Now those who say such things
This phrase refers to the individuals mentioned earlier in Hebrews 11, often called the "heroes of faith," such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These patriarchs expressed their faith through their actions and words, indicating their belief in God's promises. Their lives were testimonies of faith, as they lived as strangers and pilgrims on the earth, acknowledging that their true home was not in the present world. This aligns with the broader biblical theme of believers being sojourners in this world (1 Peter 2:11).

show that they are seeking
The act of seeking implies a deliberate and ongoing effort. The patriarchs' lives demonstrated a continuous pursuit of something beyond their immediate circumstances. This seeking is not passive but active, reflecting a deep longing and anticipation for what God has promised. It echoes the biblical call to "seek first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33), emphasizing the priority of spiritual over earthly pursuits.

a country of their own
The "country" they sought is not a physical land but a heavenly one, as clarified later in Hebrews 11:16. This reflects the promise God made to Abraham of a land and a multitude of descendants, which was ultimately a shadow of the eternal inheritance believers have in Christ. The patriarchs' faith pointed to a future fulfillment beyond their lifetime, illustrating the concept of living by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). This heavenly country is a type of the eternal kingdom of God, where believers will dwell with Him forever, as seen in Revelation 21:1-4.

1. The Patriarchs
The context of Hebrews 11 includes figures like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who lived as sojourners in the land of promise, looking forward to a heavenly country.

2. The Promised Land
This refers to the physical land promised to Abraham and his descendants, symbolizing a greater spiritual promise.

3. The Heavenly Country
Represents the eternal home that believers seek, a place of ultimate rest and fulfillment in God's presence.Faith as a Journey
Just as the patriarchs lived as strangers on earth, believers are called to live with a mindset focused on their eternal home.

The Nature of True Faith
True faith involves a forward-looking perspective, trusting in God's promises even when they are not yet visible.

Living as Pilgrims
Christians are to live as pilgrims, not becoming too attached to worldly possessions or status, but focusing on their eternal inheritance.

The Assurance of God's Promises
The faith of the patriarchs assures us that God's promises are trustworthy and that He is preparing a place for us.

Encouragement in Trials
In times of difficulty, believers can find encouragement in the hope of a future home with God, which surpasses any earthly trial.(14) Such things.--"I am a stranger and a sojourner with you" (Genesis 23:4). "The days of the years of my pilgrimage. . . . the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage" (Genesis 47:9).

Declare plainly that they seek a country.--Rather, make it plain that they are seeking a home, or fatherland.

Verses 14-16. - For they that say such things declare plainly (or, make manifest ) that they seek a country (i.e. a native country, a fatherland, πατρίδα). And truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now (i.e. as it is) they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God (see refs. under ver. 9): for he hath prepared for them a city. In consideration of the drift of the whole of this interesting and suggestive passage (vers. 9, 10, 13-17), the question arises whether the patriarchs are represented as actually themselves looking forward to a heavenly inheritance. In their history as given in Genesis, as, indeed, in the Old Testament generally (at any rate, in the earlier books), there is, as is well known, no distinct recognition of the life to come. The promise to Abraham seems to imply only an innumerable seed, its possession as a great nation of the earthly land of promise, and through it some undefined blessing to all the families of the earth. Nor are the patriarchs represented as looking forward to a fulfillment of the promise beyond the limits of the present world. Even so their history is singularly instructive. They lived in hope of things not seen through faith in the Divine promise. The very fact that they were content to die without themselves attaining, if so God's purpose might be accomplished to their seed, invests them with a peculiar grandeur of unselfishness. Their faith was essentially the same principle as that of Christians, even though the final object of Christian hope were hidden from their eyes; while their dwelling in tents as strangers, and the home and city seen afar off, are apt emblems of the present life and the heavenly citizenship of Christians. It may be that this is all that is intended in the Epistle, the history being allegorized, as that of Isaac and Ishmael is in the Epistle to the Galatians. If so, the apparent attribution of a heavenly hope to the patriarchs themselves must be accounted for by a blending of the actual history with its ideal meaning, such as was observed in the chapter about Melchizedek. But it is difficult to understand the expressions used as implying no more than this. Abraham is said to have himself looked for the "city that hath the foundations," of which God is the Builder - a description which cannot but denote the "heavenly Jerusalem," of which the city whose foundations were on the holy hills below is regarded elsewhere as but a type and emblem (cf. Hebrews 12:22; Hebrews 13:14; Galatians 4:26; Revelation 21:14; also infra, Hebrews 8:2, where η}ν ἔπηξεν ὁ Θεὸς is said of the heavenly tabernacle). This interpretation is further supported by our finding in Philo similar views of a heavenly counterpart to Jerusalem as the final object of Israel's hope. Again, the country desired by the patriarchs is, in ver. 16, distinctly called a heavenly one. Nor is the view at all untenable that, notwithstanding the silence of the ancient record on the subject, they did look forward to a life after death with God, seeing in the promised earthly inheritance an emblem and earnest of a heavenly one. Well known is Bishop Warburton's argument that a belief in a future state, which was so ancient and universal, and so prominent especially in the religion of Egypt must almost of necessity have been shared in by the race of Abraham, and hence that the silence about it in the Mosaic record must be due, not to its absence from the creed of Israel, but to the peculiar purpose of the Mosaic dispensation. Worthy of attention also are Dean Stanley's words (Lect. 7. on 'Jewish Church') "Not from want of religion, but (if one might use the expression) from excess of religion, was this void left. The future life was not denied or contradicted, but it was overlooked, set aside, overshadowed, by the consciousness of the living, actual presence of God himself." But though such void there is, however to be accounted for, there are still, even in the Pentateuch (as certainly in the Psalms and prophets), occasional glimpses of the hope of immortality. The mystic tree of life in the midst of the garden, the predicted bruising, of the serpent's head, the mystery of Enoch's departure from the world, and notably (as our Lord himself points out) God still calling himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob after they had been long ago gathered to their fathers, are intimations, even in the Pentateuch, of a belief in man's immortal hopes. And it may be added, with reference to the history immediately before us, that Jacob's application of the idea of his being a" sojourner " - used by Abraham with reference to the abode in Palestine - to the whole course of his life upon the earth, in itself suggests the meaning attached to such language in the Epistle. Hence no violence is done to the meaning of the history rather it may be that its deeper meaning is brought out, if the patriarchs are regarded as entertaining a hope of a heavenly inheritance to themselves, and seeing beyond the earthly types. But even f we suppose such immortal hopes as having been in them at the most but vague and dim, still their faith in and longing for a fulfillment of the promise in any sense was really a longing and reaching after the eternal realities which the first fulfillment typified. Compare the view taken in Hebrews 4. of the meaning of "God's rest." Delitzsch thus enunciates this view of the passage before us: "The promise given to the patriarchs was a Divine assurance of a future rest. That rest was connected, in the first instance, with the future possession of an earthly home; but their desire for that home was at the same time a longing and a seeking after Him who had given the promise of it, whoso presence and blessing alone made it for them an object of desire, and whose presence and blessing, however vouchsafed, makes the place of its manifestation to be indeed a heaven. The shell of their longing might thus be of earth; its kernel was heavenly and Divine, and as such God himself vouchsafed to honor and reward it." From the general mode of life of the patriarchs the review now passes to particular acts of faith, beginning with Abraham's memorable one, the offering of Isaac.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Now
γὰρ (gar)
Conjunction
Strong's 1063: For. A primary particle; properly, assigning a reason.

those who
οἱ (hoi)
Article - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

say
λέγοντες (legontes)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.

such things
τοιαῦτα (toiauta)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 5108: (including the other inflections); from toi and houtos; truly this, i.e. Of this sort (to denote character or individuality).

show
ἐμφανίζουσιν (emphanizousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1718: To make visible (manifest); hence: I report (inform) against; pass: I appear before. From emphanes; to exhibit or disclose.

that
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

they are seeking
ἐπιζητοῦσιν (epizētousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1934: To seek after, desire, search for, make inquiries about. From epi and zeteo; to search for; intensively, to demand, to crave.

a country of their own.
πατρίδα (patrida)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3968: Fatherland, one's native place. From parasemos; a father-land, i.e. Native town; heavenly home.


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NT Letters: Hebrews 11:14 For those who say such things make (Heb. He. Hb)