Apostle Paul’s letter to Romans is not easy reading. In my opinion, it is written from the perspective of a missionary to non-Jews, who wants them to understand that they are not the axis, but a part of a much bigger ancient plan. In this message, Paul speaks about the fullness of Gentiles and seeks to explain the ontological connection of Roman Christians to the Jewish people. If one reads it carefully with this in mind it becomes obvious how Paul does this in a number of ways throughout the entire epistle.

One of the most pictorial attempts in the core of the book is the imagery of the olive tree with Gentiles being grafted into it, thus becoming a part of something they previously were not. Contrary to their nature they (Gentiles) were grafted into the cultivated olive tree among Jews because of their belief in the God of Israel. Paul calls this a mystery and tries to explain how this is possible.

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. (KJV Rom. 11:25)

The preposition “until” gives one the impression that Israel’s blindness to Jesus is temporary. Somehow the fullness of Gentiles will bring this period of unbelief to its expiration. The blindness, by the way, in this context is Israel’s inability to see the “good news” (Rom. 11:28) and according to Paul, it was divinely initiated for the sake of non-Jews (Rom 11:30-32).

What does Paul mean when he uses this phrase πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν (pleroma ton ethnon), – the fullness of Gentiles in Rom. 11:25? Because of this unclear terminology, this verse is one of those “tough” passages that can be understood in a number of ways and interpretations abound.

The word πλήρωμα (pleroma) – fullness is very broad when it appears by itself (just like in English). To mind comes a passage from the Torah that speaks about “the fullness of the sin of Amorites” (Gen. 15:16). God gave opportunities to Canaanites to repent, waiting for their sin to reach the limit, and then the Israelites are allowed to take over their land. In The New Testament, one reads about the fullness of the time of Gentiles (Luke 21:23). The passage resounds the prophets of Israel, predicting the rule of the Gentiles over Israel. But that rule comes to a conclusion as well, ending the times of the Gentile domination of Israel.

These examples shed light on what fullness can mean in a broader sense. But what is the fullness of Gentiles exactly? Questions like this usually cannot be answered with certainty. Much of what follows in the next paragraphs is only a hypothetical consideration and educated guessing. Still, considering new possibilities can be worthwhile for the sake of understanding the text.

The most common opinion is that in this context the word means full number.  For this reason, the RSV and NIV translate fullness of Gentiles as “full number of Gentiles”. But numerical fullness presumes that God has some kind of a threshold; a quota of how many Gentiles he wants grafted in. Is Paul really saying that what it takes are the great numbers of Gentiles to remove Israel’s temporary blindness?

Perhaps the fullness of Gentiles can mean something besides numerical fullness. The idea of fullness has to do with something which was not full in the beginning but is being filled, completed, taken to its culmination and maximum capacity. It can refer to capability, capacity, and potential.  It can be related to a purpose. Looking carefully at the greater context the passage the “fullness of Gentiles” is paralleled with the “fullness of Jews” in Rom 11:12.

Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness? (KJV- Rom. 11:12)

Just a few sentences away from 11:25 the word πλήρωμα (pleroma) – fullness is clearly not numeric. One would be hard-pressed to interpret fullness in such a way in verse 12. Paul is a rabbi and this sentence is a good example of kal vachomer technique found in many rabbinic writings. It follows a simple logic “from smaller to greater”. If the fall and diminishing is a positive benefit for Gentiles, then how much more will fullness be? The fullness must be something opposite, something, in contrast to the fall and diminishing and certainly more positive in the capacity of potential.

The English word “fall” in this verse is not a literal translation. It was utilized by the translators in a figurative way. It does not literally mean to go from a higher elevation to a lower one. The Greek word is παράπτωμα (paraptoma) is a kind of sin, which can certainly be pictured idiomatically as a fall. But more precisely it means a “trespass” or a “transgression”, a “lapse”, “crossing the line”, perhaps something similar to Hebrew מַעַל (ma’al) or פֶּשַׁע (pesha). It implies non-malicious and “unintentional sin”, a “sin of ignorance” (Lev 15:15; Ex. 34:7). Perhaps this is exactly what Paul means when he asks a rhetorical question in Rom 11:11 ”Have they stumbled that they should fall?”. Israel has stumbled, made a mistake, but Israel is not in utter ruin, this is not the end. The word used in Greek for “fall” in this particular instance quite literally means “a fall” – going from a higher place to a lower one.

Perhaps this is exactly what Paul means when he asks a rhetorical question in Rom 11:11 ”Have they stumbled that they should fall?”. Israel has stumbled, made a mistake, but Israel is not in utter ruin, this is not the end. The word used in Greek for “fall” in this particular instance quite literally means “a fall” – going from a higher place to a lower one.

In the greater context of Rom 11:12 the opposite of fullness is a transgression, trespass, lapse, stumbling. Making an inference from the opposite, the fullness in Rom 11:12 must mean something similar to righteousness and completeness. Going full circle back to Rom. 11:26 the fullness of Gentiles then can mean “righteousness of Gentiles” And righteousness is not holiness, not perfection, but right-ness, a condition when one is doing what he is supposed to do, fulfilling one’s purpose the way it was meant to be. When Gentiles enter such a state, the hardening, the partial blindness that happened to Israel will stop.

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. (KJV Rom. 11:25)

Paul reveals a mystery. The partial blindness to Israel was caused intentionally so that non-Jews can have God’s mercy. If Israel accepted Jesus right away there would be no opportunity for such mercy to the nations, because God’s promises to Israel would unfold immediately. Just like the pagan world needed a witness of one God by Israel, so now Israel needs a witness of this same God working among Gentiles.

It is possible that Paul is trying to say that the right standing of Gentiles will cause Israel as a people to consider the good news. This effect will be a loud witness indeed. The mystery for Paul’s audience is the condition of Jewish people at the time of this letter was written. It would have been easy for Romans to see God’s kindness to them as a sign of Israel’s unworthiness and rejection. Yet Paul insists on the opposite. It is God’s plan for the sake of his readers. Israel stumbled, but this is temporary. Once Gentiles attain the right standing they need to have they will make Israel jealous (Rom. 11:11) and all will be restored. At least that is how Paul saw this.

It is an interesting vision of the future and God’s plans that Paul paints in his letter to the Romans. As an apocalyptically-minded Jew, wrapped up in the messages of Israel prophets his thoughts can be hard to follow. One of the obstacles to understanding Paul’s vision is his terminology. What does he mean by the fullness of Gentiles? Maybe these considerations are a long shot. But it seems that they harmonize much better with Pau’s overall logic than the idea of numerical fullness somehow bringing transformation to Israel.