---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Hebrews 11"
description: "CHAPTER 11   :-. DEFINITION OF THE
FAITH JUST
SPOKEN OF ( :-): EXAMPLES FROM THE
OLD COVENANT
FOR OUR
PERSEVERANCE IN FAITH. 1. Description of the
great t"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/hebrews/11"
---

CHAPTER 11

. DEFINITION OF THE
FAITH JUST
SPOKEN OF (): EXAMPLES FROM THE
OLD COVENANT
FOR OUR
PERSEVERANCE IN FAITH.

**1.** *Description* of the
great things which *faith* (in its widest sense: not here
restricted to *faith* in the Gospel sense) does for us. Not a
full *definition* of faith in its whole nature, but a
description of its great characteristics in relation to the subject
of Paul's exhortation here, namely, to perseverance.
**substance,** c.—It
substantiates promises of God which we hope for, as future in
fulfilment, making them present realities to us. However, the *Greek*
is translated in [Hebrews 3:14](../../../kjv/hebrews/3/14),
"confidence" and it also here may mean "sure
confidence." So ALFORD
translates. THOMAS
MAGISTER supports *English
Version,* "The whole thing that follows is virtually
contained in the first principle; now the *first commencement*
of the things hoped for is in us through the assent of faith, which
virtually contains all the things hoped for." Compare *Note,*
see on [Hebrews 6:5](../../../kjv/hebrews/6/5), "tasted . .
. powers of the world to come." Through faith, the future object
of Christian hope, *in its beginning,* is already present. True
faith infers the reality of the objects believed in and honed for
([Hebrews 11:6](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/6)). HUGO
DE ST. VICTOR
distinguished *faith* from *hope.* By *faith* alone we
are sure of eternal things that they ARE:
but by *hope* we are confident that WE
SHALL HAVE them. All hope presupposes faith ([Hebrews 11:6](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/6)).
**evidence**—"demonstration":
convincing proof to the believer: the soul thereby seeing what the
eye cannot see.
**things not seen**—the
whole invisible and spiritual world: not things future and things
pleasant, as the "things hoped for," but also the past and
present, and those the reverse of pleasant. "Eternal life is
promised to us, but it is when we are dead: we are told of a blessed
resurrection, but meanwhile we moulder in the dust; we are declared
to be justified, and sin dwells in us; we hear that we are blessed,
meantime we are overwhelmed in endless miseries: we are promised
abundance of all goods, but we still endure hunger and thirst; God
declares He will immediately come to our help, but He seems deaf to
our cries. What should we do if we had not faith and hope to lean on,
and if our mind did not emerge amidst the darkness above the world by
the shining of the Word and Spirit of God?" [CALVIN].
Faith is an assent unto truths credible upon the testimony of God
(not on the *reasonableness* of the thing revealed, though by
this we may judge as to whether it be what it professes, a genuine
revelation), delivered unto us in the writings of the apostles and
prophets. Thus Christ's ascension is the cause, and His absence the
crown, of our faith: because He ascended, we the more believe, and
because we believe in Him who hath ascended, our faith is the more
accepted [BISHOP PEARSON].
Faith believes what it sees not; for if thou seest there is no faith;
the Lord has gone away so as not to be seen: He is hidden that He may
be believed; the yearning desire by faith after Him who is unseen is
the preparation of a heavenly mansion for us; when He shall be seen
it shall be given to us as the reward of faith [AUGUSTINE].
As Revelation deals with spiritual and invisible things exclusively,
faith is the faculty needed by us, since it is the evidence of things
not seen. By faith we venture our eternal interests on the bare word
of God, and this is altogether reasonable.

**2. For**—So high a description
of faith is not undeserved; for . . . [ALFORD].
**by it**—*Greek,* "in
it": in respect to . . . in the matter of," it, "or,
as *Greek* more emphatically, "this."
**the elders**—as though
still living and giving their powerful testimony to the
reasonableness and excellence of faith (). Not merely *the ancients,* as though they were people
solely of the past; nay, they belong to the one and the same blessed
family as ourselves ([Hebrews 11:39](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/39);
[Hebrews 11:40](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/40)). "*The*
elders," whom we all revere so highly. "Paul shows how we
ought to seek in all its fulness, under the veil of history, the
essential substance of the doctrine sometimes briefly indicated"
[BENGEL]. "The
elders," as "the fathers," is a title of honor given
on the ground of their bright faith and practice.
**obtained a good report**—*Greek,*
"were testified of," namely, favorably (compare [Hebrews 11:40](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/40)). It is a phrase of Luke, Paul's companion. Not only men, but
God, gave testimony to their faith ([Hebrews 11:4](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/4);
[Hebrews 11:5](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/5); [Hebrews 11:39](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/39)).
Thus they being testified of themselves have become "witnesses"
to all others ([Hebrews 12:1](../../../kjv/hebrews/12/1)). The
earlier elders had their patience exercised for a long period of
life: those later, in sharper afflictions. Many things which they
hoped for and did not see, subsequently came to pass and were
conspicuously seen, the event confirming faith [BENGEL].

**3. we understand**—We perceive
with our spiritual intelligence the fact of the world's creation by
God, though we see neither Him nor the act of creation as described
in [Genesis 1:1-31](../../../kjv/genesis/1/1-31). The natural
world could not, without revelation, teach us this truth, though it
confirms the truth when apprehended by faith ([Genesis 1:1-1](../../../kjv/genesis/1/1-1)). Adam is passed over in silence here as to his faith,
perhaps as being the first who fell and brought sin on us all; though
it does not follow that he did not repent and believe the promise.
**worlds**—literally,
"ages"; all that exists in time and space, visible and
invisible, present and eternal.
**framed**—"fitly
formed and consolidated"; including the creation of the single
parts and the harmonious organization of the whole, and the continual
providence which maintains the whole throughout all ages. As creation
is the foundation and a specimen of the whole divine economy, so
faith in creation is the foundation and a specimen of all faith
[BENGEL].
**by the word of God**—not
here, the *personal* word (*Greek,* "*logos,*"
[John 1:1](../../../kjv/john/1/1)) but *the spoken word*
(*Greek,* "*rhema*"); though by the
instrumentality of the personal word ([John 1:1](../../../kjv/john/1/1)).
**not made,** c.—Translate
as *Greek,* "so that not out of things which appear hath
that which is seen been made" not as in the case of all things
which we see reproduced from previously existing and visible
materials, as, for instance, the plant from the seed, the animal from
the parent, c., has the visible world sprung into being from apparent
materials. So also it is implied in the first clause of the verse
that the invisible spiritual worlds were framed not from previously
existing materials. BENGEL
explains it by distinguishing "appear," that is, *begin
to be seen* (namely, at creation), from *that which is seen*
as already in existence, not merely *beginning* to be seen so
that the things seen were not made of the things which appear,"
that is, which *begin to be seen by us in the act of creation.*
We were not spectators of creation; it is by faith we perceive it.

**4. more excellent sacrifice**—because
offered in *faith.* Now *faith* must have some *revelation
of God* on which it fastens. The revelation in this case was
doubtless God's command to sacrifice *animals* ("the
firstlings of the flock") in token of the forfeiture of men's
life by sin, and as a type of the promised bruiser of the serpent's
head ([Genesis 3:15](../../../kjv/genesis/3/15)), the one coming
sacrifice: this command is implied in God's having made coats of skin
for Adam and Eve ([Genesis 3:21](../../../kjv/genesis/3/21)): for
these skins must have been taken from animals slain *in sacrifice:*
inasmuch as it was not for *food* they were slain, animal food
not being permitted till after the flood; nor for mere *clothing,*
as, were it so, clothes might have been made of the fleeces without
the needless cruelty of killing the animal; but a coat of skin put on
Adam from a sacrificed animal typified the covering or atonement (the
*Hebrew* for *atone* means to *cover*) resulting from
Christ's sacrifice. The *Greek* is more literally rendered
[KENNICOTT] by WYCLIFFE,
"a *much more* sacrifice"; and by Queen Elizabeth's
version "a greater sacrifice." A fuller, more ample
sacrifice, that which partook more largely and essentially of the
true nature and virtue of sacrifice [ARCHBISHOP
MAGEE]. It was not any
intrinsic merit in "the firstling of the flock" above "the
fruit of the ground." It was God's appointment that gave it all
its excellency as a sacrifice; if it had not been so, it would have
been a presumptuous act of *will-worship* ([Genesis 3:21](../../../kjv/genesis/3/21)), and taking of a life which man had no right over before
the flood ([Genesis 9:1-6](../../../kjv/genesis/9/1-6)). The
sacrifice seems to have been a holocaust, and the sign of the divine
acceptance of it was probably the consumption of it by fire from
heaven ([Genesis 15:17](../../../kjv/genesis/15/17)). Hence, "to
accept" a burnt sacrifice is in *Hebrew* "to turn it
to ashes" ([Psalms 20:3](../../../kjv/psalms/20/3),
*Margin*). A flame seems to have issued from the Shekinah, or
flaming cherubim, east of Eden ("the presence of the Lord,"
[Genesis 4:16](../../../kjv/genesis/4/16)), where the first
sacrifices were offered. Cain, in unbelieving self-righteousness,
presented merely a *thank offering,* not like Abel feeling his
need of the propitiatory sacrifice appointed on account of sin. God
"had respect (first) unto Abel, and (then) to his offering"
([Genesis 4:4](../../../kjv/genesis/4/4)). Faith causes the
believer's person to be accepted, and then his offering. Even an
animal sacrifice, though of God's appointment, would not have been
accepted, had it not been offered in faith.
**he obtained witness**—*God*
by fire attesting His acceptance of him as "righteous by faith."
**his gifts**—the common
term for *sacrifices,* implying that they must be freely *given.*
**by it**—by faith
exhibited in his animal sacrifice.
**dead, yet speaketh**—His
*blood crying front the ground to God,* shows how precious,
because of his "faith," he was still in God's sight, even
when dead. So he becomes a witness to us of the blessed effects of
faith.

**5.** *Faith* was the ground
of his *pleasing God;* and his *pleasing God* was the
ground of his *translation.*
**translated**— ([Genesis 5:22](../../../kjv/genesis/5/22);
[Genesis 5:24](../../../kjv/genesis/5/24)). Implying a *sudden*
removal (the same *Greek* as in [Genesis 5:24](../../../kjv/genesis/5/24)) from mortality without death to immortality: such a CHANGE
as shall pass over the living at Christ's coming ([1 Corinthians 15:51](../../../kjv/1-corinthians/15/51);
[1 Corinthians 15:52](../../../kjv/1-corinthians/15/52)).
**had this testimony**—namely
of Scripture; the *Greek* perfect implies that this testimony
continues still: "he *has* been testified of."
**pleased God**—The
Scripture testimony virtually expresses that he *pleased God,*
namely, "Enoch walked with God." The *Septuagint*
translates the *Hebrew* for "walked with God," [1 Corinthians 15:52](../../../kjv/1-corinthians/15/52), *pleased God.*

**6. without**—*Greek,*
"*apart from* faith": if one be destitute of faith
(compare [Romans 14:23](../../../kjv/romans/14/23)).
**to please**—Translate, as
ALFORD does, the *Greek*
aorist, "It is impossible to please God *at all*" ([Romans 14:23](../../../kjv/romans/14/23)). Natural amiabilities and "works done before the grace
of Christ are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of
faith in Jesus Christ; yea, rather, for that they are not done as God
hath willed them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of
sin" [Article XIII, *Book of Common Prayer*]. Works not
rooted in God are splendid sins [AUGUSTINE].
**he that cometh to God**—as
a worshipper ([Hebrews 7:19](../../../kjv/hebrews/7/19)).
**must believe**—*once
for all: Greek* aorist tense.
**that God is**—is the true
self-existing Jehovah (as contrasted with all so-called gods, not
gods, [Galatians 4:8](../../../kjv/galatians/4/8)), the source of all
being, though he sees Him not ([Galatians 4:8](../../../kjv/galatians/4/8)) as being "invisible" ([Galatians 4:8](../../../kjv/galatians/4/8)). So Enoch; this passage implies that he had not been
favored with *visible* appearances of God, yet he *believed*
in God's *being,* and in God's *moral government,* as the
Rewarder of His diligent worshippers, in opposition to antediluvian
skepticism. Also Moses was not so favored before he left Egypt the
first time ([Hebrews 11:27](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/27)); still
he believed.
**and . . . is**—a
different *Greek* verb from the former "is."
Translate, "is eventually"; *proves to be;* literally,
"becomes."
**rewarder**—renderer of
reward [ALFORD]. So God
proved to be to Enoch. The reward is *God Himself* diligently
"sought" and "walked with" in partial communion
here, and to be fully enjoyed hereafter. Compare [Hebrews 11:27](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/27), "I am thy exceeding great reward."
**of them**—and them only.
**diligently seek**—*Greek,*
"seek out" God. Compare "seek *early,*" [Hebrews 11:27](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/27). Not only "ask" and "seek," but "knock,"
[Matthew 7:7](../../../kjv/matthew/7/7); compare [Hebrews 11:12](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/12);
[Luke 13:24](../../../kjv/luke/13/24), "Strive" as
in an agony of contest.

**7. warned of God**—The same
*Greek,* [Hebrews 8:5](../../../kjv/hebrews/8/5),
"admonished of God."
**moved with fear**—not
mere slavish fear, but as in [Hebrews 8:5](../../../kjv/hebrews/8/5); see on [Hebrews 5:7](../../../kjv/hebrews/5/7); *Greek,*
"reverential fear": opposed to the world's sneering
disbelief of the revelation, and self-deceiving security. Join "by
faith" with "prepared an ark" ([Hebrews 5:7](../../../kjv/hebrews/5/7)).
**by the which**—faith.
**condemned the world**—For
since he believed and was saved, so might they have believed and been
saved, so that their condemnation by God is by his case shown to be
just.
**righteousness which is by
faith**—*Greek,* "according to faith." A Pauline
thought. Noah is first called "righteous" in [Hebrews 5:7](../../../kjv/hebrews/5/7). Christ calls Abel so, [Hebrews 5:7](../../../kjv/hebrews/5/7). Compare as to Noah's righteousness, [Ezekiel 14:14](../../../kjv/ezekiel/14/14);
[Ezekiel 14:20](../../../kjv/ezekiel/14/20); [2 Peter 2:5](../../../kjv/2-peter/2/5),
"a preacher of righteousness." Paul here makes *faith*
the principle and ground of his righteousness.
**heir**—the consequence of
sonship which flows from faith.

**8.** From the antediluvian saints
he passes to the patriarchs of Israel, to whom "the promises"
belonged.
**called**—by God (). The oldest manuscripts and *Vulgate* read, "He
that was called Abraham," his name being changed from Abram to
Abraham, on the occasion of God's making with him and his seed a
covenant sealed by circumcision, many years after his call out of Ur.
"By faith, he who was (afterwards) called Abraham (*father of
nations,* [Genesis 17:5](../../../kjv/genesis/17/5), in order
to become which was the design of God's bringing him out of Ur)
obeyed (the command of God: to be understood in this reading), *so
as to go out,*" c.
**which he should after
receive**—He had not fully received even this promise when he
went out, for it was not *explicitly* given him till he had
reached Canaan ([Genesis 12:1](../../../kjv/genesis/12/1) [Genesis 12:6](../../../kjv/genesis/12/6);
[Genesis 12:7](../../../kjv/genesis/12/7)). When the promise of the
land was given him the Canaanite was still in the land, and himself a
stranger; it is in the new heaven and new earth that he shall receive
his personal inheritance promised him; so believers sojourn on earth
as strangers, while the ungodly and Satan lord it over the earth; but
at Christ's coming that same earth which was the scene of the
believer's conflict shall be the inheritance of Christ and His
saints.

**9. sojourned**—as a "stranger
and pilgrim."
**in**—*Greek,*
"into," that is, he went *into* it and sojourned
there.
**as in a strange country**—a
country *not belonging to him,* but to others (so the *Greek*),
[Acts 7:5](../../../kjv/acts/7/5); [Acts 7:6](../../../kjv/acts/7/6).
**dwelling in
tabernacles**—*tents:* as *strangers* and *sojourners*
do: moving from place to place, as having no fixed possession of
their own. In contrast to the abiding "city" ([Acts 7:6](../../../kjv/acts/7/6)).
**with**—Their kind of
dwelling being the same is a proof that their faith was the same.
They all alike were content to wait for their good things hereafter
([Luke 16:25](../../../kjv/luke/16/25)). Jacob was fifteen
years old at the death of Abraham.
**heirs with him of the same
promise**—Isaac did not inherit it from Abraham, nor Jacob from
Isaac, but they all inherited it from God directly as "fellow
heirs." In [Hebrews 6:12](../../../kjv/hebrews/6/12); [Hebrews 6:15](../../../kjv/hebrews/6/15);
[Hebrews 6:17](../../../kjv/hebrews/6/17), "the promise"
means *the thing promised* as a thing in part *already
attained;* but in this chapter "the promise" is of
something still *future.* However, see on [Hebrews 6:17](../../../kjv/hebrews/6/17).

**10. looked for**—*Greek,*
"he was expecting"; waiting for with eager expectation ().
**a city**—*Greek,*
"*the* city," already alluded to. Worldly Enoch, son
of the murderer Cain, was the first to build his city here: the godly
patriarchs waited for their city hereafter ([Hebrews 11:16](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/16);
[Hebrews 12:22](../../../kjv/hebrews/12/22); [Hebrews 13:14](../../../kjv/hebrews/13/14)).
**foundations**—*Greek,*
"*the* foundations" which the *tents* had not,
nor even men's present cities have.
**whose builder and
maker**—*Greek,* "*designer* [[Ephesians 1:4](../../../kjv/ephesians/1/4);
[Ephesians 1:11](../../../kjv/ephesians/1/11)] and master-builder,"
or *executor of the design.* The city is worthy of its Framer
and Builder (compare [Hebrews 11:16](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/16);
[Hebrews 8:2](../../../kjv/hebrews/8/2)). Compare *Note,*
see on [Hebrews 9:12](../../../kjv/hebrews/9/12), on "found."

**11. also Sara herself**—though
being the weaker vessel, and though at first she doubted.
**was delivered of a
child**—omitted in the oldest manuscripts: then translate, "and
that when she was past age" ().
**she judged him faithful who
had promised**—after she had ceased to doubt, being instructed by
the angel that it was no jest, but a matter in serious earnest.

**12. as good as dead**—literally,
"deadened"; no longer having, as in youth, energetic vital
powers.
**stars . . . sand**— ().

**13-16.** Summary of the
characteristic excellencies of the patriarchs' faith
**died in faith**—died as
*believers,* waiting for, not actually *seeing* as yet
their good things promised to them. They were true to this principle
of *faith* even unto, and especially in, their dying hour
(compare [Hebrews 11:20](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/20)).
**These all**—beginning
with "Abraham" ([Hebrews 11:20](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/20)), to whom *the promises were made* ([Hebrews 11:20](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/20)), and who is alluded to in the end of [Hebrews 11:20](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/20) and in [Hebrews 11:15](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/15)
[BENGEL and ALFORD].
But the "ALL"
can hardly but include Abel, Enoch, and Noah. Now as these did not
receive the promise of entering literal Canaan, *some other promise
made in the first ages,* and often repeated, must be that meant,
namely, the promise of a coming Redeemer made to Adam, namely, "the
seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." Thus the
promises cannot have been merely temporal, for Abel and Enoch
mentioned here received no temporal promise [ARCHBISHOP
MAGEE]. This promise of
eternal redemption is the inner essence of the promises made to
Abraham ([Galatians 3:16](../../../kjv/galatians/3/16)).
**not having received**—It
was this that constituted their "faith." If they had
"received" THE THING
PROMISED (so "the promises" here mean: the plural is
used because of the *frequent renewal* of the promise to the
patriarchs: [Hebrews 11:17](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/17) says he
*did* receive the *promises,* but not *the thing
promised*), it would have been *sight,* not *faith.*
**seen them afar off**—
([John 8:56](../../../kjv/john/8/56)). Christ, as the
Word, was preached to the Old Testament believers, and so became the
seed of life to their souls, as He is to ours.
**and were persuaded of
them**—The oldest manuscripts omit this clause.
**embraced them**—as though
they were not "afar off," but within reach, so as to draw
them to themselves and clasp them in their embrace. TRENCH
denies that the Old Testament believers *embraced* them, for
they only saw them *afar off:* he translates, "saluted
them," as the homeward-bound mariner, recognizing from afar the
well-known promontories of his native land. ALFORD
translates, "*greeted* them." Jacob's exclamation, "I
have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord" ([John 8:56](../../../kjv/john/8/56)) is such a *greeting* of salvation from afar
[DELITZSCH].
**confessed . . . were
strangers**—so Abraham to the children of Heth ([John 8:56](../../../kjv/john/8/56)); and Jacob to Pharaoh ([Genesis 47:9](../../../kjv/genesis/47/9);
[Psalms 119:19](../../../kjv/psalms/119/19)). Worldly men hold
fast the world; believers sit loose to it. *Citizens of the world*
do not confess themselves "strangers on the earth."
**pilgrims**—*Greek,*
"temporary (literally, 'by the way') sojourners."
**on the earth**—contrasted
with "an heavenly" ([Psalms 119:19](../../../kjv/psalms/119/19)): "our *citizenship* is in heaven" (*Greek:*
[Hebrews 10:34](../../../kjv/hebrews/10/34); [Psalms 119:54](../../../kjv/psalms/119/54);
[Philippians 3:20](../../../kjv/philippians/3/20)). "Whosoever
professes that he has a Father in heaven, confesses himself a
stranger on earth; hence there is in the heart an ardent longing,
like that of a child living among strangers, in want and grief, far
from his fatherland" [LUTHER].
"Like ships in seas while *in, above* the world."

**14. For**—proof that "faith"
([Hebrews 11:13](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/13)) was their
actuating principle.
**declare plainly**—make it
plainly evident.
**seek**—*Greek,*
"seek *after*"; implying the direction towards which
their desires ever tend.
**a country**—rather as
*Greek,* "a fatherland." In confessing themselves
*strangers* here, they evidently imply that they regard not this
as their home or fatherland, but seek after another and a better.

**15.** As Abraham, had he desired
to leave his pilgrim life in Canaan, and resume his former fixed
habitation in Ur, among the carnal and worldly, had in his long life
ample opportunities to have done so; and so spiritually, as to all
believers who came out from the world to become God's people, they
might, if they had been so minded, have easily gone back.

**16.** Proving the truth that the
old fathers did not, as some assert, "look only for transitory
promises" [Article VII, *Book of Common Prayer*].
**now**—as the case is.
**is not ashamed**—*Greek,*
"Is not ashamed of them." Not merely once did God call
himself *their God,* but He is NOW
not ashamed to have Himself called so, they being *alive* and
abiding with Him where He is. For, by the law, God cannot come into
contact with anything dead. None remained dead in Christ's presence
([Luke 20:37](../../../kjv/luke/20/37); [Luke 20:38](../../../kjv/luke/20/38)).
He who is Lord and Maker of heaven and earth, and all things therein,
when asked, What is Thy name? said, omitting all His other titles, "I
am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"
[THEODORET]. Not only is
He *not ashamed,* but glories in the name and relation to His
people. The "wherefore" does not mean that God's *good
pleasure* is the meritorious, but the *gracious,* consequence
of their obedience (that obedience being the result of His Spirit's
work in them in the first instance). He first so "called"
Himself, then they so called Him.
**for**—proof of His being
"*their* God," namely, "He hath prepared (in His
eternal counsels, [Matthew 20:23](../../../kjv/matthew/20/23);
[Matthew 25:34](../../../kjv/matthew/25/34), and by the progressive
acts of redemption, [John 14:2](../../../kjv/john/14/2))
for them a city," the city in which He Himself reigns, so that
their yearning *desires* shall not be disappointed ([Hebrews 11:14](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/14);
[Hebrews 11:16](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/16)).
**a city**—on its garniture
by God (compare [Hebrews 11:16](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/16)).

**17. offered up**—literally,
"hath offered up," as if the work and its praise were yet
enduring [ALFORD]. As far
as His intention was concerned, he did sacrifice Isaac; and in actual
fact "he offered him," as far as the presentation of him on
the altar as an offering to God is concerned.
**tried**—*Greek,*
"tempted," as in [Genesis 22:1](../../../kjv/genesis/22/1).
*Put to the proof* of his faith. Not that God "tempts"
*to sin,* but God "tempts" in the sense of *proving*
or *trying* ([Genesis 22:1](../../../kjv/genesis/22/1)).
**and**—and so.
**he that had received**—rather
as *Greek,* "accepted," that is, *welcomed* and
embraced by faith, not merely "had the promises," as in [Genesis 22:1](../../../kjv/genesis/22/1). This added to the difficulty in the way of his faith, that
it was in Isaac's posterity the promises were to be fulfilled; how
then could they be fulfilled if Isaac were sacrificed?
**offered up**—rather as
*Greek,* "was offering up"; he was in the act of
offering.
**his only-begotten son**—Compare
[Genesis 22:2](../../../kjv/genesis/22/2), "Take now thy son,
thine only son." EUSEBIUS
[*The Preparation of the Gospel,* 1.10, and 4.16], has preserved
a fragment of a *Greek* translation of Sanchoniatho, which
mentions a mystical sacrifice of the Phoelignicians, wherein a prince
in royal robes was the offerer, and his only son was to be the
victim: this evidently was a tradition derived from Abraham's
offering, and handed down through Esau or Edom, Isaac's son. Isaac
was Abraham's "only-begotten son" in respect of Sarah and
the promises: he sent away his other sons, by other wives ([Genesis 22:2](../../../kjv/genesis/22/2)). Abraham is a type of the Father not sparing His
only-begotten Son to fulfil the divine purpose of love. God nowhere
in the Mosaic law allowed human sacrifices, though He claimed the
first-born of Israel as His.

**18. Of whom**—rather as *Greek*
"He (*Abraham,* not Isaac) TO whom it was said"
[ALFORD]. BENGEL
supports *English Version.* So uses the same *Greek* preposition, "unto," for
"in respect to," or "of." This verse gives a
definition of the "only-begotten Son" ().
**in Isaac shall thy seed be
called**— ([Genesis 21:12](../../../kjv/genesis/21/12)). The
posterity of Isaac alone shall be accounted as the seed of Abraham,
which is the heir of the promises ([Genesis 21:12](../../../kjv/genesis/21/12)).

**19.** Faith answered the
objections which reason brought against God's command to Abraham to
offer Isaac, by suggesting that what God had promised He both could
and would perform, however impossible the performance might seem
([Romans 4:20](../../../kjv/romans/4/20); [Romans 4:21](../../../kjv/romans/4/21)).
**able to raise*****him*******—rather, in general, "able to raise from the dead."
Compare [Romans 4:17](../../../kjv/romans/4/17), "God who
quickeneth the dead." The quickening of Sarah's dead womb
suggested the thought of God's power to raise even the dead, though
no instance of it had as yet occurred.
**he received him**—"received
him back" [ALFORD].
**in a figure**—*Greek,*
"in a parable." ALFORD
explains, "Received him back, risen from that death which he had
undergone in, under, *the figure of the ram.*" I prefer
with BISHOP PEARSON,
ESTIUS, and GREGORY
OF NYSSA,
understanding the *figure* to be the representation which the
whole scene gave to Abraham of Christ in His death (typified by
Isaac's offering in intention, and the ram's actual substitution
answering to Christ's vicarious death), and in His resurrection
(typified by Abraham's receiving him back alive from the jaws of
death, compare [2 Corinthians 1:9](../../../kjv/2-corinthians/1/9); [2 Corinthians 1:10](../../../kjv/2-corinthians/1/10));
just as on the day of atonement the slain goat and the scapegoat
together formed one joint rite representing Christ's death and
resurrection. It was then that Abraham saw Christ's day ([2 Corinthians 1:10](../../../kjv/2-corinthians/1/10)): accounting God was able to raise even from the dead: from
which state of the dead he received him back *as a type of the
resurrection in Christ.*

**20.** Jacob is put before Esau, as
heir of the chief, namely, the *spiritual* blessing.
**concerning things to
come**—*Greek,* "*even* concerning things to
come": not only concerning things present. Isaac, *by faith,*
assigned to his sons things future, as if they were present.

**21. both the sons**—*Greek,*
"*each* of the sons" ([Genesis 47:29](../../../kjv/genesis/47/29);
[Genesis 48:8-20](../../../kjv/genesis/48/8-20)). He knew not
Joseph's sons, and could not distinguish them by sight, yet *he did
distinguish them by faith,* transposing his hands intentionally,
so as to lay his right hand on the younger, Ephraim, whose posterity
was to be greater than that of Manasseh: he also adopted these
grandchildren as his own sons, after having transferred the right of
primogeniture to Joseph ([Genesis 48:22](../../../kjv/genesis/48/22)).
**and worshipped**—This did
not take place in immediate connection with the foregoing, but before
it, when Jacob made Joseph swear that he would bury him with his
fathers in Canaan, not in Egypt. The assurance that Joseph would do
so filled him with pious gratitude to God, which he expressed by
raising himself on his bed to an attitude of *worship.* His
faith, as Joseph's ([Hebrews 11:22](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/22)),
consisted in his so confidentially anticipating the fulfilment of
God's promise of Canaan to his descendants, as to desire to be buried
there as his proper possession.
***leaning*****upon
the top of his staff**— [Hebrews 11:22](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/22), *Hebrew* and *English Version,* "upon the
bed's head." The *Septuagint* translates as Paul here.
JEROME justly reprobates
the notion of modern Rome, that Jacob *worshipped the top of
Joseph's staff,* having on it an image of Joseph's power, to which
Jacob bowed in recognition of the future sovereignty of his son's
tribe, the father bowing to the son! The *Hebrew,* as translated
in *English Version,* sets it aside: *the bed* is alluded
to afterwards ([Genesis 48:2](../../../kjv/genesis/48/2); [Genesis 49:33](../../../kjv/genesis/49/33)),
and it is likely that Jacob turned himself in his *bed* so as to
have his face toward the pillow, [Genesis 49:33](../../../kjv/genesis/49/33) (there were no *bedsteads* in the East). Paul by
adopting the *Septuagint* version, brings out, under the Spirit,
*an additional fact,* namely, that the aged patriarch used *his
own* (not Joseph's) *staff* to lean on in worshipping on his
bed. The *staff,* too, was the *emblem of his pilgrim state*
here on his way to his heavenly city ([Hebrews 11:13](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/13);
[Hebrews 11:14](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/14)), wherein God had so
wonderfully supported him. [Hebrews 11:14](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/14), "With my *staff* I passed over Jordan, and now I
am become," c. (compare [Exodus 12:11](../../../kjv/exodus/12/11)
[Mark 6:8](../../../kjv/mark/6/8)). In [Mark 6:8](../../../kjv/mark/6/8), the same thing is said of David's "bowing on his bed,"
an act of adoring thanksgiving to God for God's favor to his son
before death. He omits the more leading blessing of the twelve sons
of Jacob; because "he plucks only the flowers which stand by his
way, and leaves the whole meadow full to his readers" [DELITZSCH
in ALFORD].

**22. when he died**—"when
dying."
**the departing**—"the
exodus" ([Genesis 50:24](../../../kjv/genesis/50/24); [Genesis 50:25](../../../kjv/genesis/50/25)).
Joseph's eminent position in Egypt did not make him regard it as his
home: in faith he looked to God's promise of Canaan being fulfilled
and desired that his bones should rest there: testifying thus: (1)
that he had no doubt of his posterity obtaining the promised land:
and (2) that he believed in the resurrection of the body, and the
enjoyment in it of the heavenly Canaan. His wish was fulfilled
([Joshua 24:32](../../../kjv/joshua/24/32); [Acts 4:16](../../../kjv/acts/4/16)).

**23. parents**—So the *Septuagint*
has the plural, namely, Amram and Jochebed (); but in [Exodus 2:2](../../../kjv/exodus/2/2), the
mother alone is mentioned; but doubtless Amram sanctioned all she
did, and secrecy. being their object, he did not appear prominent in
what was done.
**a proper child**—*Greek,*
"a comely child." [Exodus 2:2](../../../kjv/exodus/2/2), "exceeding fair," *Greek,* "fair to
God." The "faith" of his parents in saving the child
must have had some divine revelation to rest on (probably at the time
of his birth), which marked their "exceeding fair" babe as
one whom God designed to do a great work by. His *beauty* was
probably "the sign" appointed by God to assure their faith.
**the king's commandment**—to
slay all the males ([Exodus 1:22](../../../kjv/exodus/1/22)).

**24.** So far from *faith*
being opposed to *Moses,* he was an eminent example of it
[BENGEL].
**refused**—in believing
self-denial, when he might possibly have succeeded at last to the
throne of Egypt. Thermutis, Pharaoh's daughter, according to the
tradition which Paul under the Spirit sanctions, adopted him, as
JOSEPHUS says, with the
consent of the king. JOSEPHUS
states that when a child, he threw on the ground the diadem put on
him in jest, a presage of his subsequent formal rejection of
Thermutis' adoption of him. Faith made him to prefer the adoption of
the King of kings, unseen, and so to choose ([Hebrews 11:25](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/25);
[Hebrews 11:26](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/26)) things, the very last
which flesh and blood relish.

**25.** He balanced the best of the
world with the worst of religion, and decidedly chose the latter.
"Choosing" implies a deliberate resolution, not a hasty
impulse. He was forty years old, a time when the judgment is matured.
**for a season**—If the
world has "pleasure" (*Greek,* "enjoyment")
to offer, it is but "for a season." If religion bring with
it "affliction," it too is but for a season; whereas its
"pleasures are for evermore."

**26. Esteeming**—Inasmuch as he
esteemed.
**the reproach of Christ**—that
is, the reproach which falls on the Church, and which Christ regards
as His own reproach, He being the Head, and the Church (both of the
Old and New Testament) His body. Israel typified Christ; Israel's
sufferings were Christ's sufferings (compare [2 Corinthians 1:5](../../../kjv/2-corinthians/1/5);
[Colossians 1:24](../../../kjv/colossians/1/24)). As uncircumcision was
Egypt's *reproach,* so circumcision was the badge of Israel's
expectation of Christ, which Moses especially cherished, and which
the Gentiles reproached Israel on account of. Christ's people's
reproach will ere long be their great glory.
**had respect unto,**
c.—*Greek,* "*turning his eyes away from* other
considerations, *he fixed them on* the (eternal) recompense"
([Hebrews 11:39](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/39) [Hebrews 11:40](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/40)).

**27. not fearing the wrath of the
king**—But in [Exodus 2:14](../../../kjv/exodus/2/14) it is
said, "Moses feared, and fled from the face of Pharaoh." He
was *afraid,* and fled from the danger where no duty called him
to stay (to have stayed without call of duty would have been to tempt
Providence, and *to sacrifice his hope of being Israel's future
deliverer according to the divine intimations;* his great aim, see
on [Hebrews 11:1](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/1)). He *did not
fear the king* so as to neglect his duty and not return when God
called him. It was *in spite of the king's prohibition he left
Egypt,* not fearing the consequences which were likely to overtake
him if he should be caught, after having, in defiance of the king,
left Egypt. If he had stayed and resumed his position as adopted son
of Pharaoh's daughter, his slaughter of the Egyptian would doubtless
have been connived at; but his resolution to take his portion with
oppressed Israel, which he could not have done had he stayed, was the
motive of his flight, and constituted the "faith" of this
act, according to the express statement here. The exodus of Moses
with Israel cannot be meant here, for it was made, not in defiance,
but by the desire, of the king. Besides, the chronological order
would be broken thus, the next particular specified here, namely, the
institution of the *Passover,* having taken place *before the
exodus.* Besides, it is Moses' *personal* history and faith
which are here described. The faith of the people ("THEY
passed") is not introduced till [Hebrews 11:1](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/1).
**endured**—steadfast in
faith amidst trials. He had fled, *not* so much from *fear of
Pharaoh,* as from a revulsion of feeling in finding God's people
insensible to their high destiny, and from disappointment at not
having been able to inspire them with those hopes for which he had
sacrificed all his earthly prospects. This accounts for his strange
reluctance and despondency when commissioned by God to go and arouse
the people ([Exodus 3:15](../../../kjv/exodus/3/15); [Exodus 4:1](../../../kjv/exodus/4/1);
[Exodus 4:10-12](../../../kjv/exodus/4/10-12)).
**seeing him . . . invisible**—as
though he had not to do with men, but only with God, ever before his
eyes by faith, though *invisible* to the bodily eye ([Romans 1:20](../../../kjv/romans/1/20);
[1 Timothy 1:17](../../../kjv/1-timothy/1/17); [1 Timothy 6:16](../../../kjv/1-timothy/6/16)).
Hence he feared not the wrath of *visible* man; the
characteristic of *faith* ([Hebrews 11:1](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/1);
[Luke 12:4](../../../kjv/luke/12/4); [Luke 12:5](../../../kjv/luke/12/5)).

**28. kept**—*Greek,* "*hath*
kept," the Passover being, in Paul's day, still observed. His
*faith* here was his belief in the invisible God's promise that
the destroying angel should *pass over,* and not *touch*
the inmates of the blood-sprinkled houses (). "He acquiesced in the bare word of God where the
thing itself was not apparent" [CALVIN].
**the first-born**—*Greek*
neuter; *both of man and beast.*

**29. they**—Moses and Israel.
**Red Sea**—called so from
its red seaweed, or rather from Edom (meaning "red"), whose
country adjoined it.
**which . . . assaying to
do**—*Greek,* "of which (Red Sea) the Egyptians having
made experiment." *Rashness* and *presumption*
mistaken by many for *faith;* with similar rash presumption many
rush into eternity. The same thing when done by the believer, and
when done by the unbeliever, is not the same thing [BENGEL].
What was *faith* in Israel, was *presumption* in the
Egyptians.
**were drowned**—*Greek,*
"were swallowed up," or "engulfed." They sank in
the sands as much as in the waves of the Red Sea. Compare , "the *earth* swallowed them."

**30.** The soundings of trumpets,
though one were to sound for ten thousand years, cannot throw down
walls, but *faith* can do all things [CHRYSOSTOM].
**seven days**—whereas
sieges often lasted for years.

**31.** Rahab showed her "faith"
in her confession, [Joshua 2:9](../../../kjv/joshua/2/9);
[Joshua 2:11](../../../kjv/joshua/2/11), "I know that
Jehovah hath given you the land; Jehovah your God, is God in heaven
above, and in earth beneath."
**the harlot**—Her former
life adds to the marvel of her repentance, faith, and preservation
([Matthew 21:31](../../../kjv/matthew/21/31); [Matthew 21:32](../../../kjv/matthew/21/32)).
**believed not**—*Greek,*
"were disobedient," namely, to the will of God manifested
by the miracles wrought in behalf of Israel ([Matthew 21:32](../../../kjv/matthew/21/32)).
**received**—in her house
([Joshua 2:1](../../../kjv/joshua/2/1); [Joshua 2:4](../../../kjv/joshua/2/4);
[Joshua 2:6](../../../kjv/joshua/2/6)).
**with peace**—peaceably;
so that they had nothing to fear in her house. Thus Paul, quoting the
same examples ([Hebrews 11:17](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/17); [Hebrews 11:31](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/31))
for the power of *faith,* as James ([James 2:21](../../../kjv/james/2/21);
[James 2:25](../../../kjv/james/2/25); see on [James 2:25](../../../kjv/james/2/25); [James 2:25](../../../kjv/james/2/25)) does for
justification by *works* evidentially, shows that in maintaining
justification by faith alone, he means not a dead faith, but "faith
which *worketh* by love" ([James 2:25](../../../kjv/james/2/25)).

**32. the time**—suitable for the
length of an Epistle. He accumulates collectively some out of many
examples of faith.
**Gideon**—put before
Barak, not chronologically, but as being more celebrated. Just as
Samson for the same reason is put before Jephthæ. The mention of
Jephthæ as an example of "faith," makes it unlikely he
sacrificed the *life* of his daughter for a rash vow. David, the
warrior king and prophet, forms the transition from warrior chiefs to
the "prophets," of whom "Samuel" is mentioned as
the first.

**33. subdued kingdoms**—as David
did ([2 Samuel 8:1](../../../kjv/2-samuel/8/1), c.) so also Gideon
subdued Midian ([Judges 7:1-25](../../../kjv/judges/7/1-25)).
**wrought righteousness**—as
Samuel did ([1 Samuel 8:9](../../../kjv/1-samuel/8/9); [1 Samuel 12:3-23](../../../kjv/1-samuel/12/3-23);
[1 Samuel 15:33](../../../kjv/1-samuel/15/33)); and David ([1 Samuel 15:33](../../../kjv/1-samuel/15/33)).
**obtained promises**—as
"the prophets" ([1 Samuel 15:33](../../../kjv/1-samuel/15/33)) did; for through them the promises were given (compare [1 Samuel 15:33](../../../kjv/1-samuel/15/33)) [BENGEL].
Rather, "obtained *the fulfilment* of promises," which
had been previously the object of their *faith* ([Joshua 21:45](../../../kjv/joshua/21/45);
[1 Kings 8:56](../../../kjv/1-kings/8/56)). Indeed, Gideon, Barak,
c., also *obtained* the things which God promised. Not "*the*
promises," which are still future ([Hebrews 11:13](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/13)
[Hebrews 11:39](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/39)).
**stopped the mouths of
lions**—Note the words, "because he *believed* in his
God." Also Samson ([Judges 14:6](../../../kjv/judges/14/6)),
David ([1 Samuel 17:34-37](../../../kjv/1-samuel/17/34-37)),
Benaiah ([2 Samuel 23:20](../../../kjv/2-samuel/23/20)).

**34. Quenched the violence of fire**—
([Daniel 3:27](../../../kjv/daniel/3/27)). Not merely "quenched
the fire," but "quenched the power (so the *Greek*) of
the fire." [Daniel 3:19-30](../../../kjv/daniel/3/19-30);
[Daniel 6:12-23](../../../kjv/daniel/6/12-23) record the last
miracles of the Old Testament. So the martyrs of the Reformation,
though not escaping *the fire,* were delivered from its having
*power* really or lastingly to hurt them.
**escaped . . . sword**—So
Jephthah ([Judges 12:3](../../../kjv/judges/12/3)); and so
David escaped Saul's sword ([1 Samuel 18:11](../../../kjv/1-samuel/18/11);
[1 Samuel 19:10](../../../kjv/1-samuel/19/10); [1 Samuel 19:12](../../../kjv/1-samuel/19/12));
Elijah ([1 Kings 19:1](../../../kjv/1-kings/19/1); [2 Kings 6:14](../../../kjv/2-kings/6/14)).
**out of weakness . . . made
strong**—Samson ([Judges 16:28](../../../kjv/judges/16/28);
[Judges 15:19](../../../kjv/judges/15/19)). Hezekiah ([Judges 15:19](../../../kjv/judges/15/19)). MILTON
says of the martyrs, "They shook the powers of darkness with the
irresistible power of weakness."
**valiant in fight**—Barak
([Judges 4:14](../../../kjv/judges/4/14); [Judges 4:15](../../../kjv/judges/4/15)).
And the Maccabees, the sons of Matthias, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon,
who delivered the Jews from their cruel oppressor, Antiochus of
Syria.
**armies**—literally,
"camps" referring to [Judges 4:15](../../../kjv/judges/4/15). But the reference may be to the Maccabees having put to
flight the Syrians and other foes.

**35. Women received their dead
raised**—as the widow of Zarephath (). The Shunammite (). The two oldest manuscripts read. "They received
women of aliens by raising their dead." shows that the raising of the widow's son by Elijah led her
to the faith, so that he thus *took* her into fellowship, an
*alien* though she was. Christ, in , makes especial mention of the fact that Elijah was sent to
an alien from Israel, a woman of Sarepta. Thus Paul may quote this as
an instance of Elijah's faith, that at God's command he went to a
Gentile city of Sidonia (contrary to Jewish prejudices), and there,
as the fruit of faith, not only raised her dead son, but *received*
her as a convert into the family of God, as *Vulgate* reads.
Still, *English Version* may be the right reading.
**and**—*Greek,*
"but"; in contrast to those raised again to life.
**tortured**—"broken
on the wheel." Eleazar (2 Maccabees 6:18, end; 2
Maccabees 19:20,30). The sufferer was stretched on an instrument
like a drumhead and scourged to death.
**not accepting
deliverance**—when offered to them. So the seven brothers, 2
Maccabees 7:9, 11, 14, 29, 36; and Eleazar, 2 Maccabees 6:21,
28, 30, "Though I might have been delivered from death, I
endure these severe pains, being beaten."
**a better resurrection**—than
that of the women's children "raised to life again"; or,
than the resurrection which their foes could give them by delivering
them from death ([Daniel 12:2](../../../kjv/daniel/12/2);
[Luke 20:35](../../../kjv/luke/20/35); [Philippians 3:11](../../../kjv/philippians/3/11)).
The fourth of the brethren (referring to [Philippians 3:11](../../../kjv/philippians/3/11)) said to King Antiochus, "To be put to death by men, is
to be chosen to look onward for the hopes which are of God, to be
raised up again by Him; but for thee there is no resurrection to
life." The writer of Second Maccabees *expressly disclaims
inspiration,* which prevents our mistaking Paul's allusion here to
it as if it sanctioned the Apocrypha as inspired. In quoting Daniel,
he quotes a book *claiming inspiration,* and so tacitly
sanctions that claim.

**36. others**—of a *different*
class of confessors for the truth (the *Greek* is different from
that for "others," , *alloi, heteroi*).
**trial**—testing their
*faith.*
**imprisonment**—as Hanani
([2 Chronicles 16:10](../../../kjv/2-chronicles/16/10)), imprisoned by
Asa. Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by Ahab ([1 Kings 22:26](../../../kjv/1-kings/22/26);
[1 Kings 22:27](../../../kjv/1-kings/22/27)).

**37. stoned**—as Zechariah, son
of Jehoiada ([2 Chronicles 24:20-22](../../../kjv/2-chronicles/24/20-22);
[Matthew 23:35](../../../kjv/matthew/23/35)).
**sawn asunder**—as Isaiah
was said to have been by Manasseh; but see my [Matthew 23:35](../../../kjv/matthew/23/35)
to Isaiah.
**tempted**—*by their
foes,* in the midst of their tortures, to renounce their faith;
the most bitter aggravation of them. Or else, *by those of their
own household,* as Job was [ESTIUS];
or by the fiery darts of Satan, as Jesus was in His last trials
[GLASSIUS]. Probably it
included all three; they were *tempted* in every possible way,
by friends and foes, by human and satanic agents, by caresses and
afflictions, by words and deeds, to forsake God, but in vain, through
the power of faith.
**sword**—literally, "they
died in the murder of the sword." In [Matthew 23:35](../../../kjv/matthew/23/35) the contrary is given as an effect of *faith,* "they
escaped the edge of the sword." Both alike are marvellous
effects of faith. In both accomplishes great things and suffers great
things, without counting it suffering [CHRYSOSTOM].
Urijah was so slain by Jehoiakim ([Matthew 23:35](../../../kjv/matthew/23/35)); and *the prophets* in Israel ([Matthew 23:35](../../../kjv/matthew/23/35)).
**in sheepskins**—as Elijah
([1 Kings 19:13](../../../kjv/1-kings/19/13), *Septuagint*).
They were *white;* as the "goat-skins" were *black*
(compare [Zechariah 13:4](../../../kjv/zechariah/13/4)).
**tormented**—*Greek,*
"in evil state."

**38. Of whom the world was not
worthy**—So far from their being unworthy of living in the world,
as their exile in deserts, c., might seem to imply, "the world
was not worthy of them." The world, in shutting them out, shut
out from itself a source of blessing such as Joseph proved to
Potiphar ([Genesis 39:5](../../../kjv/genesis/39/5)), and Jacob to
Laban ([Genesis 30:27](../../../kjv/genesis/30/27)). In condemning
them, the world condemned itself.
**caves**—literally,
"chinks." Palestine, from its hilly character, abounds in
*fissures* and caves, affording shelter to the persecuted, as
the fifty hid by Obadiah ([1 Kings 18:4](../../../kjv/1-kings/18/4);
[1 Kings 18:13](../../../kjv/1-kings/18/13)) and Elijah ([1 Kings 19:8](../../../kjv/1-kings/19/8);
[1 Kings 19:13](../../../kjv/1-kings/19/13)); and Mattathias and
his sons (1 Maccabees 2:28, 29); and Judas Maccabeus (2
Maccabees 5:27).

**39. having obtained a good
report**—*Greek,* "being borne witness of." *Though*
they were so, yet "they received not the promise," that is,
the *final completion* of "salvation" *promised*
at Christ's coming again (); "the eternal inheritance" (). Abraham did *obtain* the very thing *promised*
([Hebrews 6:15](../../../kjv/hebrews/6/15)) *in part,*
namely, blessedness *in soul* after death, by virtue of faith in
Christ about to come. The *full* blessedness of body and soul
shall not be till the full number of the elect shall be accomplished,
and all together, no one preceding the other, shall enter on the full
glory and bliss. Moreover, in another point of view, "It is
probable that some accumulation of blessedness was added to holy
souls, when Christ came and fulfilled all things even as at His
burial many rose from the dead, who doubtless ascended to heaven with
Him" [FLACIUS in
BENGEL]. (Compare *Note,*
see on [Hebrews 6:15](../../../kjv/hebrews/6/15)). The *perfecting*
of believers in title, and in respect to conscience, took place once
for all, at the death of Christ, by virtue of His being made by death
*perfect* as Saviour. Their *perfecting in soul* at, and
ever after Christ's death, took place, and takes place at their
death. But the universal and final perfecting will not take place
till Christ's coming.

**40. provided**—with divine
forethought from eternity (compare [Genesis 22:8](../../../kjv/genesis/22/8);
[Genesis 22:14](../../../kjv/genesis/22/14)).
**some better thing for us**—
([Hebrews 7:19](../../../kjv/hebrews/7/19)); than they had here.
They had not in this world, "apart from us" (so the *Greek*
is for "without us," that is, they had to wait for us for),
the clear revelation of the promised salvation actually accomplished,
as we now have it in Christ; in their state, beyond the grave their
*souls* also seem to have attained an increase of *heavenly*
bliss on the death and ascension of Christ; and they shall not attain
the full and final *glory in body and soul* (the regeneration of
the creature), until the full number of the elect (including us with
them) is completed. The Fathers, CHRYSOSTOM,
c., restricted the meaning of [Hebrews 11:39](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/39)
[Hebrews 11:40](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/40) to this last truth, and
I incline to this view. "The connection is, You, Hebrews, may
far more easily exercise patience than Old Testament believers; for
they had much longer to wait, and are still waiting until the elect
are all gathered in; you, on the contrary, have not to wait for them"
[ESTIUS]. I think his
object in these verses ([Hebrews 11:39](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/39);
[Hebrews 11:40](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/40)) is to warn Hebrew
Christians against their tendency to relapse into *Judaism.*
"Though the Old Testament worthies attained such eminence by
faith, they are not above us in privileges, but the reverse." It
is not *we* who are perfected *with them,* but rather *they
with us.* They *waited* for His coming; we enjoy Him as
having come ([Hebrews 1:1](../../../kjv/hebrews/1/1); [Hebrews 2:3](../../../kjv/hebrews/2/3)).
Christ's death, the means of *perfecting* what the Jewish *law
could not perfect,* was reserved for our time. Compare [Hebrews 2:3](../../../kjv/hebrews/2/3), "*perfecter* (*Greek*) of our faith."
Now that Christ is come, they in soul share our blessedness, being
"the spirits of the just made perfect" ([Hebrews 2:3](../../../kjv/hebrews/2/3)); so ALFORD;
however, see on [Hebrews 11:1](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/1). [Hebrews 11:1](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/1) shows that the blood of Christ, brought into the heavenly
holy place by Him, first opened an entrance into heaven (compare [Hebrews 11:1](../../../kjv/hebrews/11/1)). Still, the fathers were in blessedness by faith in the
Saviour to come, at death ([Hebrews 6:15](../../../kjv/hebrews/6/15);
[Luke 16:22](../../../kjv/luke/16/22)).

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