Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 11:7

"By faith Noah, being warned [of God] concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." — Hebrews 11:7 (ASV)

Attention moves to Noah. He was “warned” (GK 5976; a verb used frequently of divine communications) by God himself; he was not acting on a hunch or on merely human advice. The warning concerned events of which there was no present indication. At the time Noah received his message from God, there was no sign of the Flood and related events. His action was therefore motivated solely by faith, not by probability.

In the expression “holy fear” (GK 2326), some put the emphasis on “holy” and some on “fear.” While it is true that this word may convey the notion of fear, it does not do so here. The author is not telling us that Noah was a timid type but that he was a man of faith. He acted out of reverence for God and God’s command and “built” an ark, in order “to save his family” (lit., “for the salvation of his house”). In the NT the noun “salvation” (GK 5401) usually refers to salvation in Christ. Here, however, as in a few other places, it is the more general idea of salvation from danger—deliverance from disaster—that is in mind. “By his faith” (or possibly through the ark as the outward expression of faith) Noah’s entire household was preserved during the Flood. His faith in action condemned the people of his day who failed to respond to the example of that godly man and presumably to the reasons he gave for his conduct. Noah undoubtedly told them why he was doing such an extraordinary thing as building an ark on dry land (cf. 2 Peter 2:5). Upright conduct will always condemn wickedness (cf. Matthew 12:41–42).

“The world” signifies the totality of humankind of that day who did not obey God. “Heir” (GK 3101) is used in the sense of “possessor,” not strictly of one who enters a possession as a result of a will. Here we have the author’s one use of the term “righteousness” (GK 1466) in the Pauline sense of the righteousness that is ours by faith. Noah was the first man to be called righteous (Genesis 6:9). He was right with God because he took God at his word and acted on it.