Easton's Bible Dictionary The process of inoculating fruit-trees (Romans 11:17-24). It is peculiarly appropriate to olive-trees. The union thus of branches to a stem is used to illustrate the union of true believers to the true Church. Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) A small shoot or scion of a tree inserted in another tree, the stock of which is to support and nourish it. The two unite and become one tree, but the graft determines the kind of fruit. 2. (n.) A branch or portion of a tree growing from such a shoot. 3. (n.) A portion of living tissue used in the operation of autoplasty. 4. (n.) To insert (a graft) in a branch or stem of another tree; to propagate by insertion in another stock; also, to insert a graft upon. 5. (n.) To implant a portion of (living flesh or akin) in a lesion so as to form an organic union. 6. (n.) To join (one thing) to another as if by grafting, so as to bring about a close union. 7. (n.) To cover, as a ring bolt, block strap, splicing, etc., with a weaving of small cord or rope-yarns. 8. (v. i.) To insert scions from one tree, or kind of tree, etc., into another; to practice grafting. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia GRAFT graft (egkentrizo; the Revised Version (British and American) "graft"; the King James Version, "graff"): The word occurs 6 times in Romans 11. Paul assumed that those living about Rome were familiar with the process of grafting olive trees, for olive culture had been adopted by the Greeks and Romans in Paul's time. The wild olive trees (Arabic colloquial, zeitun berri) are cut back, slits made on the freshly sawed branch ends, and two or three grafts from a cultivated olive (Arabic colloquial, zeitun jouwi) are inserted in such a way that the bark of the scion and of the branch coincide. The exposed ends are smeared with mud made from clay, and then bound with cloth or date straw, which is held by thongs made from the bark of young mulberry branches. The fruit thus obtained is good. Wild olives cannot be made cultivated olives by engrafting, as Paul implies (Romans 11:24), but a wild olive branch thus grafted would thrive. So Gentiles would flourish spiritually when grafted into the fullness of God's mercy, first revealed to the world through Israel. James A. Patch

Multi-Version Concordance Graft (1 Occurrence) Romans 11:23 They also, if they don't continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. (Root in WEB WEY ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)