Thomas Aquinas Commentary Hebrews 11:27-31

"By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were swallowed up. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, having received the spies with peace." — Hebrews 11:27-31 (ASV)

After describing Moses’ faith concerning his actions in Egypt, the Apostle now shows what Moses did during the departure from Egypt. In this regard, he addresses three points:

1. He shows what Moses did during the departure from Egypt.
2. He explains the manner of their departure (Hebrews 11:28).
3. He describes what was done by faith concerning the unbelieving people (Hebrews 11:31).

The author says, therefore, that by faith Moses left Egypt. As recorded in Exodus 2, he first left Egypt after killing an Egyptian, but he left a second time when he led all the sons of Israel out. A gloss explains that this refers to the second departure, because the text continues, “not fearing the anger,” that is, the indignation, of the king. At his first departure, it is recorded in Exodus 2 that he was afraid: “He that is good for nothing shall feel the king’s anger” (Proverbs 14:35). But at the second departure, he did not fear: “The just, bold as a lion, shall be without dread” (Proverbs 28:1). However, the passage can also be referred to the first departure.

But did he not fear then? I answer that two aspects of fear must be considered. One type is blameworthy, namely, when fear causes a person to do what should not be done or to neglect what should be done. This is not how Moses feared, because fear did not cause him to neglect helping his brothers. The other type can be praiseworthy, which is when a person, while keeping the faith, flees from danger because of a present fear: “When they shall persecute you in one city, flee to another” (Matthew 10:23). For if a person could avoid danger while preserving his honor and does not, he would be foolish and would be tempting God, which is diabolical. This is why Jesus hid from those who would stone Him and refused the devil’s suggestion to cast Himself down.

In the same way, Moses, trusting in God’s help, fled for a time because he feared the king. The Apostle proves that he did this by faith, because faith concerns invisible things. Moses endured, that is, he awaited the invisible God and His help as if he were seeing Him: “Let your heart take courage and wait for the Lord” (Psalms 26:14). Moses awaited God’s help at both departures. At the first, he said, “The God of my father is my helper” (Exodus 2:22), and at the second, “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:14).

Then, concerning verse 28, the author shows what Moses did regarding the manner of departure. He outlines this in three stages:

1. He states what was done in preparing for the departure.
2. He discusses the departure itself (Hebrews 11:29).
3. He explains what was done by faith upon entering the promised land (Hebrews 11:30).

Regarding the first point, he alludes to the history recorded in Exodus 12, where the Lord commanded the children of Israel, on the very night before their departure, to immolate a lamb and put its blood on the two side posts and the upper doorpost of their houses. Then they were to eat its flesh roasted over the fire, with unleavened bread and wild lettuce, and observe many other things. This is called the Pasch, that is, the eating of the lamb and the shedding of blood, two things that occurred at the time of the passage they were to accomplish the next day. It is called the Pasch from “paschein” in Greek and “passio” in Latin, or from the word “pesach,” which in Hebrew means “passage.”

This event prefigured that Christ would pass out of this world through His passion: “That he would pass out of this world” (John 13:1). It also instructs us that by the merit of His death we have passed from earthly things to heavenly things, and from hell to heaven: “Come over to me, all you that desire me” . This, of course, is accomplished by the power of Christ’s blood: “Having, therefore, a confidence in the entering into of the holies by the blood of Christ” (Hebrews 10:19).

Two “passings” occurred during that Pasch: one in which the Lord passed over, striking the Egyptians, and the other in which the people passed through. So, too, with the blood of Christ, who is the lamb without blemish, the posts of the faithful—that is, their intellect and affections—should be smeared. The author says, “by faith he celebrated the Pasch,” that is, the eating of the lamb and the shedding of the blood to be smeared on the posts of their houses. Why did they do this? So that the one who destroyed the firstborn of the Egyptians might not touch them: “He killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt” (Psalms 77:51).

But by whose ministry was this done? Was it by good angels or wicked ones? It seems to have been by wicked angels: “Which he sent by evil angels” (Psalms 77:49). I answer that it could have been both. It should be noted that the infliction of punishments is sometimes performed by good angels. As Dionysius says in The Divine Names (chapter 4), to punish evil is not evil, but to do evil is evil. Punishment is a work of justice, as shown by the angel who struck the camp of the Assyrians, who is believed to have been a good angel (Isaiah 57). Therefore, such punishment is carried out by both the good and the bad, but in different ways. The good angel punishes only by exercising divine justice upon the evil, and in Scripture such a work, whether by the devil or a good angel, is attributed to God.

The evil angel, however, even though he obeys divine justice, does not act from a love of justice. Rather, from the perversity of his will, he afflicts both the good and the bad—and preferably the good, if he is permitted, as in the case of Job. Therefore, the angel who said to Moses, “The Lord will pass through, striking the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:23), was a good angel, since he sometimes speaks in his own person. But sometimes evil spirits serve a good angel; thus, the good angel used the services of their evil and perverse wills in the slaughter. This is why the psalmist says, “Indignation and wrath and trouble, which he sent by evil angels” (Psalms 77:49). The evil angel did not touch those sealed with blood, being restrained by terror and fear of God, while the good angels were held back, marveling at God’s power.

Then, concerning verse 29, the author discusses the crossing itself. He says that by faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if on dry land. Two things were done by faith here: one was on the part of the people, who committed themselves to crossing, which was done only by faith. The other was on God’s part, as the waters acted as a wall for them. This, too, was by faith, for the working of miracles is attributed to faith: “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Remove from here to there,’ and it shall remove” (Matthew 17:19). He then shows that this pertains to faith because the Egyptians, when they attempted the same thing, were swallowed up because they did not have faith: “You stretch forth your hand, and the earth swallowed them” (Exodus 15:12).

Next, when he says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were circled for seven days,” he describes what happened when they entered the promised land. This is mentioned in Joshua 6, where it is stated that at God’s command, the priests circled the first city beyond the Jordan, Jericho, with the ark of the covenant for seven days, and on the seventh day the walls fell down. Here there was an action on the part of the people—circling the city at the Lord’s command, believing His word would be fulfilled—and an action on God’s part, as the walls fell down because of their circling.

Morally, Jericho is interpreted as “moon” or “defect” and signifies this world. Its walls are the obstacles that hold people fast in the world. The trumpets sounded by the Levites and priests signify the voice of preachers. The circling for seven days designates the course of the present age, which is completed in seven days. By this, we are given to understand that all the obstacles of the world fall at the continuous sound of preaching: “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty to God for the pulling down of fortifications, destroying counsels and every height that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Then, when he says, “by faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the unbelievers,” he shows what was done by faith by one of the unbelievers, Rahab, as recorded in Joshua 2 and 6. When Joshua sent spies to explore Jericho, they escaped with the help of this woman, who is called a harlot, which can mean an idolater. Or, she was literally a harlot with whom they stayed, not to sin but to hide. The houses of such persons are conspicuous, especially at night, and the spies had arrived at night. Furthermore, her house was adjacent to the wall. Since harlots take in everyone without exception, it was easier for them to hide with her.

Therefore, she was saved by faith. The author says that by faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient [unbelievers] because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. She did not perish physically with the unbelievers because the spies had sworn to save her and her father’s household, which they did. But why did they turn to her? Possibly because she would be considered less guilty, as she received all indiscriminately. Furthermore, it was not fitting that their safety be the cause of death for the one who harbored them. The fact that she was saved by receiving them signifies that those who receive the preachers of the gospel are delivered from eternal death: “He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive the reward of a prophet” (Matthew 10:11).