Hebrews 11:8

Πίστει καλούμενος Ἀβραὰμ.… “By faith Abraham on being called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance, obeyed and went out not knowing whither he was going.” καλούμενος, as in Mark 1:20 and Isaiah 51:2, ἐμβλέψατε Ἀβραὰμ … ὅτι εἷς ἦν, καὶ ἐκάλεσα αὐτόν. The present, not κληθεὶς, expresses the idea that no sooner was the call given than it was obeyed [“dass er, so wie der Ruf an ihn ging, gehorsamte” (Bleek)]. The same idea is expressed by the immediate introduction of ὑπήκουσεν, which more naturally would come at the end of the clause, and thus allow ἐξελθεῖν (cf. Genesis 12:1; Acts 7:2) to follow καλοὑμενος. The faith of Abraham appeared in his promptly abandoning his own country on God's promise of another, and the strength of this faith was illustrated by the circumstance that he had no knowledge where or what that country was. He went out μὴ ἐπιστάμενος ποῦ ἔρχεται. The terms of the call (Genesis 12:1) were ἔξελθε … καὶ δεῦρο εἰς τὴν γῆν, ἣν ἄνσοι δείξω. It was, therefore, no attractive account of Canaan which induced him to forsake Mesopotamia, no ordinary emigrant's motive which moved him, but mere faith in God's promise. “Even still the life of faith must be entered on in ignorance of the way to the inheritance, or even what the inheritance and rest in each one's particular case will be, and of the experiences that the way will bring. This is true even of ordinary life” (Davidson). This did not exhaust the faith of Abraham. Further πίστει παρῴκησεν.… “By faith he became a sojourner in a land [his] by the promise as if it belonged to another, dwelling in tents, along with Isaac and Jacob, co-heirs with him of the same promise.” παρῴκησεν, as in Acts 7:6, πάροικον ἐν γῇ ἀλλοτρίᾳ, dwelt alongside of the proper inhabitants. Cf. Genesis 17:8 and passim. εἰς in its common pregnant sense, John 21:4; Acts 8:40; Pet. Hebrews 5:12 and especially Acts 7:4. He lived in the promised land, ὡς ἀλλοτρίαν, as if it belonged to some other person; neither did he make a permanent settlement in it but dwelt in tents, shifting from place to place, the symbol of what is temporary, see Isaiah 38:12; 2 Corinthians 5:4. The presence of his son and grandson must continually have prompted him to settle. They were included in the promise, but they too were compelled to move with him from place to place. But how did this evince faith? It did so by showing that he had given a wider scope and a deeper significance to God's words. He was content to dwell in tents, because he looked for “the city which has the foundations”. ἐξεδέχετο γὰρ τὴν … πόλιν. “For he expectantly waited for thecity.” ἐκδέχομαι (James 5:7, ὁ γεωργὸς ἐκδεχ., Acts 17:16; 1 Corinthians 11:33) occurs in Soph. Phil., 123, where Jebb says: “The idea of the compound is ‘be ready for him,' prepared to deal with him the moment he appears”. The city is described as one “that has the foundations” which the tents lacked, and which according to Hebrews 13:14 is by implication not only μέλλουσαν but μένουσαν. In Hebrews 12:22 it is called “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,” and in Galatians 4:26 ἡ ἄνω Ἱερουσαλήμ. A city was the symbol of a settled condition, as in Psalms 107:7, πόλις κατοικητηρίου. Cf. the interesting parallel in Philo. Leg. Alleg., iii. xxvi., p. 103, πόλις δέ ἐστιν ἀγαθὴ καὶ τολλὴ καὶ σφόδρα εὐδαίμων, τὰ γὰρ δῶρα τοῦ θεοῦ μεγάλα καὶ τίμια. It is further described as ἧς τεχνίτης καὶ δημιουργὸς ὁ θεός, “whose constructer and maker is God”. τεχνίτης is used of the silversmiths in Acts 19:24, of God as Maker of the world in Wis 13:1; Wis 14:2, τεχνίτνς δὲ σοφίᾳ κατεσκεύασεν. Perhaps “artificer” comes nearest to the meaning. δημιουργός, originally one who works for the people, but applied by Plato (Rep., p. 530) to God; and so, very often in Josephus and Philo (see Krebs. in loc.). For the use of the title among the Gnostics, see Mansel, Gnostic Heresies, p. 19. In Clement, Ep., 20, we have ὁ μέγας δημιουργὸς καὶ δεσπότης τῶν ἁπάντων. In Malachi 4:1; Malachi 4:1, τῶν κακῶν δημιουργὸς. “Maker” most adequately translates the word. Wetstein shows that τεχνίτης καὶ δημιουργὸς was not an uncommon combination and aptly compares Cicero (De Nat. D., i. 8) “Opificem aedificatorem mundi”. The statement of this verse shows that Abraham and other enlightened O.T. saints (cf. chap. 4) understood that their connection with God, the Eternal One, was their great possession, of which earthly gifts and blessings were but present manifestations.