11:17 a wild olive shoot . . . grafted in. See Jer. 11:16; Hos. 14:6 for Israel as an olive tree. Wild olive shoots do seem to have been grafted into cultivated trees to bring fresh vitality to them. Paul’s words, however, probably intentionally stretch beyond strict horticulture. Gentiles have been grafted into the people of God “contrary to nature” (v. 24).