32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35A Women received their dead raised to life again:
However, the record goes on to say:
35B and [“and’ not “but”. It sets the following in correspondence with the preceding] others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Those who quenched the violence of fire etc. are lumped together in the same category as those who were slain by the sword etc. as both having obtained a good report through faith. Clearly the faith referenced here is not great believing to bring to pass miracles. To see more clearly what the faith of this chapter is, we must back up at least as far as the last verse of chapter 10.
10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition [destruction]; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
The translation, “draw back”, can be a bit misleading. It can be taken as having gone some place and then drawing back from it. The Greek word can be used that way, but not necessarily. The basic meaning is to shrink away from. One is given the opportunity to do what is right (in this case believe) but shrinks away from it, not necessarily that he believes and then changes his mind. “Believe” is translated from pistis. “Believe” is a verb. Pistis is a noun and is almost always translated “faith”. This is the only place in the Bible (KJV) that it is translated “believe”. A more consistent translation would be:
10:39 but we are not of those who shrink away unto destruction; but of those who have faith [belief] to the saving of the soul.
What faith, belief, are we talking about? It is the faith, belief, that is to the saving of the soul (not to the performing of mighty works). Old Testament believers looked forward to the promise, the coming one, by whom and in belief of whom the just attained life. It was this belief that was to the saving of the soul.
Now let’s move on to Hebrews 11:1 Forget about the chapter division. This is the next sentence: “Now faith is…”. It is the same faith, belief, as in the previous sentence, the faith that is to the saving of the soul (faith, belief in the coming one).
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for [hope for the coming one], the evidence of things not seen. [He had not yet come.]
11:2 For by it [faith to the saving of the soul] the elders obtained a good report.
The word, “by” above is translated from the Greek word en. It is translated “in” the vast majority of the times it occurs (and also here in some of the other versions). Thayer’s lexicon defines it as, “denoting (fixed) position,,,a relation of rest….”, not as an activity. So, in the faith that is to the saving of the soul, the elders obtained a good report. What follows, if the translation is correct, is a list of what people did by, by means of faith [taken by many people to mean their great believing], but the translation is misleading.
3 Through faith we understand that...
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice...
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death...
7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise….
There is no word for “by” or “through” in the Greek text for the beginning of any of these verses. These words are supplied by the translators because “faith” [pistis} is in the dative case, indicating it is an indirect object. The normal way to show this is with the word “in.” Translating as “in faith” would be the norm and it is consistent with the “in faith” of verse 2. In faith [the faith, belief, that is to the saving of the soul] Abel offered…. In faith Enoch was translated…. In faith Noah… prepared an ark… In faith Abraham...obeyed…. In verse 7 where it says Noah became heir of the righteous which is by faith, the Greek word for “by” [dia], occurs. His righteousness was by means of faith, (the faith, belief, that was to the saving of the soul). In verse 13 where it says “These all died in faith, not having received the promises”, the “in” is properly supplied, and it is exactly the same grammatical construction as previously when the translators supplied “by”. “by”,however, changes the meaning. These believers did what they did in their faith that was to the saving of the soul and they died in that faith not having received the promises regarding the coming savior.
The following verses are the same as above. There is no Greek word for “by” or “through” and should be understood as “in faith” until we get to verse 33.
17 By [in] faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
20 By [in] faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21 By [in] faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
22 By [in] faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
23 By [in] faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
24 By [in] faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
27 By [in] faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
28 Through [in] faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
29 By [in] faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
30 By [in] faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
31 By [in] faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Now we come to verse 33 where “through“ is translated from from the Greek word “dia”, not just supplied from the dative case of “faith”. But we are still dealing with the same faith. It is the faith, belief, that is to the saving of the soul.
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through [dia] faith, received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The word “our” is in italics, indicating it was supplied by the translators. Jesus isn’t just the author and finisher of our faith but of THE FAITH that is to the saving of the soul (the definite article is in the Greek text).
