UTN uW Translation Notes:

Hebrews 11 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

7. Faith and endurance (10:26–12:29)* Exhortation: Examples of faith (11:1–40)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Faith

The key theme of this chapter is “faith,” which the author makes clear with his definition in 11:1. The examples of “faith” that follow function in two primary ways: (1) they give examples of “faith” that help define what it is, and (2) they give examples of “faith” that the audience can imitate. The author’s definition of “faith” shows that “faith” is being confident about things that one cannot currently see. The examples that follow show that the things that cannot be seen include things in heaven and things in the future. So, “faith” consists in being confident about and thus “seeing” what is currently invisible. (See: faith and faithful)

A heavenly city and homeland

In 11:10, 16, the author refers to a “city,” and in 11:14–16, he refers to a “heavenly homeland.” Most likely, both “city” and “homeland” refer to the same thing. Scholars debate whether “city” and “homeland” describe places where believers will live that God has prepared or whether the words function as metaphors to describe the people of God living together in God’s presence. Your translation should not choose between these interpretations. You should make it clear that the “city” and “homeland” cannot be found on earth right now.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

“By faith”

The author consistently repeats the phrase “by faith,” usually at the beginning of sentences. He also uses the related phrases “through faith,” “according to faith,” and “because of faith.” The author repeats these phrases, especially “by faith,” to keep his audience focused on the main topic: “faith.” If possible, you should translate all these phrases so that they sound very similar. Make sure that it is clear who has the “faith” in each sentence. (See: faith)

The abstract noun “faith”

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of “faith,” you could express the same idea in another way, such as by using the verb “believe.” The author uses the word “faith” about 20 times in this chapter, and it would be helpful to use the same expression in your translation each time. (See: figs-abstractnouns)

References to the history of Israel

The author refers to people and events in the history of Israel throughout this chapter. Some of the references are several verses long, while others are just one phrase. Many of the stories that he refers to can be found in the Bible, especially in Genesis, Exodus, and Joshua. However, some of the shorter references are about people who lived after the time of the Old Testament. Consider whether your readers will be familiar with some of these stories. You may want to include footnotes that provide some extra information about the most important stories that the author refers to. See the notes for brief summaries of the main stories that the author refers to.

The style of the example list

The list of examples that makes up most of chapter 11 begins with longer stories and longer clauses and ends with very short references to stories and very short clauses. The author writes in this way to increase the excitement and power of his examples as he goes. Consider using natural ways to express this slow increase in power and excitement as the chapter progresses.

Is Abraham or Sarah the subject of 11:11?

In 11:11, the author could have primarily been referring to Sarah and her faith or Abraham and his faith. Many scholars think that the author is referring to Sarah here because her name is written near the beginning of verse, right after “faith,” and because the author does not refer to Abraham in this verse. Other scholars think that the author is referring to Abraham here because the previous and following verses both refer to Abraham and because the phrase “received ability for the conception of an offspring” is only used for the male’s part in procreation. The ULT and UST follow the interpretation that Abraham is the primary subject of the verse. Consider whether your readers might be familiar with a translation that makes a choice in this verse. Otherwise, you may want to follow the ULT and UST here.