The Nature and Importance of Faith
The mention of the importance of faith in the last two verses of the preceding chapter leads naturally to this famous chapter on faith. It is impossible to know whether the author is making use of a source, which he now takes over in part or totally, or whether he is composing a fresh catalogue of heroes on the model of existing examples. Extensive reviews of the history of Israel had been composed to substantiate a warning or to provide encouragement, and some of these would have been known to our author. As examples, we may mention Psalm 78; Wisdom of Solomon 10; Sirach 44–50; 1 Maccabees 2:51–64; and Acts 7.
The author’s purpose in this magnificent section of his letter is to encourage his readers to emulate these heroes and heroines of faith, who on the basis of what they knew about God and his promises had the courage to move out into the unknown, with their hearts set upon, and their lives controlled by, a great unseen reality. The application of the chapters comes to full expression in the following chapter. This list of heroes is meant to provide the readers with strength and encouragement in their own difficult circumstances. According to our author, if there is a key to unlock the gate to effective Christian existence, it is to be found in the reality and the motivating power of faith.
11:1 In his opening statement, the author makes it plain that faith is oriented to things not yet present or visible. Faith has in mind what (plural, “things”) we hope for, that is, what (plural, “things”) we do not see. What then is the nature of faith concerning these things? The answer hinges on the meaning of two key words in this verse. Both words are capable of being interpreted subjectively or objectively. NIV opts for the subjective meaning in both cases, thus focusing on the assurance or inner certainty of faith with respect to things hoped for and not yet seen. Throughout this chapter, however, the emphasis concerning faith is not on the subjective confidence of the persons mentioned, but on the ways in which they acted out, or gave expression to, their faith.
The author’s argument is that faith results in conduct that points unmistakably to the reality of what is not yet seen. The first of these two words, which NIV translates being sure, is a noun that can be understood (as NIV does) in a subjective sense. Many translations choose this interpretation (RSV and NASB: “assurance”; GNB: “to be sure”). It is equally possible, however, as well as more natural, to understand the word in an objective sense, as expressing the basis or foundation of things hoped for. Some translations follow this interpretation (KJV: “substance”; NEB: “gives substance”; JB: “guarantee”; cf. Geneva Bible: “Faith is that which causeth those things to appear in deed which are hoped for”).
The second key word, which NIV translates certain, is a noun that means “a proving” or “a means of proof.” Many commentators have interpreted this word as referring to the subjective certainty or “conviction” of faith (cf. 10:22). But here too the objective sense is to be preferred, parallel with the first statement (so interpreted). The action produced by faith is a manifestation or a proving of the reality of things not yet seen.
The objective interpretation of these two words is in agreement with one of the major emphases of the entire chapter, that is, that faith is active in obedience. But when faith manifests itself in this way, the unseen and the hoped-for become real. Faith expressed in this way can be said to objectify what is believed. This in turn strengthens faith itself (which is why faith and obedience must accompany each other).
The objective understanding of this verse, of course, presupposes the reality of subjective assurance (itself dependent on the experience of God’s goodness) as the wellspring of acts of faith. But it is the expression of faith rather than the conviction of faith that is the author’s point in this chapter. The obedient response of faith substantiates what is promised. Effective faith, although directed to future realities, also in a sense makes the future present. Faith that is authentic recognizes the reality of the unseen and allows itself to be governed by that reality. In a similar vein, Paul can write, “so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). And he adds a little farther on, “we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). What our author provides here is not so much a technical definition of faith as it is a description of what authentic faith does and how God provides evidence in the practice of faith that what he promises will eventually come to pass. The future and unseen realities can be made real by Christians through faith. We may paraphrase this verse in the following words: Faith through its active character gives substance to, that is, expresses the reality of, things hoped for; it demonstrates the truth of things not yet seen.
11:2 This is what the ancients (lit., “the elders”; a common Jewish term with a variety of uses that here must take its meaning from the following list of persons) were commended for (lit., “born witness to” or “attested”). The same verb occurs in a similar statement in verse 39 that rounds out the list of the heroes and heroines of faith. These men and women of the past are to be brought forward as specific illustrations beginning in verse 4, so that the present verse can serve almost as a title for the remainder of the chapter.
11:3 But the author begins his great catalogue with a reference to the origin of the created order, for here he finds an illustration of the very principle in faith that involves unseen reality coming to concrete expression. The universe (lit., “the ages”) was brought into existence at God’s command (lit., “by the word of God”; cf. Gen. 1; Ps. 33:6, 9), with the obvious result that what we know and see was not made out of what was visible (lit., “not from things which appear”). Thus the creation itself involves a model similar to faith. The event of the creation is like faith in that it is an unseen reality of exceptional importance that is prior to and indeed generates the world we can see. Our understanding of the creation of the universe through the word of God is itself by faith. That is, here too we reckon the truth of an unseen reality, despite the account of creation given in Scripture. From the creation we may indeed know of God’s power (Rom. 1:20) but not the manner of its creation, that is, that it was created by his word.
Additional Notes
11:1 The word faith (pistis) is used more often in Hebrews than in any other NT book, occurring twenty-four times in the present chapter alone. Faith in Hebrews involves active obedience rather than a passive belief in the truth of God. (Cf. the close relationship between unbelief and disobedience in 3:18f.) This obedience obviously also involves trust. Thus the word faith in Hebrews approximates “faithfulness” (cf. 10:36–39). See R. Bultmann, TDNT, vol. 6, pp. 205–8. The Greek word underlying being sure of (hypostasis) occurs elsewhere in Hebrews in two places. In the first of these (1:3) the word has an objective sense and is translated “being” by NIV: “the exact representation of his being.” In its second occurrence (3:14) the word may have a subjective sense and is translated “confidence” by NIV: “the confidence we had at first.” Even in this passage, however, an objective sense is possible (as Koester argues). The objective sense is probably to be favored in the present passage because it is more in keeping with the normal meaning of the word and the main thrust of the chapter. A third option, similar to the objective meaning of the word, has been suggested on the basis of the use of the word in contemporaneous secular papyri, where it means “title-deed” or “guarantee” (thus J. H. Moulton and G. Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament [London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1930]). See G. Harder, NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 710–14 and H. Koester, TDNT, vol. 8, pp. 585–88. The second key word (elenchos), which underlies NIV’s certain, occurs only here in the NT. Against understanding the word as subjective persuasion, see F. Büchsel, TDNT, vol. 2, p. 476. Behind NIV’s what we hope for is the strong Christian word for “hope” (elpizomenon), which involves not wishful thinking, but confident expectation (cf. 6:11; 10:23; Rom. 8:24f.). The reason for the confidence of this hope—and indeed of our faith itself—is the faithfulness of God (cf. 10:22f.). Faith is explicitly related to what is unseen also by Philo (On Dreams, 1.68). What the author here means by the unseen will become clear as the chapter unfolds.
11:2 The verb for “well attested” (martyreō) is used three times to refer to Scripture (7:8, 17; 10:15). In the present chapter it also occurs in the sense of being attested in Scripture, and perhaps also tradition (vv. 4, 5, 39). The word “elders” occurs only here in Hebrews. It lacks the technical meaning it has elsewhere in the NT, here meaning something like “ancestors.” The listing of examples from the past illustrating some virtue or ideal is found not only in Jewish literature (see introduction to the present section) but also in Hellenistic, and particularly Stoic, literature.
11:3 In the Greek text, this is the first of eighteen sentences where the initial word is pistei (“by faith”). Thus, the word receives emphasis by its very position in each of these sentences, and the repetition itself is intended to have a cumulative impact on the reader. Of the twenty-four occurrences of the word “faith” in this chapter, this is the only time the author applies it to himself and his readers directly. The word for understand (noeō) is found only here in Hebrews, but is the same word used by Paul in Rom. 1:20 in a similar context. “The ages” (aiōn) is the same expression used in 1:2, but the word for “create” here (katartizō) is different from that used in 1:2 (it occurs elsewhere in Hebrews only in 10:5 and 13:21). Although from 1:2 we know that our author views the Son as God’s agency in creation, we do not have this Christology reflected in the reference to creation by the word. Rather than logos for “word” (as in John’s logos Christology, John 1:1–3), here the Greek word is rhēma. Our author gives no sign of a knowledge of a logos Christology. On the significance of this verse for the doctrine of creation ex nihilo, see the excursus in Hughes, Hebrews, pp. 443–52. The new creation brought to pass in the preaching of and response to the gospel is described in the similar language of bringing something into existence out of nothing (cf. 1 Cor. 1:28). The God of creation is the God of the new creation and in the gospel he works a new miracle.
The Faith of Abel, Enoch, and Noah
Our author’s catalogue of heroes and heroines of faith begins with three examples drawn from the early chapters of Genesis, from the time before the flood. These examples, like those that follow, are meant to inspire the readers to exhibit the same kind of faith (cf. 6:12). Common to all of them, and therefore to the whole chapter, is the fact that these individuals were motivated by the unseen reality of God and his purposes. Their faith found expression in their obedient faithfulness.
11:4 Although the details of the Genesis account (Gen. 4:2–16) are far from clear, Abel’s offering was for some reason acceptable to God whereas Cain’s was not. We do not need to know the details, however, to accept our author’s argument that faith—that is, unreserved commitment to the reality of God and the absolute character of his claims upon us—was the decisive difference. Cain in some way held back from God, whether in the offering itself or in his heart; Abel held nothing back, but acted in a way consistent with his inner conviction. It was this that made Abel’s sacrifice better (this word is a general term of comparison that can mean “more adequate,” “more acceptable”). NIV spells out by faith (for the literal pronoun “by which”) in the next two sentences in this verse. Was commended, as in verse 2, is literally “was well attested,” referring to the account in Genesis, as is clear in the deliberate allusion to the words of the LXX of Genesis 4:4, God spoke well of his offerings. By his faith, and the action springing from it, Abel was thus attested as a righteous man (cf. v. 7). The first murder produced the first martyr, and Abel’s innocent blood was not forgotten (12:24; Matt. 23:35; cf. Gen. 4:10). Having died for his faithfulness, Abel continues to speak the message of faith.
11:5 If in Abel faith speaks through a dead man, in Enoch it speaks through one who never died. NIV’s threefold taken of this verse is literally “translated,” that is, conveyed from one realm to another. Genesis has very little to say about Enoch. Twice in the Hebrew text it is recorded that he “walked with God” (Gen. 5:22 and 24), which in the LXX is translated as “he pleased God.” This expression, pleased God, is used by the author here and in the following verse. The words he could not be found, because God had taken him away, are a quotation from the LXX of Genesis 5:24. This reference to the translation of Enoch directly from this world to the next, made him, like Elijah, a very special figure in Jewish eschatology, wherein he was expected to appear again as one of God’s special envoys. The important thing for our author is not the miraculous translation of Enoch but rather the statement about Enoch having pleased God (contrast 10:38: “I will not be pleased with him”). For this indeed is what it means to walk in faith (as the next verse argues). Thus without providing any detailed information, our author seizes upon the idea of “pleasing God” as indicative of the reality of faith. If we may say nothing else about Enoch, we can assert that his life was controlled by the unseen reality of God. The general application is made in the following verse.
11:6 The author is now addressing his readers as much as he is commenting on the significance of Enoch. Enoch could live a life that pleased God only by his acceptance of the reality of God (that he exists, lit., “that he is”; cf. Exod. 3:14) and the conviction that God would reward him (lit., “that God is a rewarder”). But this orientation involves faith, since it involves what is not directly apparent to the senses (cf. v. 27, “he saw him who is invisible”). The appeal to the readers is left implicit but is nonetheless real. Faith in this sense is fundamental to all religious experience (cf. Rom 10:14).
11:7 In this third example of faith, Noah (Gen. 6:9–22) acts upon divinely revealed warnings about things not yet seen. The author thus returns explicitly to the orientation of faith toward the unseen and the future (cf. v. 1). This is a dominant motif in the chapter (see note). In this specific instance, and in contrast to all the others in this chapter, the unseen and future involve the threat of imminent judgment rather than eschatological blessing. NIV’s in holy fear is literally “having reverent regard for [the divinely revealed warnings or commandments].” Noah accordingly prepared an ark in obedience to God, in spite of the ridicule of those around him, for (lit.) “the salvation of his house.” The faith (NIV’s By his faith is lit., “through which”) of Noah served to highlight the unbelief of the world and thus to demonstrate the propriety of its condemnation. Noah in turn became heir of the righteousness that comes by (lit., “according to”) faith. The language is at first glance the language of Paul (cf. Rom. 3:22, 24; 4:13). But in context it cannot be read in a Pauline way. Noah’s faith expressed itself in action (cf. Gen. 6:9, 22; 7:1). Our author is not arguing the doctrine of salvation against the legalism of Judaizers but describing how righteousness is fundamentally a matter of faith in the unseen, leading to appropriate action. The key is not in the “believing” alone, as it is in Paul, but in faith as the cause of proper conduct. This for our author is the tradition of righteousness in which Noah became enrolled (cf. 10:38).
Additional Notes
11:4 Two textual variants in this verse should be noted. First, P13 and Clement of Alexandria omit the words tō theō (in the first reference to God in the verse). Although stylistic reasons argue for their omission, the textual evidence in favor of the words is nearly overwhelming, and thus they are to be retained. The second variant amounts to a harmonizing with the dative case of the word just mentioned, with the result that NIV’s second sentence would end with the words “being well attested by his gifts to God.” This would leave the Greek participle unaccounted for grammatically, however, and thus despite some weighty textual support, the reading is to be rejected. On both of these variants, see Metzger, TCGNT, pp. 671f. The greater acceptability of Abel’s offering was more probably due to his inner responsiveness than to the offering itself. It is probably wrong to stress the quantitative aspect (as does Westcott) of the Greek word underlying NIV’s better (polys), as though it were the size of the offering alone that mattered. Similarly it is probably incorrect to emphasize that Abel’s sacrifice was of animals, whereas Cain’s offering was of the fruits of the earth, and thus to find great significance in Abel’s sacrifice as indicating a conscious sin offering or an early theory of atonement by blood. There is no hint of this in the text. Even the LXX is probably not to be followed when, departing from the Hebrew text, it attributes the unacceptability of Cain’s offering to a ritual mistake: “not rightly dividing it” (Gen. 4:7, LXX). For the verb “be well attested” (martyreō), see note on v. 2 above. The word for a righteous man (dikaios) is the same word used in 10:38. It occurs again in Hebrews only in 12:23.
11:5 The verb “translated” (metatithēmi), which occurs twice in this verse, derives from the LXX quotation (Gen. 5:24). It appears in only one other place in Hebrews, 7:12, where NIV translates “change” (referring to the priesthood). The cognate noun “translation” (metathesis) that occurs in this verse (lit., “before the translation”) also surfaces in 7:12 (“a change”) and 12:27. The verb pleased (euaresteō), here and in the next verse, is drawn from the same LXX quotation. It occurs only once again in Hebrews (13:16). For intertestamental references to Enoch, after whom a corpus of literature was named, see Wisdom of Solomon 4:10; Sirach 44:16; 49:14; Jubilees 10:17; and 1 Enoch 71:14 (these are writings originating in the intertestamental period and later, known collectively as apocrypha and pseudepigrapha).
11:6 The concept of “pleasing” God is taken up from the LXX and applied generally to righteous living in the Christian church. Our author can use this language in a similar way (see 12:28; 13:16, 21; cf. Rom. 12:1f.; 14:18; Phil. 4:18; Col. 3:20). Comes to him (proserchomai) is not used in the technical way that it is elsewhere in the NT (see note on 4:16). As important as the noun faith (pistis) is in this chapter, the cognate verb “have faith” (pisteuō) occurs only once in this chapter. Its only other occurrence in Hebrews is in 4:3. The noun “rewarder” (misthapodotēs) occurs only here in the NT, but the related noun “reward” (misthapodosia) is found in 2:2; 10:35; and 11:26 (but only in Hebrews).
11:7 The word underlying warned (chrēmatizō) is a technical term for the reception of divine oracles. It appears in Hebrews also in 8:5 and 12:25. Behind in holy fear is the Greek verb eulabeomai, which occurs only here in the NT. One meaning of the word is “to be afraid” or “concerned,” but here it may well mean “to have reverent regard for.” See BAGD, p. 322. The expression heir of the righteousness (which occurs nowhere else in the NT) is reminiscent of “heirs of what was promised” (6:17). The word heir (klēronomos) is found again in 1:2. When Paul refers to the righteousness that comes by faith, he uses ek pisteōs (e.g., Rom. 9:30; 10:6) and never kata pistin as in our text.
The reality of the unseen is a controlling theme in the present chapter, as can be seen from the following list:
v. 1—things hoped for, but not yet seen
3—creation from what cannot be seen
6—that God exists and rewards
7—events yet unseen
8—an unknown country
10—the city with permanent foundations (cf. 13:14)
13—from a long way off they saw (the things God promised)
14—looking for a country
16—the heavenly country
26—kept his eyes on the future reward
27—as though he saw the invisible God
Even beyond these explicit references, it is assumed that the champions of faith referred to in this chapter act as they do because of their full conviction concerning the reality of God and his promises. The result is that from the world’s perspective their conduct looks rash and unjustifiable.
The Faith of Abraham and Sarah
In the OT Abraham is the man of faith par excellence. According to Genesis 15:6, “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Paul can describe Abraham as “the father of all who believe” (Rom. 4:11; cf. Gal. 3:9). Our author understandably gives more space to him than to any other of the examples he brings forward. Three major episodes from Abraham’s life come into view: the departure to the holy land; the later fulfillment of the promise of descendants; and, in verses 17–19, the sacrifice of Isaac. In all of these, faith is wonderfully illustrated. It was faith that enabled Abraham to overcome obstacles that from a human perspective were insurmountable. Our author’s “by faith” formula is applied to Abraham four times: verses 8, 9, 11 (but possibly referring to Sarah), and 17.
11:8 In this first example (drawn from Gen. 12:1, 4) the essence of faith is beautifully and simply expressed. Abraham is called by God to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance. Abraham obeyed and departed, although he did not know where he was going. Abraham leaves the known and the familiar to be led wherever God leads him. He acts on the basis of God’s promise alone, heading toward the unseen and unknown (cf. the definition of faith in v. 1). Abraham is thus controlled by God and his promise. This is exactly what faith entails and what our author wants his readers to emulate (cf. 13:13).
11:9 Despite the fact that he came to the promised land, he did not settle there as though that were his final goal. Indeed, he continued to live as a pilgrim in this world, a stranger in a foreign country (Gen. 23:4) even in the land of promise, a dweller in tents (e.g., Gen. 12:8; 13:3; 18:1), rather than more permanent structures. And in this he was followed by his son and grandson (to be mentioned again in vv. 20–21), Isaac and Jacob, who were literally heirs with him (or fellow-heirs) of the same promise (cf. 6:17).
11:10 The reason for this attitude of Abraham, so strange by the world’s standards, is now made clear. He knew that what God ultimately had in store for his people transcended security and prosperity in a parcel of real estate on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. The author now uses the metaphor of a city—no doubt with the eschatological image of the heavenly Jerusalem in mind (cf. v. 16; 12:22; 13:14; Rev. 21:2). Alternatively, he can speak of a heavenly country as its equivalent (v. 16). The city looked for by Abraham is described as one with foundations—that is, one that is stable and lasting—a city whose architect and builder is God himself. Our final goal, our eschatological hope, is not the accomplishment of human technology but God’s creation. Its reality, though yet to come and hence unseen, is such that our conduct in the present should be motivated by it. This point will receive elaboration in verses 13–16.
11:11–12 The second example of Abraham’s faith (drawn from Gen. 17:15–21; 18:9–15; and 21:1–7) involves the fulfillment of God’s promise of descendants. Abraham put his trust in God’s faithfulness. Because he considered him faithful who had made the promise: this trust enabled Abraham and Sarah to accomplish the humanly unthinkable (cf. Abraham’s response, Gen. 17:18; and Sarah’s in 18:12 and 21:7). Thus despite his (and Sarah’s) age and Sarah’s (and his) barrenness, Abraham was enabled to become a father (lit., “received power to beget”). The result of faith in this instance was that from this one man, who was “worn out,” “impotent,” or as good as dead, as the participle can be construed, came forth an abundance of offspring. This abundance, now seen as fulfillment, is deliberately described in the language of the covenantal promises to Abraham recorded in Genesis (see Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 32:12). God was faithful to his promise, and it was by their faith that Abraham and Sarah experienced God’s faithfulness. Our author’s argument here is very similar to Paul’s in Romans 4:16ff. There Paul refers to God as the one “who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17). He too describes Abraham’s body with the expression “as good as dead” (4:19), using the same word as the author of Hebrews; and he describes Abraham’s attitude in these words: “being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised” (4:21).
Additional Notes
11:8 Abraham is frequently celebrated as a hero of faith in Jewish literature. Thus, material generally parallel to the emphasis of the present passage may be found, e.g., in Sirach 44:19–21; Wisdom of Solomon 10:5; and Philo, On Abraham and The Migration of Abraham. Our author puts together faith and obedience in a way similar to James 2:14–26. Abraham not only has faith, but he acts congruently with that faith: he obeys God. The word used for go to (exerchomai) is the same verb used in the LXX of Gen. 12:1. The word inheritance occurs only here and in 9:15 in Hebrews. As it is used here, inheritance (klēronomia) refers to the land promised to Abraham (of which Isaac and Jacob are said to be “heirs with him” in v. 9). This is indeed the common use of the word, but our author can also use it in a fuller sense, as in 9:15. See W. Foerster, TDNT, vol. 3, pp. 776–85.
11:9 In the speech of Stephen in Acts 7 the same point is made. When Abraham went out to the land, God “gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground” (Acts 7:5). The verb underlying made his home … like a stranger (paroikeō, “sojourn”) is used frequently in reference to Abraham in the LXX, e.g., Gen. 12:10; 17:8; 19:9; 20:1; 26:3 (cf. the cognate noun “sojourner,” paroikos, in Gen. 23:4). Abraham, however, is nowhere described in the LXX with the word “foreigner” (allotrios) as our author describes him. Two similar words are used in v. 13, “aliens and strangers on earth.” The Genesis narrative indicates several times that Abraham dwelt in a tent (e.g., Gen. 12:8; 13:3; 18:1ff.).
11:10 The metaphor of “a city” (polis) to come has Jewish antecedents and derives from the importance of Jerusalem. Philo uses the metaphor in describing the promise to Abraham (Allegorical Interpretation 3.83). Paul draws on this tradition when he refers to “the Jerusalem that is above” in Gal. 4:26, and it is found in Revelation in the reference to “the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21:10). The early Christian writer Hermas utilizes the image of the city in a way similar to, and perhaps dependent upon, Hebrews (Shepherd, Similitude 1.1). The metaphor is used again by our author in v. 16 and 12:22 (cf. 13:14). It is the eschatological reality that awaits the people of God. This reality controlled Abraham (although of course he obviously would not have been familiar with this later metaphor). See H. Strathmann, TDNT, vol. 6, pp. 529–33. The reference to the foundations of the city may well be derived from Ps. 87:1 (cf. RSV). See also Rev. 21:14, 19f. NIV’s architect and builder translates two rare nouns in the NT. The first of these, techniēs (“craftsman,” “designer”), is found elsewhere in the NT only in Acts 17:29; 18:3; and Rev. 18:22; the second, demiourgos (“maker,” “creator”), occurs only here in the NT. Philo uses both words (or their cognates) in describing God (e.g., Who Is the Heir? 133). In the Epistle to Diognetus the same two words are used to describe Jesus as the agent of creation (7:2), but this is perhaps influenced by Hebrews. The argument that God’s people find their true home elsewhere than in the present world (cf. vv. 13–16) is found in several other places in the NT (e.g., Phil. 3:20: “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ”; cf. 1 Pet. 1:1, 17; 2:11). An argument similar to that of the present passage is found in Hebrews 3:7–4:11 where entrance into the land of Canaan was found not to provide the rest that God had promised.
11:11–12 A serious textual problem exists at the beginning of v. 11 that revolves around the subject of the verse: Is it Abraham or Sarah? NIV (with GNB; against RSV, NEB, and NASB) concludes, probably rightly, that Abraham is the subject. The strongest reason in favor of this conclusion is that the language of v. 11, “received power to beget” is regularly used for the male and never for the female. The question then becomes whether to construe the words “Sarah herself barren,” or, as some mss read, “Sarah herself.” It is not necessary to take the words as an early gloss inserted into the text. The words can be explained as datives (which in the earliest mss would have been indistinguishable from nominatives) and understood as referring to accompaniment, i.e., “with (barren) Sarah herself” (thus, among others, Michel and Bruce). They may also, however, be understood as nominatives and taken as a Hebraic circumstantial clause, “even though Sarah was barren” (thus Metzger [TCGNT] and the UBS committee). These natural possibilities, together with the normal meaning of the verb, make is unnecessary to argue in favor of Sarah as the subject. Further benefits from these solutions (keeping Abraham as the subject) are that they make it unnecessary to accept an unannounced shift in the subject (back to Abraham) in v. 12 and obviate the problem in the Genesis account that Sarah lacks faith (see especially Gen. 18:12–15).
Hughes’s interesting suggestion that Sarah be understood as the subject and that the verb be taken as “establishing a posterity” seems strained and less satisfactory than the solutions suggested above. See Metzger, TCGNT, pp. 672f. On the technical term “beget” (lit., “to lay down seed”), see BAGD, p. 409. What was reckoned as true by Abraham—that the one who promised was faithful—is expressed by our author in exactly the same words in his exhortation to the readers in 10:23. (See note on that passage.) The participle lying behind NIV’s as good as dead (nekroō) occurs in exactly the same sense in Rom. 4:19 (the only other NT occurrence of the verb is in Col. 3:5, where, however, it has a different sense). The OT phrases about the abundance of stars in the sky and sand on the seashore had, because of their occurrence in the Genesis passages, become very familiar metaphors for God’s faithful blessing of Abraham.
The Transcendent Nature of Hope
Our author interrupts his inventory of paragons of the faith and their specific triumphs of faith in order to elaborate the material of verses 8–10. The perspective set forth here, wherein one lives in this world as an alien, is of the essence of faith as it is first described in verse 1. The things hoped for, although not yet seen, control the life of the person of faith. The OT saints looked for the reality God had promised. It was an eschatological reality, “a heavenly country,” “a city” prepared by God. The implications for the author’s Jewish readers and their present situation are clear. Indeed, it is just this kind of faith that views life as a pilgrimage that the author desires for his readers.
11:13–14 The paragons of faith mentioned thus far, like those about to be mentioned (cf. v. 39), died without receiving the things promised (lit., “the promises”). They died while living by faith, that is, having lived their lives under the controlling influence of a reality distant and not yet experienced, they faced death in that same spirit. Their believing response to what lay in the future is described by the author in the picturesque language of their having seen it from a distance and having welcomed it (John 8:56). It was their orientation toward the promises that enabled them to regard their present status as only temporary and to describe themselves as aliens and strangers on earth (Gen. 23:4; 47:9; 1 Chron. 29:15; Ps. 39:12). Their true home accordingly lay elsewhere, and thus they sought for themselves a country of their own (lit., “fatherland,” “homeland”). Although the author does not use the language of shadow and reality here (as in 8:5 and 9:23f.), he could easily have done so. The promises and the experience of temporal, earthly blessings were for these persons only the shadow or copy of the transcendent eschatological reality to come.
11:15–16 Abraham and his family could, of course, have returned to Mesopotamia if they had continued to regard that land as their true home. But this was not what was in their thoughts or what governed their lifestyle. Nor should it be in the minds of the readers (see 10:39). It was not their absence from Mesopotamia that caused Abraham and his family to refer to themselves as strangers and exiles. What they looked for was a better, a heavenly place (the word country does not actually occur in these verses; NIV carries it forward from v. 14). The author again refers to a city that God has prepared for them (cf. v. 10). This is an eschatological expectation, not a temporal one. The point of the words God is not ashamed to be called their God (cf. Exod. 3:6) is simply that God is faithful to his promises. Their expectation may thus be referred to as an already existing reality. Indeed, it is already being experienced by the church (12:22), as well as something yet to come in all its fullness (Rev. 21:2).
Additional Notes
11:13–14 Here the opening word in the Greek is not pistei, “by faith,” as it is regularly in this chapter, but kata pistin, lit., “in accordance with faith.” No important difference is meant by this change, which is probably due to the following verb, “they died.” It is not “by faith” because faith does not explain their dying. It is rather “in faith” or “in accordance with faith” that they died, i.e., with their hearts set upon the goal that God promised them, NIV’s interpretive expansion still living by faith for the simple kata pistin has the effect of making this point clear.
It is plain from this verse (13) that Abraham did not experience God’s promises in their deepest sense. Earlier (6:15) our author indicated that Abraham did receive a kind of initial fulfillment of the promises. But that initial fulfillment was far short of the true intent of the promises. By identifying the expectation of Abraham with that of the church (cf. vv. 39–40), the writer again underlines the unity of salvation history. The verb underlying receive (komizō) occurs elsewhere in Hebrews in 10:36 and 11:39 together with the noun “promise” (cf. also 11:19). The Greek for from a distance (porrōthen) occurs only here and in Luke 17:12 in the NT. Welcomed (aspazomai), which may also be translated “greeted,” occurs again in its normal sense twice in 13:24. Admitted is from homologeō, a verb that occurs again in 13:15 (“confess”). The word strangers (parepidēmos) is used in a similar way in 1 Peter (1:1, 2:11) to describe the life of the Christian in this world. First Peter 2:11 links this word with the synonym paroikoi, instead of xenoi (NIV translates both “aliens”). (Our author uses the cognate verb paroikeō, “lived as a foreigner,” in v. 9.) Looking for reflects the strong verb epizēteō, “seek,” which occurs in exactly the same sense in the exhortation of 13:14. The words “country of their own” occur only here in Hebrews (cf. Luke 4:24).
11:15–16 The patriarchs were faithful in their expectancy. Therefore they did not desire to return to Mesopotamia (NIV’s thinking of is lit., “remembering”). This stands in sharp contrast to the generation that wandered in the wilderness and failed to enter God’s rest (4:6), but who instead desired to return to Egypt. Longing for translates oregomai, a rare word in the NT (occurring elsewhere in the NT only in 1 Tim. 3:1; 6:10). Better, a key word in Hebrews, is most often used to contrast the old covenant with the superior new covenant (see note on 1:4). For heavenly (epouranios), see note on 3:1. What is in view is that transcendent and perfect reality that awaits the saints of God (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9; Rom. 8:18). When Jesus quotes Exod. 3:6, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Matt. 22:32), he adds that “He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” This suggests, in a way similar to the present passage, that the patriarchs will through the resurrection inherit the transcendent promises that God had spoken to them. God’s purpose was that “only together with us would they be made perfect” (v. 40). The city that God has prepared has already been referred to in v. 10. See note on that verse.
Abraham’s Offering of Isaac and the Faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph
The third and perhaps the most remarkable example of Abraham’s faith is now set forth: the offering of Isaac. To this are added brief references to Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The faith of all these men is seen in their confident orientation to the future and the unseen (cf. v. 1).
11:17–18 The story of the testing of Abraham’s faith related here is drawn from Genesis 22:1–14 and became very important in Jewish tradition under the title “The Binding of Isaac” (also known as the Aqedah). Although Abraham had bound Isaac and, in obedience to God, was about to slay him as a sacrifice, God intervened at the last instant. NIV’s offered is to be understood in this sense. When God tested him is an expansive translation for the simple “being tested.” As our author points out, the testing took on an unusual significance since Abraham was the one who had received the promises. This is emphasized by the quotation in verse 18 that explicitly names Isaac as the one through whom the promise of descendants would be realized. This quotation is drawn from Genesis 21:12 and may be literally translated as “In Isaac will your seed be named.” Abraham endured a most severe form of testing but through it demonstrated his faith, that is, his absolute, unshakable confidence in the reliability of God’s promises.
11:19 From Abraham’s point of view, God’s power was such that if necessary the sacrificed Isaac could be raised by God “from the dead” (God could raise the dead). The next clause is difficult to interpret exactly. Figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death reads literally, “from whence he received him in a parable.” This may mean no more than that since Isaac was as good as dead at the point of being sacrificed, it is “as though” he had been raised from the dead. There may, however, be a deliberate allusion here to Isaac as an anticipation of the resurrection of Christ. For, like Abraham, God sacrificed his only son, whom he has now received again from the dead through the resurrection. Thus the binding of Isaac may foreshadow not only the sacrifice of Christ but also his resurrection.
11:20 By faith Isaac was able to bless Jacob and Esau in regard to their future (lit., “concerning things to come”). Isaac, who received the same covenant as Abraham, spoke confidently of the future (Gen. 27:28f., 39f.) because he trusted God’s promises. He therefore stands with his father in the lineage of faith.
11:21 In a similar way, the dying Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph. The reference to the blessing of the two sons of Joseph, rather than to the blessing of his own twelve sons (Gen. 49), is probably by the prompting of the preceding reference to Isaac’s blessing of Jacob and Esau. Jacob, however, unlike Isaac, deliberately sought to bless the younger of the two, Ephraim (Gen. 48:15ff.). The last clause in this verse is taken practically verbatim from the LXX of Genesis 47:31. It is difficult to know why the author includes it. Perhaps he regards Jacob’s attitude of worship as particularly appropriate to the reality of Jacob’s faith.
11:22 As in the two preceding examples, we again are presented with a glimpse of a hero of faith who is close to his death (lit., “dying”). Thus these examples illustrate vividly the statement in verse 13 about dying “in faith.” Because of his faith in the faithfulness of God, Joseph had knowledge of the future and was able to speak of (lit.) “the exodus of the sons of Israel” and give directions (lit.) “concerning his bones” (see Gen. 50:24f.), which like Jacob’s, were to be brought to the promised land.
Additional Notes
11:17–18 The author’s language in v. 17 is close to the language of Gen. 22. “The binding of Isaac” is referred to in some Jewish liturgies for the New Year. For allusions to this story, see also Sir. 44:20; Wisd. of Sol. 10:5; 4 Macc. 16:20 (cf. 13:12). The reference to only son may reflect indirect influence of the Christology of the early church, in which of course the title was very important. Paul may build upon Gen. 22 in Rom. 8:32 and some have thought that John 8:56 may have this story in mind (cf. John 3:16). The word for one and only son (monogenēs) does not occur in the Genesis narrative according to the LXX. There (Gen. 22:2) Isaac is referred to as “son … whom you love” (or “beloved,” agapētos), a closely related word and an apparently alternative translation of the same Hebrew word. The use of the expression “only son” in reference to Christ occurs only in the Johannine literature of the NT. (For “beloved son,” see Mark 1:11; 9:7; 12:6, and parallels.) Isaac, of course, was not Abraham’s only son—but he was the only son of Sarah and the only son of the so-called line of promise as the next verse unequivocally points out. He was therefore the unique son. James (2:21f.) also refers to Abraham’s offering of Isaac as an example of one whose “faith was made complete by what he did.” For Isaac as a type of Christ in early Christian literature (e.g., Barnabas 7:3), see references in Hughes, pp. 485f. The Greek verb about to sacrifice (prospherō) can also be described as an inceptive imperfect tense, “he began to offer,” without completing the deed. The promises again connote not simply those of a temporal quality, but more particularly the transcendent expectations they foreshadowed. See note on 4:1. On the importance of the present passage for the author’s perspective, see J. Swetnam, Jesus and Isaac: A Study of the Epistle to the Hebrews in the Light of the Aqedah (Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1981).
11:19 Reasoned (logizomai) means to “count as true.” It occurs only here in Hebrews, but is used frequently in connection with Abraham in Rom. 4. Resurrection is not an important idea in Hebrews (the resurrection of Christ is explicitly referred to only in 13:20). The ascension of Christ, which of course presupposes his resurrection, plays the most significant part (see note on 1:13 and the importance of Ps. 110:1 in the book). The word “parable” (parabolē) was used earlier by the author in 9:9 (where NIV translates: “this is an illustration”). It is possible that when the author writes “from whence [the dead] he received him,” he is thinking of the generation of Isaac from one who was “practically dead” (v. 12; so Westcott). Abraham’s faith may then be interpreted to mean that God has the power to raise up another son like Isaac from Sarah. Yet in the Genesis narrative Abraham seems to believe that it is Isaac who will somehow be spared (Gen. 22:5, 8). Thus, it is more likely that Abraham believed in the power of God to raise Isaac from the dead if need be. And so, symbolically (figuratively speaking), he did receive Isaac back from the dead, whereby Isaac foreshadows the resurrection of Christ. Paul’s words about the power of the God in whom Abraham believed are pertinent: “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17).
11:20 The verb underlying “things to come” (mellō) is used frequently in Hebrews to indicate the eschatological hope of the faithful (see 1:14; 2:5; 6:5; 10:1; 13:14). “Blessed” (eulogeō) in this context refers to the Hebrew custom of passing the promise, and the privileged position that goes with it (cf. 6:14), from one generation to another. Thus a father who is nearing death blesses his son or grandson (as Abraham blessed Isaac, Gen. 25:11; Isaac blessed Jacob, Gen. 27:27ff.; and Jacob blessed Joseph, Gen. 48:15, and Ephraim and Manasseh, Gen. 48:20). See H. Beyer, TDNT, vol. 2, pp. 754–65.
11:21 On the word blessed, see preceding note. Although the LXX has Jacob leaning upon his staff, the Hebrew of Gen. 47:31 says he “bowed himself upon the head of the bed” (RSV). The words for “bed” and “staff” consist of the same three consonants (mṭh) vocalized differently. The Masoretes of the early Middle Ages chose the vowels for “bed,” and so it has come to us in our Hebrew Bibles. The physical object leaned upon is of little significance; what matters is the attitude and pose of worship that points to Jacob’s faith.
11:22 Joseph’s faith can be abundantly illustrated from a variety of episodes in his life. Understandably he became much celebrated for the character of his life (e.g., Philo, On Joseph; Testament of Joseph; Josephus, Ant. 2.9ff.; Ps. 105:17ff.; Wisd. of Sol. 10:13f.; 1 Macc. 2:53; Acts 7:9f.). Joseph’s faith not only made him confident of the eventual deliverance of the sons of Israel but also gave occasion for him to give instructions about his own remains. These instructions were duly accomplished, according to Exod. 13:19 and Josh. 24:32. On the unusual use of the Greek word mnēmoneuō (spoke about or “mentioned”), see BAGD, p. 525.
The Faith of Moses and the Israelites
Moses is a hero of faith who is of central significance in Judaism, and he thus naturally assumes a major place in our author’s catalogue. The author selects a few of the more important events in the life of Moses, beginning with his survival as an infant because of his parents’ faith and concluding with a general reference to the exodus and the peoples’ participation in the same faith Moses had. Again the emphasis is on the unseen and God’s faithfulness to his promises.
11:23 The very life of Moses was dependent upon faith from the beginning. As a newborn baby, he was saved by the faith of his parents. It was at great personal risk that they disobeyed Pharaoh’s commandment that sons born to Hebrew parents were to be put to death (Exod. 1:22), yet they were not afraid. They trusted God and his faithfulness, and for three months they kept their son hidden (Exod. 2:1ff.). The reference to the child as no ordinary child (lit., “beautiful”) is drawn from the LXX (Exod. 2:2; cf. Acts 7:20). Our author could have gone on to stress the parents’ faith in setting the infant afloat in a basket and the remarkable reward of that faith when his own mother was called to be his nurse.
11:24–26 The fruit of faith has been shown in several ways thus far: for example, confidence concerning the unknown and the future; obedience to the difficult and unexpected command of God; courage in the face of fear. Now the author illustrates how faith enables personal self-denial in the choice of suffering rather than pleasure. Moses refused what would have been the dream of most: to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Instead he chose to identify with the suffering of his people (Exod. 2:11f.; cf. Acts 7:23ff.). To stay in Pharaoh’s court would have meant the enjoyment of pleasures, that is, immediate gratification, albeit only for a short time. This choice would have involved Moses’ turning his back on the needs of his people and hence had to be described as sin. The key to Moses’ behavior, so strange by the world’s standards, is stated in verse 26. He was motivated by his reward. This is the same word used in 10:35, also in a context referring to suffering. With that ultimate or transcendent reward in view, Moses counted it true that to suffer reproach for the sake of Christ led to greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. The words for the sake of Christ are of course anachronistic, reflecting categories of thought much later than the time of Moses. Given the continuity of God’s saving purposes, however, when Moses suffered reproach for his loyalty to the people of God, in principle he may be said to have suffered reproach for loyalty to Christ (cf. 13:13).
11:27–28 Like his parents (v. 23), Moses was unafraid of the mighty Pharaoh. This passage refers not to Moses’ flight from Egypt after killing the Egyptian but, as the context suggests, to his leading the people of Israel out of Egypt in the exodus (Exod. 12:51). Again alluding back to the opening verse of this chapter, the author describes Moses’ accomplishment through faith in these words: he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. The mention of perseverance may be taken to refer to the entire sequence of events that culminated in the exodus itself. Moses was motivated by his conviction of the reality of what is unseen. In keeping with the thrust of the entire chapter, it is probably the transcendent hope that is in view, which, to be sure, in the final analysis depends upon the existence of God (v. 6) and his faithfulness. Verse 28 moves from the general to the specific, the means by which the deliverance of the Israelites was effected. Faith made the Passover (Exod. 12:12f., 21–30) a possibility. The destroyer because of the sprinkled blood would not touch the firstborn of Israel (lit., “their [first-born]”). Thus it was Moses’ faith that caused him to obey God. He acted in confidence with respect to God’s faithfulness. The result was the deliverance of the Israelites and the punishment of the Egyptians.
11:29 The people (lit., “they”) exhibited the same kind of faith as Moses did. They were confident that God would deliver them and thus prove himself faithful to his promises. It was this faith that enabled them under Moses’ leadership to pass through the Red Sea in the miracle of the dividing of the waters (Exod. 14:21–29). But the Egyptian pursuers had no such faith and thus came to their end when they tried to follow the Israelites. Thus the events of the exodus—that central deliverance of God’s people in the OT—were possible only by faith.
Additional Notes
11:23 The Hebrew text of Exod. 2 refers only to the mother of Moses, not his parents (lit., “fathers”) as in the LXX. Some of the language of this verse reflects the language of the LXX narrative. The word asteios (NIV’s no ordinary, but lit., “beautiful”) occurs in the NT only here and in Acts 7:20, where in dependence upon the LXX it also describes the infant Moses. In the latter passage, Moses is said to be “beautiful before God” suggesting that asteios in our verse means something more than mere physical beauty. Thus in our passage “beautiful” should perhaps be understood as “acceptable” or “well-pleasing” to God, in which case the parents may have somehow understood that God had a special purpose for their son. See BAGD, p. 117. The word for edict (diatagma) occurs only here in the NT. Cf. the present verse with Acts 7:17–22.
11:24–26 When he had grown up also reflects the language of Exod. 2:11 (Acts 7:23 mentions the age of “forty”). Moses, of course, is a much celebrated figure in Jewish literature (see, e.g., Philo, Life of Moses; Josephus, Ant. 2.230ff.; Sir. 45:1ff.). The particular Greek verb underlying mistreated along with (synkakoucheomai) occurs only here in the entire NT. The word for “enjoyment” (apolausis) is found elsewhere in the NT only in 1 Tim. 6:17. A point similar to that made by our author in for a short time (proskairos) is made by Paul with the same Greek word in 2 Cor. 4:18: “For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Proskairos is used similarly in 4 Macc. 15:2, 8. The deceptive character of sin is mentioned in 3:13 (cf. 12:1). For Moses it would have been sin (hamartia) to remain in his privileged position in Egypt, since God had a work for him to do. (This is in contrast to Joseph, whose calling was to remain in his high position in Egypt in order to help his brothers; cf. Gen. 43–50.) The treasures of Egypt were famous for their immeasurable wealth. But in Moses’ perspective they paled into insignificance. He therefore willingly suffered disgrace (oneidismos) for the sake of Christ (christos). The scorn or reproach God’s people receive from their enemies is a familiar idea, in both the OT and NT. The same word is used in passages such as Ps. 69:9 and 89:50f. (the latter even connects the reproach with “your anointed one,” christos). The suggestion of some commentators that Moses himself is “the anointed one” toward whom the reproaches were directed is not convincing. Rather, when Moses suffers the reproach of Pharaoh’s court, he suffers the reproach of God’s people and thus of the Messiah who is one with his people. Clearly the use of the word Christ (i.e., “Messiah”) here is a deliberate device employed by the author with his readers in mind. For they indeed are called to suffer reproach for the Christ (13:13), whose coming is already an event of the past. Any abuse they may suffer is not significant when compared to what God has prepared for them. The argument is the same as that of 2 Cor. 4:17: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (cf. Matt. 5:11f.). The word for reward (misthapodosia) occurs only in Hebrews. The same root is found in v. 6 where God is described as a “rewarder.” See note on 10:35.
11:27–28 The major reason this passage is probably not a reference to Moses’ initial flight from Egypt is that according to Exod. 2:14, and contrary to our passage, Moses was afraid of Pharaoh when he fled. That was not yet the time for God’s deliverance of his people (cf. Acts 7:25). The words because he saw him who is invisible are possibly, but not necessarily, an allusion to the vision of the burning bush (Exod. 3:2–6). They can equally well be understood as simply a repetition of the importance of faith’s orientation to the unseen (which of course includes the reality of God; cf. 1 Tim. 6:16). For the importance of the unseen, see vv. 1, 3, 7. The verb persevered (kartereō) occurs only here in the NT. On the disputed meaning of the word, see BAGD, p. 405. See also W. Grundmann, TDNT, vol. 3, p. 617. The endurance or perseverance in view here is that displayed in Moses’ struggle with Pharaoh for the deliverance of his people. Kept is NIV’s rendering of the perfect tense of poieō (“make” or “do”), by which our author probably has in mind not only the original event, but the institution of the Passover. (He does not pick up the christological implications of the Passover, as Paul does for example, in 1 Cor. 5:7.) On the Passover (pascha), see J. Jeremias, TDNT, vol. 5, pp. 896–904. The sprinkling (proschysis, which occurs only here in the NT) of blood is often referred to in Hebrews, but in connection with the Day of Atonement rather than the Passover, and using a different word (rhantizō). Destroyer (olethreuō) is drawn from the LXX and occurs only here in the NT (but cf. the cognate in 1 Cor. 10:10). In the Exodus story, the “messenger of destruction,” as the Hebrew may be rendered, destroyed the first-born of both humans and beasts. See J. Schneider, TDNT, vol. 5, pp. 167–71.
11:29 The Red Sea is “the sea of reeds” according to the Hebrew text of Exodus (cf. 13:18). The deliverance is celebrated in the “Song of Moses” (Exod. 15).
The Faith of Rahab and Countless Others
Our author continues his catalogue of paragons of faith with a reference to the fall of Jericho and the faith of Rahab. At this point, however, he realizes that he will be unable to continue the same degree of thoroughness, and he thus proceeds to mention a few more specific names and then to speak generally about the ways in which true faith manifests itself. Many persons of faith experienced great victories through deliverance from their enemies; others experienced victories through their ability to endure suffering and martyrdom. But through faith all are victorious in one way or another. The author rounds out this long essay on faith by pointing to the fact that all these prior paragons of faith were unable to arrive at the final goal of blessing and fulfillment apart from those who, like his readers, believe in Christ in the present. The family of faith, as can now be seen, is one. The application to the readers follows in chapter 12.
11:30 The second example of the faith of the Israelites as a people (cf. v. 29) is found in the conquest of Jericho. By faith they marched around (lit., “circled”) the walls of the city (Josh. 6:12–21). They trusted God to do what he said he would do through this otherwise apparently foolish behavior. By their faith and obedience God thus accomplished his purpose through them.
11:31 It is perhaps something of a surprise to find the prostitute Rahab, a non-Israelite, mentioned alongside the great names of righteous Israelites (cf. James 2:25). But she too, most remarkably, had come to have faith in the God of Israel, perhaps by hearing of the victories of Israel and the power of Israel’s God (Josh. 2:11). She acted in faith when she welcomed the spies (lit., “received with peace”). In doing so she put her own life in danger, but the outcome was that she and her family escaped the destruction that came upon the city and its disobedient inhabitants (Josh. 2; 6:17, 23). Despite her unrighteous profession to that point, Rahab manifested the faith that counts upon the reality of the unseen.
11:32–35a Realizing that he has only begun to mention examples from the OT, the author laments that he cannot continue. He then simply lists six names and refers to the prophets as others whom he could discuss if time permitted. We do not know why these specific names are mentioned. The list appears to be arbitrary, and the names are not listed in exact chronological order. The first four names are from the book of Judges: Gideon (6:11–8:32); Barak (4:6–5:31); Samson (13:2–16:31); and Jephthah (11:1–12:7). Although not of equal importance, all these men demonstrated their faith in God, and it is recorded (except for Barak) that the Spirit of the Lord came upon each of them. David and Samuel are of course much better known (from the books of Samuel), as are the prophets, among whom must be included not only those whose names are associated with canonical books, but also Elijah and Elisha.
The exploits that follow are not in any particular order and do not parallel the names just mentioned in any structured way. Rather, the author now describes in general language the various kinds of victory won through faith. These, like others who remain unmentioned, conquered kingdoms; this is probably an allusion to the victories recorded in Joshua and Judges, but may include also David’s victories. Administered justice (lit., “wrought righteousness”) may simply refer to the obedience of these faithful persons, but NIV’s understanding of the phrase as a reference to the establishing of justice by these leaders is also possible.
Gained what was promised (lit., “received the promises”) may refer either to a degree of fulfillment they experienced in their lifetimes or to the reception of further promises concerning the future. The reference to stopping the mouths of lions could refer to Samson (Judg. 14:6), David (1 Sam. 17:34f.), or most conspicuously, Daniel (Dan. 6:22). Quenched the fury of the flames suggests Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Dan. 3:1–30). Escaped the edge (lit., “mouth”) of the sword can refer to several of the prophets, for example, Elijah (1 Kings 19:2–8) or Jeremiah (Jer. 36:19, 26). The references to weakness being turned to strength and the defeat of foreign armies (cf. v. 33) are general enough to apply to many OT personalities. The women who received back their dead, raised to life again (lit., “by resurrection”) are clearly the non-Israelite widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17–24) and the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:25–37), both of whom had their sons raised from the dead (by Elijah and Elisha respectively). In the case of the widow of Zarephath, it was Elijah’s faith that made the raising possible.
11:35b–38 The others here do not stand in contrast to the names (and “the prophets”) of verse 32, but in contrast to all those who experienced victories of the kind described in the immediately preceding verses. Some through faith experienced victories of another kind. They suffered all kinds of evil and even martyrdom. But these were only apparent defeats. In actuality they were triumphs of faith expressed in the faithfulness of total commitment. It is of great importance for the readers, and for all Christians, to understand that the life of faith does not always involve success by the world’s standards. The faithful person does not always experience deliverance; faith and suffering are not incompatible. Faith, however, sanctifies suffering, and there is in the midst of apparent defeat the appropriation of the promise of the future. The author offers his readers no guarantee of an easy Christianity. If in their “struggle against sin” they have “not yet resisted to the point of shedding … blood” (i.e., being killed), as the author will say in 12:4, there can be no assurance that they may not yet have to do so. The immediate, temporal outcome (which after all can only be temporary) is not the important thing. Faith is what finally matters.
Again in this passage the author speaks generally, leaving the reader opportunity to think of whatever appropriate names may come to mind. Those who were tortured and refused to be released because they had a future resurrection in mind seems most naturally to point to the Maccabean martyrs, although it is impossible to restrict the reference to them. The apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees in particular refers to many examples of this kind of faith, which made people accept death rather than the laws of the anti-Jewish Antiochus IV Epiphanes during his attempt to destroy Judaism, 167–164 B.C. (e.g., Eleazar; see 2 Macc. 6:18–7:42). That they might gain a better resurrection (i.e., life in the new order) stands in deliberate contrast to the “resurrection” (to life of the old order) referred to in the first half of the verse. The difference is between resuscitation and eschatological resurrection, which entails a new order of life altogether.
Mocking and scourging have frequently been the lot of the righteous, as has been imprisonment. The readers were well aware of this from their firsthand experience (cf. 10:33). Among the prophets, Jeremiah comes to mind immediately as an example of this kind of suffering (Jer. 20:2, 7ff.; 37:15; cf. 1 Kings 22:26f.). Some were stoned (e.g, Zechariah, 2 Chron. 24:21; cf. Matt. 23:37); some died by the sword (cf. 1 Kings 19:10, and contrast those who by faith “escaped the edge of the sword,” v. 34). The unusual reference to being sawed in two may derive from the tradition concerning the martyrdom of Isaiah by this method (see the intertestamental writing known as The Ascension of Isaiah, 5:11–14). Those who went about in sheepskins and goatskins and were forced to live in the wilderness in caves and holes in the ground are probably not the prophets, such as Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), though he is their prototype, but again the Israelites persecuted by Antiochus during the Maccabean era. This fits well with the description of them as destitute, persecuted and mistreated. They fled to the wilderness, according to 1 Maccabees 2:29–38, because of the evils Antiochus brought upon them. This happened moreover, the author points out, to persons of whom the world was not worthy. The underlying irony is found in the incongruity of God’s faithful servants being forced to live like animals.
11:39–40 The opening words echo verse 2. “These,” named and unnamed, all commended for their faith did not receive what had been promised (lit., “the promise”). Herein lies a paradox. God’s faithful people of the past, remote and recent, have lived their lives in accordance with the promise of a great unseen, future reality. Although some experienced a degree of fulfillment in history, none have arrived at the ultimate goal, “the promise.” That final, eschatological fulfillment has been delayed until the present. The reason for this is now given. God’s people of every age constitute a unity and must arrive at the perfection of the telos together. Only together with us would they be made perfect is literally “lest without us they should be made perfect.”
Of course a basic aspect of the delay is the newness of what God has accomplished through the work of Christ. Since for our author all that preceded Christ is related to him as promise is related to fulfillment, no attainment of the telos has been conceivable until the present. God had planned (lit., “foresaw” [or provided]) something better for us. That something better is the new covenant with all of its blessings, which is “for us” in distinction from those of the past only because we are the privileged who have received it through the historical process. But in a more fundamental sense it belongs to all the faithful from every age. We have begun to taste of its fruit already in the present—these “last days” (cf. 1:2) of the already present age to come—but we together with those faithful people of the past will yet experience the consummation of God’s purposes, which may now, all being prepared, occur at any time. The realization of “perfection,” the arrival at the telos of his purposes, will be the portion of all who through faith count upon the reality of what is hoped for and unseen, and who through faith give expression to that conviction by their everyday living. Faith is the dynamic of the life that pleases God.
Additional Notes
11:30 The author could equally well have mentioned Joshua as a man of faith at this point. His name is presupposed, just as Moses’ name is, in the preceding verse. This is the only reference in the NT to the capture of Jericho.
11:31 The story of Rahab became popular in Jewish tradition. She became a beloved figure as the first proselyte to the Jewish faith. She is even found in the genealogy of Christ in Matt. 1:5 as the mother of Boaz (who married another famous non-Israelite, Ruth). Rahab’s house was an ideal hiding place for the two spies, since in addition to being readily open during the evening, it was built into the city wall.
11:32–35a The words about the lack of time to speak fully of the great paragons of faith could strengthen the hypothesis that Hebrews, in large part if not totally, is a homily (as is suggested by 13:22 and the repeated exhortations of the book). But this kind of expression is not uncommon in purely literary works of the time (e.g., Philo, On the Special Laws, 4.238; On Dreams 2.63; The Life of Moses 1.213). The Greek participle underlying NIV’s to tell (diēgoumenon) is masculine and makes the hypothesis concerning Priscilla as the author of the book correspondingly more difficult. At the same time, the masculine participle may simply be formal; or if Priscilla left the book anonymous, she may also have been wise enough to change the gender of the participle she otherwise would have used so as not to reveal its feminine origin. Samuel’s name may be put after David’s because of his natural association with the prophets (cf. Acts 3:24). This is the only occurrence in the NT of the names Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah. The phrase administered justice (or “wrought righteousness,” eirgasanto dikaiosynēn) occurs elsewhere in the NT only in Acts 10:35 and James 1:20, where in both instances it refers to doing righteous deeds. Gained is from epitynchanō, as in 6:15. See note to 6:15, and cf. similar words for “receive” in vv. 13 and 17 above. The motif of “from weakness to strength” is found frequently in the NT (e.g., Rom. 4:19f.; 8:26; 1 Cor. 1:27–29; 2 Cor. 12:9–10; Eph. 6:10; Phil. 4:13). The “resurrection” whereby these women received back their sons is in contrast to a “better resurrection” in v. 35b. The two references to “resurrection” (anastasis) in this verse are the only occurrences of the word in Hebrews, except for 6:2.
11:35b–38 The perspective of this passage is similar to the main burden of the book of Revelation, namely, confidence in the reality of God and his faithfulness to his promises despite deep suffering that seems to contradict all that is believed. As in the past, so in the present, it is faith that sustains God’s people in their tribulation. The Greek verb for tortured (tympanizō) refers to being beaten to death on the rack. It occurs only here in the NT. Released (apolytrōsis) is the same word as the key term “set free” or “redeem” in 9:15 (see note); here it is used nontechnically. For the significance of the word better (kreittōn) in Hebrews, see the note on 1:4. The expectation of resurrection for those who suffer martyrdom is expressed most powerfully in the Jewish tradition in the document known as 4 Maccabees (from probably the first century A.D., which describes the persecution under Antiochus).
The mocking and scourging here is reminiscent of the language describing the treatment of Jesus according to the passion narratives (cognate verbs occur: e.g., empaizō, “mock”—Matt. 27:29ff.; Mark 15:20ff.; Luke 23:11, 36; mastigoō, “flog”—John 19:1; cf. Matt. 20:19; Mark 10:34; Luke 18:32). This may be in the author’s mind when he writes 12:3. In v. 37 a large number of manuscripts include after (although some have it before) sawed in two the additional verb “were tempted” (epeirasthēsan). This verb, however, does not make much sense in the immediate context of explicit martyrdom. Following the important P46 and a few other witnesses, we are probably safe if we accept the shorter reading. See Metzger, TCGNT, pp. 674f. The tradition about Isaiah being sawed in two (according to some, with a wooden saw) is also attested in the Babylonian Talmud (Yebamoth 49b; Sanhedrin 103b) and in certain Christian writers (e.g., Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 120; Tertullian, On Patience, 14). For the imagery of v. 38, although in a different context, see Rev. 6:15. The terrain of Palestine provides abundant caves and holes in which to hide.
11:39–40 For “being well-attested” (martyreō), see note on v. 2. The word for received here is komizō, which occurs also in 10:36 with the singular “what he has promised.” In v. 13 we have a statement quite parallel to the present one: “They did not receive (komizō) the things promised” (lit., “the promises,” plural). The singular and plural of the word promise (epangelia) are thus readily interchangeable, referring to the same thing. On “promise” see note on 6:15. NIV’s had planned translates the Greek verb problepō (which occurs only here in the NT), where the root idea of “foresee,” because of the sovereignty of God, has practically become “select” or “provide.” This was God’s purpose from the beginning. See BAGD, p. 703. For the great importance of better (kreittōn) as it is used in Hebrews, see note on 1:4. Be made perfect (teleioō) in Hebrews has a strong teleological orientation. It refers to arriving at the goal of God’s saving purposes. See note on 2:10.
