Hebrews 11:9-23

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:12

That is, Abraham: the Arabic version has here a strange interpolation; "this faith Isaac and Rebecca conceived in mind, and so there were born of one, Esau and Jacob.' And him as good as dead ; being an hundred years of age; See Gill on Romans 4:19 . The Ethiopic version reads, "the bodies of both were like a dead carcass"; both of Abraham and Sarah: so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable ; as was promised to Abraham, ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:13

These all died in faith ,.... Not all the seed of Abraham, but all the believers in the preceding verses, excepting Enoch, particularly the three patriarchs, with Sarah; these died a corporeal death, which is common to all, to the righteous, and to the wicked; and yet saints die not as other men; they die in faith, having the grace itself, which being once implanted, can never be lost; and sometimes in the exercise of it, as these believers did: they died in the faith of their posterity... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:14

For they that say such things ,.... That they are strangers and pilgrims on earth: declare plainly that they seek a country ; heaven, so called, for the largeness of it; it is a good land, a land of uprightness; a pleasant land, a land of rest, though a land afar off; here the Father of Christ, and Christ himself, and all his people dwell: the Syriac version renders it, "their own city"; the place of their nativity, of which they were citizens: the act of "seeking" it supposes some... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:15

And truly if they had been mindful of that country ,.... Chaldea, which was Abraham's country: from whence they came out ; as Abraham and Sarah did, in person, and their posterity in them: they might have had opportunity to have returned : for the way from Canaan or Egypt, where they sojourned, was short and easy: and though Abraham sent his servant thither to take a wife for his son Isaac, yet he would not go thither himself, nor suffer his son; nay, made his servant swear that he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:16

But now they desire a better country ,.... Which is not to be understood of the then present time, in which the apostle wrote; for the patriarchs, of whom he speaks, were not then on earth, nor in any third place between heaven and earth; they were then in heaven; and though there are indeed in heaven desires after perfect happiness, in soul and body; yet this intends the desires of these saints when on earth, and which are common to all believers in the present state of things; who, as the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:17

By faith Abraham, when he was tried ,.... Or tempted; that is, by God, Genesis 22:1 . This temptation or trial respects the command given by God to Abraham, to offer up his son Isaac; which lays no foundation for a charge against God, either of sin or cruelty; for God's will is the rule of justice and goodness, and whatever he requires is just and good; and though his creatures are bound by the laws he prescribes them, he himself is not: besides, he is the Lord of life, the giver and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:18

Of whom it is said ,.... That is, of Isaac, Abraham's own son, whom he offered up; or rather, "to whom it was said", as the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions render it; that is, to Abraham, for to him was this said, Genesis 21:12 that in Isaac shall thy seed be called ; that numerous natural seed of his, which should inherit the land of Canaan; and his special famous seed, the Messiah, to whom the promises were made; See Gill on Romans 9:7 . read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:19

Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead ,.... Abraham did not go about this affair without thought; and yet he did not consult with flesh and blood; his reasoning was the reasoning of faith; and the conclusion of it was, not that he believed that God would raise his son from the dead, but that he was able to do it. He knew that he had received him at first, as it were, from the dead; he sprung from his own dead body, and out of Sarah's dead womb; and though his faith... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:20

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau ,.... The history of this is in Genesis 27:33 . The former of these was a good man, and, though the youngest son, he is set before, and was blessed before the eldest; and the latter was a wicked man, and yet had a blessing; for temporal blessings are enjoyed in common: and this blessing was prophetic, it was concerning things to come. Jacob's blessing was plenty of temporal things, and under which may be signified the dews of divine grace, the fatness... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:21

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying ,.... Which was the usual time of blessing with the patriarchs; and the reason of it was, that what was said might be more attended to and regarded, and more strongly impressed upon the mind; and this is a proof that it was done in faith by Jacob, when there was no appearance of the fulfilment of these things, and it was not likely that he should see them; and this shows the truth of what the apostle says in Hebrews 11:1 , blessed both the sons of... read more

Group of Brands