John Calvin Commentary Hebrews 11:9

"By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a [land] not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:" — Hebrews 11:9 (ASV)

By faith he sojourned, and so on. The second point is that, having entered into the land, he was treated merely as a stranger and a sojourner. Where was the inheritance which he had expected? It might indeed have instantly occurred to his mind that he had been deceived by God. Still greater was the disappointment, which the Apostle does not mention, when shortly after a famine drove him from the country, when he was compelled to flee to the land of Gerar. But the Apostle considered it enough to say, as a commendation to his faith, that he became a sojourner in the land of promise; for to be a sojourner seemed contrary to what had been promised. That Abraham then courageously endured this trial was an instance of great fortitude, but it came from faith alone.

With Isaac and Jacob, and so on. He does not mean that they lived in the same tent or at the same time; but he makes Abraham’s son and grandson his companions because they sojourned in the same way in the inheritance promised to them and yet did not fail in their faith, however long God delayed. For the longer the delay, the greater was the trial; but by setting up the shield of faith, they repelled all the assaults of doubt and unbelief.