The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 309

ginnl import of caution or ciroumspection, instrmce of Pauline thou.,.ht in this Epistle, there is 110 need to suppose here a further while the difference of phr11Se nffords a pre- meouiug (cf. Aots uiii. 10, the only other sumption, though by no means in itself pasea.ge in the New Testament where the cone.lusive, aga,inst Pauline authorship. Terb occurs), Ebrard, taking only prudent, Ver. 8.-By faith Abrahe.m, when he was forethought to ho expressed, enlarges on the oa.lled to go out into a. place which he should lesson thus conveyed to the effect that he who after receive for an inherite.nce, obeyed (ii ter- aots on simple faith, regardless of the world's ally, when called, obeyed to go out, etc.) ; and opinion or of ridicule, is the one who is he went out, not knowing whither he went. truly prudent. And we may add that such The reference is to the fil'st call of Abraham prudence legitimately comes in 118 a motive (Gen. xii. I), his obedience to which i.➔ the in the religioUB life. The autecedent of first instance of the faith which the whole "which" (5,' ~r), though the ancients gene- lifa of the father of the faithful so eminently rally understand H&/JwToP, is taken as e.bove exemplifies. The fact of the place he was by most.Il!oderns: the reason being, not only to go to being so far unrevealed (intimated that faith (see in ver. 4) is the ruling idea. only as" a land that I will show ,bee") en- of the whole pa.sse.ge, but also the.t it suits hnnces the faith displayed. He fo\lowc,l better the expressed results, especie.lly the the Divine voice as it were blindly, not second, "beca.me heir,'' etc. For to se.y seeing whither it was leading him, knowing the.t he bece.me heir of the righteousness only that it was right to follow it. So to w_hioh is aocording to faith through the those who walk by faith now the future may e.rk, a.a being the evidence of his faith, or e.s be unknown or dim. being the means of his preserve.tion, is less " Lead thou me on. intelligible the.n to say tha.t through fe.ith . . . I do not llBk to see'. he bece.me so. The sense in which Noe.h The diste.nt scone : one step enough for me." "condemned the world" is illustrated by Me.tt. xii. 41, 42, "The men of Nineveh," Vers. 9, 10.-By faith he sojourned iD. etc., ''.J'he quee!'- of the _Sou~~•". e!,c. (cf. (rather, went to sojourn in) the le.nd of Rom, u. 27), His becomrng heu, etc., promise, as in e. strange co11J1try (literally, rests on the view of the fulfilment of as one belonging to others; i.e. not his owu: primmval_ promise being transmitted 68 an "As in un alien land" (Wickliffe) ; Lf. Gen. iuherita.nce to the faithful, N ol\h, e.s he xxiii. 4, " I am a stranger and sojourner appears in Genesis, was eminently heir in with you"), dwelling in tabernacles with this sense, as alone in his de.y appropriating Isaao e.nd Ja.cob, the heirs with him of the it and as· transmitting it to his seed. In same promise : for he looked for a city like manner Abraham, who is next men- which he.th fo11J1dations (literally, the foun- tioned, wBB the prominent heir among the dations) whose Builder e.nd Milker is God. subsequent patriarchs (of. Rom. iv. 13). Of course, here, "with Isano e.nd Jacob" The ideo running through the whole Old mee.ns "a., did also Isaac uncl Jacob." The 'l'estament is the.t, in the midst of a sinful three successive pe.triarchs ure presented in world, an inheritance of su.lvation was Scripture ns representing tile period of transmitted through a chosen seed, till the nomadio life in the land of promise, not yet Christ should come as the " Heir of all possessed: alike supported by faith in thtl things," the perfected Head and Represente.- Divine word; and hence they a.re ever tive of nll redeemed hume.nity. The word grouped together (cf. Gen. xxviii. 13; 3ucc1&ouv.,.,,, as thnt of which Noah WIUI heir, xxxii. 9: xlviii. 15: I. 24; Exod. iii. 6; me.y have been suggeste<l with reference to Deut. ix. 5: 1 Kings xviii. 36, etc. : also him by his being the first who is ea.lied Matt. xxii. 32 : Luke xiii. 28). 'l'he mean- ~lHa,os in Genesis ( vi. 9), 11nd by this ing of their history to us, and the object of being his .usual deeigno.tion (Ezek. xiv. 14, their common hope, are further set fortli in 20; Ecclus. xliv. 17: Wied. x. 4, 6, Sir. vers. 13-17, and will be under them con- x,liv. 17: cf. 2 Pet. ii. 5, H~pu! 6uca,ouv.,.,,s), sidered. In the mean time an instance of 'fhe whole phl'ase, Tijs " ..Ta 1rlunv 6u,..,- Abraham's fe.itb, p1,"0uliar to himself, is ou~Vlls, ma.y be taken to imply the Pauline adduced. doctrine of justification by faith, which Vers. 11, 12.-By faith a.Isa Sarah herself in~y be supposed to have been familiar to reoeived strength to oonceive seed, even the readers of this Epistle, having been when she WBS past age (en,c• v, as iu tho nlree.dy fully enunciated by St. Paul, aud Text us Receptus,after "al 1rapa ,ca,pl,v 1JA1,c(as, d_welt on by him o.s eepeoie.lly cxcmplifieu ruay be rejected, being, perhaps, e.n interpola- in AbrahaII). St. Prml, indoed, does not ui;e tion Bll"'"ested by ul), because ahe judged this exe.ot phrase, but 6,,cawuvvTJr 1rluTEws him faithful who he.d promised. Thereiora (Rom. iv. II, 13): '" 1rluTEw• (Rom. x. 6): ,1rl sprang there even of one, e.nd him e.s good as Tij 1rluT•• (Phil. iii. 9): but still the mtmuiug dee.d, so runny as the stars of the sky iD. wu.y be the Bllliltl, The correspoulle11ce is o.u multitude, and as the aa.nd which is b7 \he  300 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [cH. xt. 1-40.