Thomas Aquinas Commentary Hebrews 11:32-35

"And what shall I more say? for the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens. Women received their dead by a resurrection: and others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:" — Hebrews 11:32-35 (ASV)

Having described the things done by faith by the fathers before and during their entry into the promised land, the Apostle now begins to give examples of those who were already in the promised land. But because there were so many, he recounts their deeds in a general way. After giving the names of the fathers, he explains why he must be brief.

In regard to this, he does three things:

1. He gives the names of the fathers and the reason why he passes over their deeds quickly.
2. He shows what they did by faith (Hebrews 11:33–34).
3. He shows what they received by faith (Hebrews 11:33b).

He says, therefore, And what more shall I say? This is as if to say: I have come to the time when they entered the promised land, about which a few things remain to be said. So many things remain to be said that they cannot all be explained: For time would fail me to tell of them. This means that if I wanted to tell of them, there would be insufficient time to do so in a letter, which should be brief. Hence, Jerome writes to Paulinus: “The space of a letter does not allow me to say more.”

Alternatively, it can mean the time of one's life. This is how John speaks: But there are also many other things which Jesus did; which if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written (John 21:25). A gloss on this verse says that he is using hyperbole. This is not false, but a figure of speech. In Psalm 39:6, where we have, I have declared and I have spoken; they are multiplied above number, Jerome’s letter says: “If I wanted to describe them, there are more than can be described.”

It should be noted, however, that some of these men did both good and evil things. They are listed here only for the good things they did or received. Yet it is probable that all of them ultimately were saints, which is why the Apostle includes them in this list of saints.

First, he mentions Gideon, whose story appears in Judges 6–8. He is mentioned first both because he did nothing evil and because he did something very important. It is also probable that he is first because he received the greatest sign of the incarnation in the fleece and dew, about which it says in Psalm 72:6: He shall come down like rain upon the fleece.

Second, he mentions Barak (Judges 4–5), who was not as famous as Gideon, as the victory was credited not to him, but to a woman. Perhaps this is why the author passes over him quickly. Third, he mentions Samson (Judges 13–16). Samson particularly seems undeserving of mention here, because he sinned by killing himself. But Augustine, in The City of God, excuses this, because it is believed that he acted at God’s command. The sign of this is that he could not have destroyed such a great house by his own power, but only by God’s power, which does not cooperate with evil. Fourth, he mentions Jephthah (Judges 11–12), whom he lists after Samson because he did not perform deeds as great as Samson's.

A question arises about Jephthah: did he sin by sacrificing his daughter as he had vowed? It seems not, because Judges 11:29 says, The spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and then it mentions the vow and the victory. But Jerome says the contrary: that he was indiscreet in vowing and guilty in fulfilling the vow. I answer that something from the Holy Spirit was present—namely, an impulse to vow in general that he would sacrifice whatever he came upon that could be sacrificed. But there was also something from his own spirit—namely, that he sacrificed what he should not have. In this he sinned, but he later repented. Similarly, Gideon sinned by making an ephod and by testing God when he asked for a sign on the fleece. But he also repented later, as did David, whom the author mentions next, saying, David and Samuel and the prophets, about whom time would fail me if I wished to discuss them.

The next question is whether all those listed were prophets. I answer that the Holy Spirit can move a person to three things: to know, to speak, and to do. And He can move a person to each of these in two ways. Sometimes He moves a person to know by making him understand what is seen, as in the case of Isaiah and the other prophets. Hence, they are called seers: He that is now called a prophet, in time past was called a seer (1 Samuel 9:9). But sometimes He moves a person to know without an understanding of what is seen, as in Pharaoh’s dream and Belshazzar’s vision.

He also moves a person to speak in two ways: sometimes with knowledge of what he says, as with David, and sometimes without that knowledge, as with Caiaphas and perhaps Balaam. Similarly, He sometimes moves a person to do something with knowledge of what he is doing, as with Jeremiah, who hid his loincloth by the Euphrates (Jeremiah 13:5). At other times, He moves a person to act without this knowledge, as Augustine says in his commentary On John regarding the soldiers who divided Christ’s garments among themselves, not knowing the mystery to which that division was ordained. Therefore, it pertains to the definition of a prophet that he knows what he sees, says, or does. This is the sense in which John says that Caiaphas prophesied, because he had something characteristic of prophecy. Augustine calls this movement of the Holy Spirit an “instinct.”

Then, in verse 33, the author shows what these saints did. First, he shows this in general, and second, he gets down to details (v. 33c). Regarding the first point, he does two things: first, he mentions the merits of their deeds, and second, their reward (v. 33b).

Regarding the first point, it should be noted that of all the outward acts of the moral virtues, the acts of courage and justice seem the most important, because they most directly pertain to the common good. For the state is defended against its enemies by courage and is preserved by justice. Hence, the Apostle commends the holy fathers on both counts. On courage, when he says, by faith they conquered kingdoms—that is, kings, or even their kingdoms, as did David and Joshua.

Nevertheless, the saints also spiritually overcame kingdoms: namely, the kingdom of the devil, of whom Job 41:34 says, He is king over all the children of pride; the kingdom of the flesh, Let not sin reign in your mortal body (Romans 6:12); and the kingdom of the world, My kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). They conquered by faith: This is the victory which overcomes the world, our faith (1 John 5:4). For no one can despise present things except for the sake of good things to come. The world is overcome mainly by contempt for it. Therefore, because faith shows us the invisible realities for which the world is despised, our faith is what overcomes the world.

He then comes to the acts of justice when he says, wrought justice. Justice is sometimes a general virtue, namely, when it consists in obeying the divine law: The Lord is just and has loved justice (Psalms 11:7); It is just to be subject to God ; He that does justice is just (1 John 3:7). But sometimes it is a special virtue that consists in human actions and exchanges, namely, when a person renders to everyone his due. The saints had both kinds of justice: This is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their justice with me, says the Lord (Isaiah 54:17); If you desire wisdom, keep justice , namely, by obeying the commandments, and also by exercising it toward the people: I have done justice and judgment (Psalms 119:121).

Then, regarding the phrase obtained promises, he shows what they received. For God’s promise is efficacious, because God never fails to keep it: Whatever he has promised he is able to perform (Romans 4:21); The Lord is faithful in all his words (Psalms 145:13). But this seems to contradict what he says above in Hebrews 11:13: These all died in faith, not having received the promises. I answer that this can be understood in three ways:

1. God’s promise is the special one by which He promises the saints eternal life, which no one received before the coming of Christ: To confirm the promises made to the fathers (Romans 15:8).
2. It can refer to the promise to inherit the promised land. The earlier fathers—namely, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—did not receive this, but the later ones did, such as Joshua and the other saints.
3. It can refer to a particular promise made to individuals, such as a kingdom to David and health to Hezekiah. These are the promises they obtained.

Then (v. 33b) he mentions the particular benefits conferred on them: first, those that pertain to the removal of evil, and second, those that pertain to the performance of good (v. 34b). The evils that harm a person are of two kinds: internal and external. He mentions the internal kind when he says, out of weakness were made strong. External evils are also of two kinds, caused either by an irrational or a rational creature. He mentions the latter when he says, escaped the edge of the sword. Evils from irrational sources are also twofold: from living or non-living things. He touches on harm from inanimate things when he says, quenched the violence of fire, and from animate things when he says, stopped the mouths of lions.

He speaks in the plural (lions), although there was only one main example, namely, Daniel. This is similar to what is said in Matthew 2:20: They are dead that sought the life of the child, when Herod was the only one who sought to kill the Child. The reason for this is that he is speaking of all the saints generally, as of one body of saints. Therefore, what one does he attributes to others and even to all, because it was done by the power of the Holy Spirit, which is common to all. Hence, even in that text he speaks as if of all of them. But it can also be said that this was fulfilled in David who, as it says in 1 Samuel 17:34, also fought a lion. Spiritually, the lion is understood to be the devil: Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Therefore, one who represses the devil's attacks stops the mouths of lions: I broke the jaws of the wicked man; and out of his mouth I took away the prey (Job 29:17).

He mentions the removal of harm from inanimate things when he says, quenched the violence of fire, as in the case of the three young men in Daniel 3. Likewise, at the prayer of Moses and Aaron, the fire sent by the Lord to devour the complainers was extinguished, as it says in Numbers 16. That fire represents the internal impulse of sinful desire and anger. Therefore, one who restrains this impulse quenches the violence of fire: Fire has fallen on them and they shall not see the sun (Psalms 58:8).

The removal of evil from a rational creature is mentioned when he says, escaped the edge of the sword—that is, the attack of the enemy with sharp swords. This happened to them very frequently, as is clear in the cases of Joshua, Gideon, and David. Spiritually, the sword is understood as evil persuasion: Their tongues a sharp sword (Psalms 57:4). One escapes these swords when he puts an evil tongue to silence: Hedge in your ears with thorns, hear not a wicked tongue ; The north wind drives away rain, as does a sad countenance a backbiting tongue (Proverbs 25:23).

Internal harm is weakness, and concerning its removal he says, out of weakness were made strong, as is particularly clear in the case of Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1–7). This weakness can also represent sin: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak (Psalms 6:2). Therefore, one who rises from sin has recovered strength.

Then, when he says they became valiant in battle, he mentions the benefits related to the attainment of good. He lists three. The first benefit is that they acted valiantly. Hence, he says, they became valiant in battle, like Joshua: Valiant in war was Jesus, the son of Nun, who was successor of Moses . The same is true of many others. The second benefit pertains to the effect of that courage; hence, he says, they put foreign armies to flight, as in the cases of David and the Maccabees: If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear (Psalms 27:3).

The third benefit pertains to the effect of divine power; hence, he says, Women received their dead raised to life again—that is, by resurrection. Some have misunderstood this, explaining “their dead” to mean their husbands, and have argued that death does not dissolve the bond of marriage. This is false, even if they should rise again. It also contradicts the Apostle in Romans 7:3: If her husband be dead, she is delivered from the law of the husband.

Hence, it should be noted that there is a difference in the effects of the sacraments. Some sacraments, such as baptism, confirmation, and Holy Orders, imprint a character on the soul. Because this character remains in the soul forever, a person who has been baptized, confirmed, or ordained should not repeat any of those sacraments if he rises again. But the other sacraments do not imprint a character, such as penance, anointing of the sick, and the others. Therefore, because they cure something repeatable, they can be repeated; among these is matrimony. For this reason, the author does not say “husbands” but “their dead,” because through resurrection, mothers received their dead sons. This was a foreshadowing of the coming resurrection begun by Christ.

An account of their resurrection—or rather, their revival—is found in 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 4. Yet those who were revived in this way died again: But Christ rising from the dead dies now no more (Romans 6:9); Christ is risen from the dead the first fruits of them that sleep (1 Corinthians 15:20). But just as those temporal benefits were given to them for their sustenance by the merit of their faith, so they were figures of the good things to come, which will be given to us by the merit of faith: And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:17–18). Gregory explains all of these as spiritual goods.