Hebrews 11:39-40

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Hebrews 11:32-40

The apostle having given us a classis of many eminent believers, whose names are mentioned and the particular trials and actings of their faith recorded, now concludes his narrative with a more summary account of another set of believers, where the particular acts are not ascribed to particular persons by name, but left to be applied by those who are well acquainted with the sacred story; and, like a divine orator, he prefaces his part of the narrative with an elegant expostulation: What shall... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Hebrews 11:35-40

11:35-40 Women received back their own folk as if they had been raised from the dead. Others were crucified because they refused to accept release, for they were eager to obtain a better resurrection. Others went through scoffing and scourging, yes, and chains and imprisonment. They were stoned; they were sawn asunder; they underwent every kind of trial; they died by the murder of the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, they were in want, they were oppressed, they were... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:39

And these all having obtained a good report through faith ,.... This may either be limited to the sufferers in the preceding verses, who were martyred, or suffered martyrdom for the faith, as the words may be rendered; and who are called martyrs or witnesses, in Hebrews 12:1 and so the Ethiopic version renders the clause, "and all these were witnesses concerning the faith": or it may be extended to all the instances of faith throughout the chapter; and so the apostle reasserts what he had... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hebrews 11:40

God having provided some better thing for us ,.... Not a better state of the church, in such respect, as to be free from suffering reproach and persecutions; for this is the case of saints under the New Testament as under the Old; nor the felicity of the soul after death; nor any greater degree of happiness in the other world; nor the perfection of blessedness in soul and body; things common to all believers; but Christ, as now exhibited in the flesh: Jesus Christ was the same in the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:39

Having obtained a good report (having been witnessed to; see Hebrews 11:2 ;) through faith - It was faith in God which supported all those eminent men who, in different parts of the world, and in different ages, were persecuted for righteousness sake. Received not the promise - They all heard of the promises made to Abraham of a heavenly rest, and of the promise of the Messiah, for this was a constant tradition; but they died without having seen this Anointed of the Lord. Christ was... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:40

God having provided some better thing for us - This is the dispensation of the Gospel, with all the privileges and advantages it confers. That they without us should not be made perfect - Believers before the flood, after the flood, under the law, and since the law, make but one Church. The Gospel dispensation is the last, and the Church cannot be considered as complete till the believers under all dispensations are gathered together. As the Gospel is the last dispensation, the preceding... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 11:39

Verse 39 39.And these all, etc. This is an argument from the less to the greater; for if they on whom the light of grace had not as yet so brightly shone displayed so great a constancy in enduring evils, what ought the full brightness of the Gospel to produce in us? A small spark of light led them to heaven; when the sun of righteousness shines over us, with what pretense can we excuse ourselves if we still cleave to the earth? This is the real meaning of the Apostle. (241) I know that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hebrews 11:39-40

And these all, having obtained a good report (literally, having been witnessed of, as in Hebrews 11:2 ) through faith, received not the promise: God having provided (or, foreseen ) some better thing for (literally, concerning ) us, that they without us should not be made perfect. There is no contradiction between the assertion here made, that none of the saints of old "received the promise ( ἐκομίσαντο τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν ) "and its being said of Abraham ( Hebrews 6:15... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hebrews 11:39-40

Perfection through the promise. In discoursing upon this confessedly difficult text, we shall not discuss the various interpretations that have been given to it, but simply unfold what we ourselves humbly judge to be its meaning. Consider— I. THE PROMISE . ( Hebrews 11:39 ) That is, the fulfillment of the promise, or the promised blessing. The apostle can refer in this expression only to the great substantive promise of the Old Testament dispensation, that of the coming of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hebrews 11:39-40

Successive stages in the dispensation of God's blessings to man. "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith," etc. Let us consider— I. THE GOOD REALIZED BY THE OLD TESTAMENT BELIEVERS . The better thing provided for Christians implies that some good thing was bestowed upon the godly under the former covenant. They had: 1. Divine promises. Many were the promises made to the ancient saints; e.g. promises of temporal good, of providential guidance... read more

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