Hebrews 11:9
in Hebrews 11By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
KJV
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
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This verse in Hebrews 11
Commentary
17 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country - The land of Canaan that had been promised to him and his posterity. He resided there as if he were a stranger and sojourner. He had no possessions there which he did not procure by honest purchase; he owned no land in fee-simple except the small piece which he bought for a burial-place; see Gen 23:7-
This site's exposition
called to go to a place
on Hebrews 11:8-10
Abraham obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going, so obedience came before knowledge. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, strangers in the land promised to them. He waited for the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
This site's exposition
He lived in tents
John Wesley notes that Jacob was born fifteen years before Abraham died, so three generations shared the tents. Wesley and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown both hold that each man received the promise from God directly, a joint heir with the others. The land still belonged to others.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
It was therefore our pleasure that that which, owing to the confused noise of disputation, could be less fully elucidated point by point, should be more carefully looked into, and that the pen should determine, for reading purposes, the questions handled
"By faith he dwelt in the land of promise." See what it says: In the land which God had promised, saying, To you I will give it and to your seed, he lived as a foreigner, and seeing that the promise of God was not …
A commentator
Ephrem the SyrianCOMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS · Written before 373.
proposed
Constantly supporting himself "by faith" through his wanderings, he "sojourned" and lived in the land of promise as in a foreign land, that is, as in a foreign inheritance, "living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise."
Not even when Abraham arrived in the promised land did he control it. Instead, he himself, his son and grandson lived the life of aliens, in what was their own by promise sojourning as though in a foreign land. Hence, instead of owning houses they …
"By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise." And what marvel, if he himself were so, when his seed also dwelt in this same way? For seeing the promise disproved (since He had said, "To thee will I give this land, and to thy seed"), he saw his son dwelling there; and again his grandson saw himself dwelling in a land not his own; yet was he nowise troubled. For the affairs of Abraham happened as we might have expected, since the promise was to be accomplished afterwards in his family (although it is said even to himself, "To thee, and to thy seed," not, "to thee through thy seed," but "to thee and to thy seed"): still neither he, nor Isaac, nor Jacob, enjoyed the promise. For one of them served for hire, and the other was driven out: and he himself even was failing through fear: and while he took some things indeed in war, others, unless he had had the aid of God, would have been destroyed. On this account the Apostle says, "with the heirs of the same promise"; not himself alone, he means; but the heirs also.
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
He says that the land which God promised to give to him and to his seed, he inhabited as a foreign land. In what sense "foreign"? For he even purchased a burial place for Sarah (Gen. 23:4), and yet he did not doubt nor say: …
583. – Then (v. 9) he shows what he did by faith in regard to his dwelling place: first, what he did; secondly, the reason why (v. 10). 584. – For we sometimes notice a person leaving his native land and going elsewhere to make …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise - The promise was made before, Gen. xii, 7. Dwelling in tents - As a sojourner With Isaac and Jacob - Who by the same manner of living showed the same faith Jacob was born fifteen years before the death of Abraham.
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise,....
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 Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Jacob was fifteen years old at the death of Abraham. heirs with him of the same promise--Isaac did not inherit it from Abraham, nor Jacob from Isaac, but they all inherited it from God directly as "fellow heirs." In Heb 6:12, 15, 17, "the promise" means the thing promised as a thing in part already attained; but in this chapter "the promise" is of something still future.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2292: “Abraham, A Pattern To Believers” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
ABRAHAM'S life, taken literally, is full of instruction, but we shall be wise to take the spirit of it and endeavor to make it our own. We cannot live just as Abraham did, but we can carry out the great principles which lay at the root of Abraham's life and, if the Holy Spirit will work in us a like degree of faith to that of the holy Patriarch, we may glorify God by our lives, even as he did. The first point in which we must follow him is that our life must be a life of faith.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2292: “Abraham, A Pattern To Believers” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
ABRAHAM'S life, taken literally, is full of instruction, but we shall be wise to take the spirit of it and endeavor to make it our own. We cannot live just as Abraham did, but we can carry out the great principles which lay at the root of Abraham's life and, if the Holy Spirit will work in us a like degree of faith to that of the holy Patriarch, we may glorify God by our lives, even as he did. The first point in which we must follow him is that our life must be a life of faith. We cannot be children of believing Abraham unless we live by believing. If you follow your senses, you go by what you see. Now, by what this poor flesh would teach you to desire, you will know nothing of the life of Abraham. He was a man who saw what eyes can never see. He heard what ears can never hear and he was moved, guided, actuated by motives which men of the world can never feel. He was a great man, a very prince among men—first, chief and father of all believing men—but he owed the preeminence of his character to the greatness of his faith. We must have his faith and we must live by it, as he lived by it— and then God will be able to make something of even such poor, feeble creatures as we are. Let me remind you of what we read in the sixth verse, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." If we would be like "faithful Abraham," we must begin by being Believers. Abraham is, in three things, a pattern to us who believe, and those three things will be the divisions of our subject tonight.
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise - It is remarkable that Abraham did not acquire any right in Canaan, except that of a burying place; nor did he build any house in it; his faith showed him that it was only a type and pledge of a better country, and he kept that better country continually in view: he, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs of the same promise, were contented to dwell in tents, without any fixed habitation.
The words behind it
21 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 |
| παρῴκησεν | parokesen | he sojourned | G3939 → | |
| εἰς | eis | in | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| γῆν | gen | land | G1093 → | 248 times |
| τῆς | tes | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐπαγγελίας | epangelias | promise | G1860 → | 52 times |
| ὡς | hos | as [in] | G5613 → | 500 times |
| ἀλλοτρίαν | allotrian | a foreign [country] | G245 → | 14 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| σκηναῖς | skenais | tents | G4633 → | 20 times |
| κατοικήσας | katoikesas | having dwelt | G2730 → | |
| μετὰ | meta | with | G3326 → | 461 times |
| Ἰσαὰκ | isaak | Isaac | G2464 → | 20 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| Ἰακὼβ | iakob | Jacob | G2384 → | 27 times |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| συγκληρονόμων | sugkleronomon | joint-heirs | G4789 → | |
| τῆς | tes | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐπαγγελίας | epangelias | promise | G1860 → | 52 times |
| τῆς | tes | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| αὐτῆς· | autes | same; | G846 → | 5565 times |
ΠίστειBy faith
pisteiG4102 →242 times
παρῴκησενhe sojourned
parokesenG3939 →
εἰςin
eisG1519 →1755 times
γῆνland
genG1093 →248 times
τῆςof the
tesG3588 →19766 times
ἐπαγγελίαςpromise
epangeliasG1860 →52 times
ὡςas [in]
hosG5613 →500 times
ἀλλοτρίανa foreign [country]
allotrianG245 →14 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
σκηναῖςtents
skenaisG4633 →20 times
κατοικήσαςhaving dwelt
katoikesasG2730 →
μετὰwith
metaG3326 →461 times
ἸσαὰκIsaac
isaakG2464 →20 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἸακὼβJacob
iakobG2384 →27 times
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
συγκληρονόμωνjoint-heirs
sugkleronomonG4789 →
τῆςof the
tesG3588 →19766 times
ἐπαγγελίαςpromise
epangeliasG1860 →52 times
τῆς<the>
tesG3588 →19766 times
αὐτῆς·same;
autesG846 →5565 times
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
Hebrews 6:17So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.
it leads to
- Hebrews 6:18
Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.
- Isaiah 55:11
so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
- Isaiah 14:24
The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.
- Psalms 110:4
The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
- Hebrews 6:18
Through
Genesis 13:18So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the Oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
it leads to
- Genesis 18:1
Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
- Genesis 8:20
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.
- Genesis 14:13
Then an escapee came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were bound by…
- Genesis 18:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies43
On this verse
On this chapter
- Enoch, the Man Who Walked with God
- The Seven Brothers and Their Mother
- Abraham
- Adam to Noah
- All Scripture Is God-Breathed
- The Binding of Isaac
Show the next 6 titles
- The Apocrypha
- The General Epistles
- Cain and Abel
- The Covenants
- Daniel in the Lions' Den: Daniel 6
- David and Goliath
Show the next 6 titles
- Deborah and Jael
- Enoch Walked With God
- Ephraim and Manasseh, the two tribes of Joseph
- Faith and Works
- The Fall of Jericho
- Gideon
Show the next 6 titles
About Hebrews
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 18 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); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2292: “Abraham, A Pattern To Believers” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Hebrews; John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews 23; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews; Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews; Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews; Theodoret of Cyrus, INTERPRETATION OF HEBREWS 11; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Hebrews and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews.