Lange Commentary - Hebrews 11:8 - 11:12

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Lange Commentary - Hebrews 11:8 - 11:12


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II

The example of Abraham and Sarah

Heb_11:8-12

8By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after [was destined to] receive for an inheritance, obeyed [hearkened, ὑðÞêïõóåí ]; and he went out, not knowing whither he went [cometh]. 9By faith he sojourned in the [a] land of promise, as in a strange [alien, ὰëëïôñßáí ] country, dwelling in tabernacles 10[tents] with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a [was looking for the] city which hath foundations, whose builder [architect, designer, ôå÷íßôçò ] and maker [framer, fabricator, äçìéïõñãüò ] is God. 11Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child [om. was delivered, etc.] when she was past age [contrary to her time of life], because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead [and that too, having become deadened], so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore, [the] innumerable.

[Heb_11:8.— êáëïýìåíïò , being called, summoned; with Art. ὁ , as read by many, “he that is called Abraham;” but much less well.— ὑðÞêïõóåí ἐîåëèåῖí , hearkened, or obeyed, to go out, i.e., so as to go out.— ἔìåëëåí ëáìâ ., was about, was destined to receive; E. V., should after receive.— ðïῦ ἔñ÷åôáé , where, he cometh, ðïῦ , pregnant=whither ( ðïῖ ), he is coming, and where he is going to remain.

Heb_11:9.— ðáñῷêçóåí åἰò ãῆí , sojourned, dwelt as a stranger (lit., dwelt along side of) in the land; åἰò , again pregnant, “went into the land in order to sojourn in it.” So Mat_2:23, êáôþêçóåí åἰò ðüëéí , dwelt into, i.e., came into and dwelt in.— ὡò ἀëëïôñßáí , as alien, as belonging to others, though he had himself been promised the future possession of it.

Heb_11:10.— ἐîåäÝ÷åôï , he was awaiting, looking for, Imperf.— ôὴí ðüëéí , the city, not, a city. ôå÷íßôçò , artisan, architect; äçìéïõñãüò , framer, builder, i.e., of the heavenly Jerusalem, Heb_12:22.

Heb_11:11.— åἰò êáôáâïëὴí óðÝñìáôïò , for the depositing of seed (Alf.); for the founding of a seed, an offspring (Moll); Del., für befruchtenden Samen; Stier, einen Samen zu gründen; De Wette, zur Gründung des Geschlechts.— êáὶ ðáñὰ êáéñὸí ἡëéêßáò , even contrary to the period of her age or time of life ( ðáñÜ , aside from, in inconsistency with).

Heb_11:12.— êáὶ ôáῦôá íåíåêñùìÝíïõ , and that too having become dead.— êáèþò , according as, equality of measure, not merely ὡò , as, of likeness.— ἡ ἀíáñßèìçôïò , the=which is innumerable, agreeing with ἅììïò , not, as would seem in E. V., referring to the progeny.—K.].

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Heb_11:8. When he was called.—The lect. rec. without the article is preferable in respect to sense, since ὁ êáëïýìåíïò ἈâñáÜì can hardly mean Abraham who was called or summoned, namely, to come forth (Lün.); but, in accordance with usage, could mean only the so-called Abraham, or, he who was called Abraham. But a reference to the change of name would here have nor elevancy, since this change took place not until twenty-five years after Abram’s departure from Haran, the event which is here spoken of.

Heb_11:9. Sojourned— Ðáñïéêåῖí in the classics is used only of dwelling in the neighborhood, but in Hellenistic use, of sojourning as a foreigner; in connection with åἰò it includes also the idea of coming to sojourn.

Heb_11:10. The city that hath foundations.—This is not the earthly Jerusalem (Grot., etc.), but the heavenly (Gal_4:28), which (Heb_12:22) is called the city of the living God, and (Heb_13:14) the city that is to be, whose foundations also are mentioned (Rev_21:14). In so far as God projected the plan of this city, He is called its ôå÷íßôçò , and as the one who executes this plan, its äçìéïõñãüò . This latter word elsewhere only at 2Ma_4:1. [It figures largely in the Gnostic vocabulary, but in a very different sense].

Heb_11:11. Also Sarah herself.—The emphatic êáὶ áὐôÞ is referred by Chrys., Beng., etc., to the fact that Sarah was a mere woman; by Schlicht., Schultz, etc., to the fact that she was barren; but by the majority correctly to that of her having been at the outset unbelieving, Rom_4:19.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Faith gives to obedience, which is its characteristic mark, also power; for it surrenders man entirely into the hands of God, while he sacrifices his individual will with his natural propensities and dearest inclinations, and merges his heart entirely in the pleasure and will of God. The Divine command determines his calling, and in the obedience of faith he goes willingly whither God calls him; in the confidence of faith he leaves it entirely to the Divine disposal to determine time, place, object, and limit of his sojourning and his wandering; and in the hope of faith he confidently waits in his pilgrimage for the final fulfilment of the Divine promise, and anticipates his entrance into the eternal mansions.

2. Faith renders us not merely strong in the conflict with the trials of our earthly pilgrimage, and not merely willing to surrender our temporal possessions for eternal good; it conquers also unbelief and doubt in the bosom of man, and qualifies him to be an instrument of God’s omnipotence and compassion, to which later generations are pointed for their edification and their admonition (Isa_51:1 ff.; Mal_2:15; Eze_33:24).

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

The pilgrimage of Abraham a figure of the character of our earthly life.—To the believer the word of God is sufficient: 1, as a command to set out; 2, as a directory of the way; 3, as nourishment on the journey.—The leadings of God are often dark, and it is not unfrequently difficult for men to follow them; but faith which clings to God’s word and faithfulness, receives light for the one, and power for the other.—Faith triumphs over outward affliction and over inward assaults.—It is not enough to have received a call from God: we must steadfastly abide in this clear to the end.—The first steps are frequently the hardest; but they are the decisive ones.—What we find in God repays abundantly what we sacrifice in our vocation.—As we have to give heed to the word of God, so we have to trust in the power of God.

Starke:—The believer follows, if God calls him from one place to another, although he sees no temporal advantage, Act_20:22-23.—Believers acknowledge that they are here strangers and pilgrims, and are seeking a genuine habitation.—The impotence of nature yields to the power of faith.—God fulfils abundantly His promises; blessed are all they who put their trust in Him!—Abundance of population is a Divine blessing, and produces no scarcity in the land; the fault of this lies in the sins of men (Lev_26:9; Lev_26:26).

Rieger:—The will of God is as an infinitely wide space which has indeed a narrow entrance; but whoever has once forced his way through the entrance, and has entirely offered up his will to God, he henceforth has abundant space in the will of God to move in accordance with His choice.—Waiting expresses exceedingly well the nature and power of faith. For in waiting, certainty of conviction springing from the promise, a loving longing and desire for the promised good, and patience in hope, flow together beautifully into one.—The word of promise is, to be sure, the only seed for faith; but to prepare the heart properly to preserve this seed often requires many other labors.

Heubner:—Faith produces perseverance under heavy trials.—Faith must, with the believer, decide in regard to the choice of his residence.—God gives to the dead new life.—God is the guardian of holy wedlock.

Footnotes:

Heb_11:9.—The art. before ãῆí is, according to Sin. A. D**. K. L. and many minusc., to be stricken out.

Heb_11:11.— Ἔôåêåí of the Rec., after ἡëéêßáò , is, according to A. D*., 17, to be expunged. In Sin. it is from the hand of the corrector.

Heb_11:12.—Instead of ὡóåὶ ἅììïò , we are to read after Sin. A. D. E. K. L., 23, 37, 46, 47, ὡò ἡ ἅììïò , and we retain the words ἠ ðáñὰ ôὸ ÷åῖëïò , which are wanting in D*. E.—Instead of ἐãåííÞèçóáí , write with A. E*. K., 109, 219*., ἐãåíÞèçóáí .