Hebrews 11:1-7

A. 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

B. 4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

C. 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

C’. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him:

B’. for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

A’. 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.

One thought on “Hebrews 11:1-7”

  1. A smaller scale chiasm in v1:

    Ἔστιν δὲ πίστις
    ἐλπιζομένων [A] ὑπόστασις [B]
    πραγμάτων [C]
    ἔλεγχος [B’] οὐ βλεπομένων [A’]

    Raw ‘translation’…

    (And) faith is:
    of hoped-fors [A] assurance [B]
    things [C]
    conviction [B’] of not-being-seens [A’]

    After the introductory “And faith is”…
    -The two participles form the outer layers of the chiasm [A/A’]
    -The two nouns form the interim layers [B/B’]
    -The word for ‘things’ [C] looks like it is being shared between the 2 participle phrases at the centre of a chiasm.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.