Hebrews 11 Footnotes

11:1 Some people object that this refers to blind faith. In this verse, however, the writer described faith as a conviction of certainty about what cannot be seen. This kind of faith motivated men and women in the past to live for God and to trust him to fulfill his promises.

11:5 Some see a discrepancy in this verse because Jn 3:13 teaches that no one has ever ascended into heaven. But this assertion neglects the fact that John’s Gospel has a different context than Heb 11:5. John was adamant that no one had ascended to heaven so as to return to explain heavenly things, namely, to reveal God the Father to humanity. But Jesus is able to do so because he came from the Father in heaven (see Jn 1:1,14,18). Heb 11:5, on the other hand, says that Enoch was taken out of this world without experiencing death (see Gn 5:21-24); his faith was pleasing to God.

11:13 Some ask how OT persons could be saved since they never exercised explicit faith in Christ. This verse provides the answer. Saints in the OT looked forward to the messianic hope and believed in God’s promises, which pointed to the future Messiah, Jesus.

11:17 Some wonder why Abraham’s son Ishmael is left out here This can be explained by the fact that Isaac was the promised son on whom the fulfillment of God’s pledge of numerous descendants to Abraham depended (Gn 15:1-6; 22:15-18). Thus, in this sense, Ishmael did not count. This conclusion is further borne out by Heb 11:18: “Your offspring will be called through Isaac” (see Gn 21:12).

11:26 Moses’s trust in Christ is but one example of how OT saints looked forward to the messianic hope and believed in the promises that pointed to Christ (v. 13). And, because of his belief in the coming Messiah, Moses experienced the same kind of rejection that Christ would undergo.

11:31 How was Rahab saved by faith, if Jms 2:25 says she was saved by works? The word for “save” can also mean to “vindicate” or “authenticate.” Thus, the contextual point in James is that Rahab’s faith was authenticated or shown genuine by her works. These verses address different aspects of salvation and do not contradict each other. See note on Jos 2:2-7 regarding Rahab’s actions.

11:32 Why would Scripture list people like Samson and Jephthah, who experienced major failures, as examples of faith? Just like believers today, they had some moments of resolute belief and other moments of doubt or disobedience. The chapter is not about how great these individuals were, but it is about how faithful God is—even when we are faithless. The author encourages us to persevere in trusting God.