Hebrews 11:29
in Hebrews 11By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were swallowed up.
KJV
By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
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This verse in Hebrews 11
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land - Exo 14:22, Exo 14:29. That is, it was only by confidence in God that they were able to do this. It was not by power which they had to remove the waters and to make a passage for themselves; and it was not by the operation of any natural causes. It is not to be supposed that all who passed through the Red sea had saving faith.
This site's exposition
passed through the Red Sea
The same sea met two companies with two outcomes. Israel passed through the Red Sea as on dry land, and when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned. The verse places the difference in faith.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"By faith they passed through the Red Sea." Indeed, they believed that they would pass through, and they did pass through. Such is the power of faith, that it makes possible even those things that are impossible. "but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do …
A commentator
Ephrem the SyrianCOMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS · Written before 373.
proposed
"By faith they crossed the Red Sea." In fact, the people who entered into it believed and crossed it as if on dry land. On the other hand, the Egyptians went into it without faith and received the reward for their crimes in the midst …
"By faith, they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land." Again he compares one whole people with another, lest they should say, we cannot be as the saints. "By faith" (he says) "they passed through the Red Sea, as by dry land, which the Egyptians assaying to do, were drowned." Here he leads them also to a recollection of the sufferings in Egypt. How, "by faith"? Because they had hoped to pass through the sea, and therefore they prayed: or rather it was Moses who prayed. Seest thou that everywhere Faith goes beyond human reasonings, and weakness and lowliness? Seest thou that at the same time they both believed, and feared punishment, both in the blood on the doors, and in the Red Sea? And he made it clear that it was really water, through those that fell into it, and were choked; that it was not a mere appearance: but as in the case of the lions those who were devoured proved the reality of the facts, and in the case of the fiery furnace, those who were burnt; so here also thou seest that the same things become to the one a cause of salvation and glory, and to the other of destruction. So great a good is Faith. And when we fall into perplexity, then are we delivered, even though we come to death itself, even though our condition be desperate. For what else was left for them? They were unarmed, compassed about by the Egyptians and the sea; and they must either be drowned if they fled, or fall into the hands of the Egyptians. But nevertheless He saved them from impossibilities. That which was spread under the one as land, overwhelmed the others as sea. In the former case it forgot its nature: in the latter it even armed itself against them.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Lest they say: why do you put forward inimitable men? he brought the people as an example too. Imitate, he says, at least those from the crowd who believed that the water would not drown them, and so took courage, hoping in God, that they …
623. – Then (v. 29) he shows what he did in the very passing: first, he shows this; secondly, he shows that this pertained to faith (v. 30b). He says, therefore, by faith they passed through the Red Sea, as by dry land. Two things …
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
By faith they passed through the Red sea, as by dry land,.... Not through a river, but through the sea, the Red sea, the sea of Suph, or weeds; See Gill on Act 7:
The advantages that we have in the gospel for the exercise of this grace above what those had who lived in the times of the Old Testament,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The same thing when done by the believer, and when done by the unbeliever, is not the same thing [BENGEL]. What was faith in Israel, was presumption in the Egyptians. were drowned--Greek, "were swallowed up," or "engulfed." They sank in the sands as much as in the waves of the Red Sea.
By faith they passed through the Red Sea - See the notes on Exo 14:22. The Egyptians thought they could walk through the sea as well as the Israelites; they tried, and were drowned; while the former passed in perfect safety. The one walked by faith, the other by sight; one perished, the other was saved.
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Πίστει | pistei | By faith | G4102 → | 242 times |
| διέβησαν | diebesan | they passed through | G1224 → | |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐρυθρὰν | eruthran | Red | G2063 → | |
| θάλασσαν | thalassan | Sea | G2281 → | |
| ὡς | hos | as | G5613 → | 500 times |
| διὰ | dia | through | G1223 → | 664 times |
| ξηρᾶς | xeras | dry | G3584 → | |
| γῆς, | ges | land, | G1093 → | 248 times |
| ἧς | hes | which | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| πεῖραν | peiran | an attempt | G3984 → | |
| λαβόντες | labontes | having made | G2983 → | 257 times |
| οἱ | hoi | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Αἰγύπτιοι | aiguptioi | Egyptians | G124 → | |
| κατεπόθησαν.¶ | katepothesan | were swallowed up. | G2666 → |
ΠίστειBy faith
pisteiG4102 →242 times
διέβησανthey passed through
diebesanG1224 →
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
ἐρυθρὰνRed
eruthranG2063 →
θάλασσανSea
thalassanG2281 →
ὡςas
hosG5613 →500 times
διὰthrough
diaG1223 →664 times
ξηρᾶςdry
xerasG3584 →
γῆς,land,
gesG1093 →248 times
ἧςwhich
hesG3739 →1405 times
πεῖρανan attempt
peiranG3984 →
λαβόντεςhaving made
labontesG2983 →257 times
οἱthe
hoiG3588 →19766 times
ΑἰγύπτιοιEgyptians
aiguptioiG124 →
κατεπόθησαν.¶were swallowed up.
katepothesanG2666 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 14:13But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 20:17
You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out…
- 2 Chronicles 20:15
And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle…
- Isaiah 41:10–14
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Exodus 14:30
That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.
- 2 Kings 6:16
“Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
- 2 Chronicles 20:17
Through
Psalms 66:6He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters on foot; there we rejoiced in Him.
it leads to
- Joshua 3:16
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 14:21–22
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were…
- Joshua 3:16
Through
Psalms 78:13He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:21
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were…
- Exodus 14:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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On this chapter
About Hebrews
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews 27; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Hebrews and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews.