22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.
11:8 "Abraham. . .obeyed" In some ways these cameos are idealized representations of these men's lives.
The OT is unique in ancient literature in that it records both the positive and negative about its characters. Abraham was a strange mixture of fear and faith
1. Fear
a. God said leave your family; he took his father and Lot
b. God promised a child; he tried to produce a child through Sarah's servant and later tried to give Sarah away to both an Egyptian and a Philistine king in order to save his own life
2. Faith
a. He did leave Ur
b. He did believe God would give him descendants
c. He was willing to offer Isaac (cf. Gen. 22)
God is not looking for "super-saints," but for flawed humans who will respond to Him in repentance and faith and live for Him regardless of the circumstances.
11:9 "he lived as an alien in the land of promise" This is the term "sojourned," which means he did not have rights as a citizen (cf. Heb. 11:13).
11:10 "he was looking" This is an imperfect middle (deponent) indicative. He kept looking!
"the city"
This is a common biblical metaphor (cf. Heb. 11:16; 12:22; 13:14; John 14:2; Gal. 4:26; Rev. 3:12; 21:2), which refers to the place of God's dwelling with humans again, as in Eden.
Abraham lived his life by faith looking not at current reality, but promised reality. Faith says "this world is not my home"; faith says "God's promises are sure"; faith says "reality is not what I see, but what God says"!
11:11 "Sarah" Some ancient Greek manuscripts (P46, D) add "barren." It is significant that none of the patriarch's wives (except Leah) could conceive without the help of God. Also, none of the first born children were the heirs of promise. God acted to show that He was in charge!
Sarah, like Abraham, was a mixture of fear and faith. She gave Abraham her servant; she also laughed at God's promise (cf. Gen. 18:12).
11:12 "as the stars of heaven in number and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore" This was part of God's promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (cf. Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 32:12). Remember all of their wives (except Leah) were barren.
"she considered Him faithful who had promised"
She acted based on God's promise, not current reality. This phrase is similar to Heb. 10:23 (cf. Heb. 6:17-18). The readers are also to act in this way.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: HEBREWS 11:13-16
13All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
11:13 "All these died in faith, without receiving the promises" This is the heart of the comparison of the OT people of faith in chapter 11 to the believing Jewish recipients who were on the verge of "shrinking back" (cf. Heb. 10:38; also 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
"but having. . .and having. . .and having" Note the three descriptive, parallel phrases!
"they were strangers and exiles on the earth"
Literally, alien residents who had no rights as citizens (cf. LXX Gen. 23:4; Ps. 39:12; Phil. 3:20; 1 Pet. 2:11). Physical reality is not the true, eternal reality. This world was not their home.
11:15 "if" This is a second class conditional sentence called "contrary to fact." They did go out and they did not go back!
11:16 The true reality is spiritual, as seen in the metaphor of a heavenly city whose builder and maker is God (cf. Heb. 11:10). God responds to trust and faith (cf. Heb. 2:11; 11:2,39; 13:14). "Country" and "city" (Heb. 11:10) are theologically parallel as places prepared by God for His faith children!
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: HEBREWS 11:17-22
17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18it was he to whom it was said, "In Isaac your descendants shall be called." 19He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. 21By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.
11:17 "he was tested" When one compares Gen. 22:1 with Matt. 6:13 and James 1:13-14, there is a seeming contradiction. However, there are two words in Greek for "test" with different connotations.
One is to test toward destruction (peiraz ō) and the other is to test with a view to approval and strengthening (dokimazō). See Special Topic at Heb. 2:18.
God provides opportunities for His children to demonstrate and grow their faith (cf. Gen. 22:1; Exod.15:25; 16:4; 20:20; Deut. 8:2,16; 13:3; Jdgs. 2:22; 2 Chr. 32:31). Tests become either a stumbling block or a stepping stone.
"was offering up his only begotten son"
The level of Abraham's faith is seen in his willingness to give back to God the child of promise he had waited for for thirteen years (cf. James 2:21).
The use of monogenēs ("only begotten") in relation to Isaac cannot mean "only begotten" since Abraham had other children. It surely means "the child of promise," "the unique child." This is also the meaning of John 3:16.
11:18 This is a quote from Gen. 21:12, which came before the test!
11:19 "raise men from the dead" Abraham expected Isaac to return with him (cf. Gen. 22:5). The text does not state how this would happen. Hebrews asserts that he may have expected a resuscitation.
Abraham-and hermeneutics
