Page 504 - Demo

The Scari ce of saac by Rembrandt (1606-1669)
11:17 By any human measure, what God promised to Abraham and Sarah— a child—was impossible. And yet they believed.
11:12 The author concludes this beautiful discourse on faith with the su erings God’s faithful have endured down through the ages. The word “martyr” means “witness.” Who are the witnesses to God whose faith inspires you?
l. [11:13] Gn 23:4; Ps 39:13.
m. [11:16] 13:14; Ex 3:6.
n. [11:17] Gn 22:1–10; Sir 44:20;
1 Mc 2:52; Jas 2:21.
o. [11:18] Gn 21:12 LXX; Rom 9:7.
p. [11:19] Rom 4:16–22.
q. [11:20] Gn 27:27–40.
r. [11:21] Gn 27:38–40; 47:31 LXX;
48:15–16.
s. [11:22] Gn 50:24–25.
t. [11:23] Ex 2:2; Acts 7:20.
u. [11:24–25] Ex 2:10–15; Acts 7:23–29.
v. [11:27] Ex 2:15; Acts 7:29.
w. [11:28] Ex 12:21–23; Wis 18:25;
1 Cor 10:10.
x. [11:29] Ex 14:22–28.
y. [11:30] Jos 6:12–21.
z. [11:31] Jos 2:1–21; 6:22–25; Jas 2:25.
a. 11:32] Jgs 4:6–22; 6:11–8:32;
11:1–12:7.
b. [11:33] Dn 6:23.
c. [11:34] Dn 3:22–25, 49–50.
d. [11:35] 1 Kgs 17:17–24; 2 Kgs
4:18–37; 2 Mc 6:18–7:42.
e. [11:36] 2 Chr 36:16; Jer 20:2; 37:15.
f. [11:37] 2 Chr 24:21.
g. [11:38] 1 Mc 2:28–30.
HEBREWS 
13All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,l 14for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. 15If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. 16But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.m
17By faith Abraham, when put to the test, o ered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to o er his only son,n 18of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”o 19* He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,p and he received Isaac back as a symbol. 20By faith regarding things still to come Isaac* blessed Jacob and Esau.q 21By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and “bowed in worship, leaning on the top of his sta .”r 22By faith Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke of the Exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.s
23t By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24* By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;u 25he chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the eeting pleasure of sin. 26He considered the reproach of the Anointed greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the recompense. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s fury, for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible.v 28By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, that the Destroyer of the rstborn might not touch them.w 29By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned.x 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell after being encircled for seven days.y 31By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace.z
32What more shall I say? I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,a 33who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions,b 34put out raging res, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders.c 35Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection.d 36Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment.e 37They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, a icted, tormented.f 38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth.g
39Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. 40God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.*
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* [11:19] As a symbol: Isaac’s “return from death” is seen as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection. Others understand the words en parabolē to mean “in gure,” i.e., the word dead is used guratively of Isaac, since he did not really die. But in the one other place that parabolē occurs in Hebrews, it means symbol (Heb 9:9).
* [11:20–22] Each of these three patriarchs, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, had faith in the future ful llment of God’s promise and renewed this faith when near death.
* [11:24–27] The reason given for Moses’ departure from Egypt di ers from the account in Ex 2:11–15. The author also gives a christological interpretation of his decision to share the trials of his people.
*[11:40] So that without us they should not be made perfect: the heroes of the Old Testament obtained their recompense only after the saving work of Christ had been accomplished. Thus they already enjoy what Christians who are still struggling do not yet possess in its fullness.