Hebrews 11:13–16

Context

Chapter 11 of Hebrews is often called the "faith chapter." Its author is not known with certainty. Addressing believers who were tempted to abandon their faith under persecution, the author presents in succession the faith of Old Testament figures. This passage comes immediately after the account of Abraham and Sarah (11:8–12). It is an explanatory section that pauses the roll of individual figures to sum up the lives of the patriarchs, extending through Isaac and Jacob. Many interpreters hold that the phrase "These all" at the opening of 11:13 refers to the patriarchs of Abraham's household, excluding Enoch, who was translated without dying. The expression "strangers and pilgrims" recalls Abraham's words to the sons of Heth (Genesis 23:4). The statement that God "is not ashamed to be called their God" has as its background Exodus 3:15, where God names Himself "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."

Interpretation

• Heavenly-hope reading: This reading takes the "heavenly" country as the kingdom of heaven entered after death. It understands the passage to mean that the believer's true home is not this world but heaven, and it has long been a widespread popular reading.
• Eschatological reading: A number of commentators understand "heavenly" to mean "coming from God." They connect the "city" God has prepared with "the heavenly Jerusalem" of Hebrews 12:22 and the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21. On this view, the hope looks forward to the new creation to be realized on the last day (eschatology).
• Pilgrim-identity reading: This reading treats the passage as a text about where Christians stand in the world: Christians are "sojourners" who live in the world but do not belong to it. It is often discussed alongside Augustine's idea of the City of God on pilgrimage.

Questions of Application

There is no major dispute concerning translation or manuscripts. The Greek word patris, rendered "country" (or "homeland"), means "the land of one's fathers," that is, one's native home. Interpretive discussion centers chiefly on the following two questions.

• Relationship to the land promise: The passage can be read as linking the promise of the land of Canaan given to the patriarchs with the heavenly country. Those in the covenant theology tradition tend to see this as evidence that the land promise is fulfilled in a greater reality. Within dispensationalism, some hold that the land promise to Israel remains literally valid.
• The charge of escapism: Some critics argue that a "pilgrim" faith leads believers to take their responsibilities in this world lightly. In response, others contend that precisely because believers are not bound to the world, they are free to serve it.

In the Korean Church

Expressions such as "homeland," "heavenly homeland," and "a pilgrim's life" are common in the preaching, prayers, and hymns of the Korean church. In funeral services and memorial services in particular, the deceased is often said to have "returned to the homeland."

Related Passages

• Genesis 23:4
• Exodus 3:15
• Hebrews 13:14
• 1 Peter 2:11
• Revelation 21:2