more appropriate for that symbolism. The branches are made holy by their association with the root- this connects with the entire theme of imputed righteousness which Romans has so far developed.</p><p>Paul makes an association between Job and Israel in Romans 11:16,17,30:</p><div align=center><table border=0 cellspacing=16 cellpadding=0 width=80%>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td>            <p><b><font size=3><strong>Romans 11&nbsp;</strong></font></b></p>            </td>            <td>            <p><b><font size=3><strong>Job</strong></font></b></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>:35 &quot;Who hath first given to Him,&nbsp;and it shall be recompensed   unto&nbsp;Him again?&quot;. This is countering&nbsp;the Jewish reasoning that   they were self-righteous and were&nbsp;giving their righteousness as   a&nbsp;gift to God, for which they&nbsp;were blessed.</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Elihu similarly rebukes the self-righteous Job: &quot;If thou be   righteous, what givest thou him? Or what receiveth&nbsp;He of thine   hand?&quot; (35:7). Without this key from Job it would be&nbsp;hard to   understand what 'gift'&nbsp; Rom. 11:35 was&nbsp;speaking about.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>:16,17 use the figure of roots and branches to describe the&nbsp;Broken   branches refer to the&nbsp;apostate Jews.&nbsp;</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Bildad speaks of the&nbsp;wicked (i.e. Job-&nbsp; 18:4,7 cp.14:18 clearly   Jews.&nbsp; refer to him)&nbsp; &quot;his roots shall be dried&nbsp;up   beneath, and&nbsp;above shall his branch be cut off&quot; (18:16)</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table></div>