Romans 11:7

What then? A phrase of resumption after the digression.

Israel Here, obviously, the nation. Cp. Romans 9:6.

hath not obtained Lit. did not obtain. The crisisof the offer of the Gospel to them is in view in the tense. So did obtain it, just below.

that which he seeketh for i.e. a Righteousness before God; a valid ground of acceptance. This was the aim of their efforts, as much when St Paul wrote as ever before; but the method was fatally wrong. Cp. Romans 10:3.

the election i.e. the companyof the chosen. For a similar collective use of singular nouns, cp. the phrases (so frequent in this Epistle) "the circumcision," "the uncircumcision."

were blinded Better, were hardened. (So hardening, Romans 11:25, below.) The verb indicates failure of sensation;of which blindness is only a special instance. The best commentary is ch. 9. The verb rendered "harden" there is not the same, but the idea is the same. Here, as there, St Paul states this dark mystery of the Divine dealing with sinners with no attempt at explicit clearing up. He does not try to conjure away the cloud around the throne, but commits the mystery to "the Judge of all the earth."