And these all having obtained a good report through
faith,
&c.] 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 said, ( Hebrews 11:2
) , having proved it by a variety of examples; (See Gill on
Hebrews
11:2).
received not the promise;
not that they did not receive the promise of the land of Canaan,
for so did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses nor that they did
not receive the promise of deliverance and victory, for so did
Joshua, the Judges, and others; or that they did not receive the
promise of eternal life, for that they all did; but the promise
of the Messiah, that is, the Messiah promised: for they had the
promise, but not the thing; who is called "the Promise",
emphatically, because he is the first and grand promise; and
because in him all the promises centre, and are yea, and amen:
him the Old Testament saints received not; they, greatly desired
to see him in the flesh; they saw him by faith; they believed in
him, and rejoiced in the expectation of his coming; but he was
not exhibited to them incarnate. Now since these saints so
strongly believed, and so cheerfully suffered before Christ came;
the apostle's argument is, that much more should the saints now,
since Christ is come, and the promises received, go on believing
in him, and readily suffering for his sake; see ( Hebrews
12:1-4 ) .