branches (Rom. 11:18). The Greek term Paul uses here is bastazō, meaning “bear,” “carry,” “lift up,” “support.” Elsewhere in the New Testament it is used of a person who bears a burden (Matt. 20:12) and of a beast which supports a person (Rev. 17:7). In Luke 11:27, it refers to a womb which bears a child, suggesting the nuance of nourishment, life support, or that upon which one is utterly dependent. Indeed, a study of various contexts in which bastazō occurs shows that this verb “implies the constant