Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 11:13

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." — Hebrews 11:13 (ASV)

The author breaks off his treatment of Abraham for a moment to engage in some general remarks about “all these people,” i.e., those he has dealt with thus far. They died still exercising faith, without having possessed what was promised. “All” allows no exceptions; what is said applies to every one of them. They knew that God had promised certain blessings, but they did not receive them. We must be careful how we understand this, for the author has already said that Abraham “received what was promised” (6:15). Humanly speaking, when there was no hope of having a son, he saw Isaac born. God’s promise to Abraham, however, meant far more than that; it is the fullness of the blessing that is in mind in v.13. The best that happened to the saints of old was that they had glimpses of what God had in store for them.

The patriarchs did no more than “see” the equivalent of the Promised Land (cf. Moses in Dt 3:26–28; 34:1–4). “See” can be used of various kinds of sight. Here it is plainly an operation of faith that is in mind, for the word points to an inner awareness of what the promises meant. In their attitude, the patriarchs showed that they knew themselves to be no more than “aliens and strangers [GK 4215].” This latter term means those living in a country they do not belong to, i.e., resident aliens.

The combination “aliens and strangers” reminds us of Abraham’s description of himself as “an alien and a stranger” (Genesis 23:4) and Jacob’s words to Pharaoh (Genesis 47:9). The psalmist could also describe himself as “an alien, a stranger,” and add, “as all my fathers were” (Psalms 39:12). It is true that Isaac once sowed “crops” (Genesis 26:12), and Jacob at one time “built a place for himself” (Genesis 33:17). But neither really settled down in the land, and to the end of their lives they were pilgrims rather than residents. The author sees that it was faith that enabled all these great men of old to recognize their true position as citizens of heaven and thus as aliens everywhere on earth.