Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 4 Aug. 2019
Omitting greyed-out text should bring delivery time down to 45 minutes.
“[F]aith is the understanding of things being hoped for; it is the making of a case concerning matters which are not being seen, and it was for this that the ancients got a good reference.” (Heb. 11:1-2, NAW)
Over the last two weeks we looked at two of those elders: Abel and Enoch, and how righteousness and pleasing God are related to faith. Today we consider the third “man of old” on the list: Noah, and relationship of faith to salvation from God’s judgment.
John Bunyan’s classic best-seller, illustrates a lot of the same themes of divine warning and faith-filled human responsiveness that we are going to see in the life of Noah. Pilgrim’s Progress begins in this way: "I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. I looked and saw him open the book, and read therein; and as he read, he wept and trembled; and not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, ‘What shall I do?’ ... I saw also that he looked this way, and that way, as if he would run; yet he stood still because (as I perceived) he could not tell which way to go. I looked then, and saw a man named Evangelist coming to him, and he asked, ‘Wherefore dost thou cry?’ He answered, ‘Sir, I perceive, by the book in my hand, that I am condemned to die, and after that to come to judgment... I fear that this burden that is upon my back will sink me lower than the grave... Whither must I fly?’ Then said Evangelist, (pointing with his finger over a very wide field,) ‘Do you see yonder wicket-gate?’ The man said, ‘No.’ Then said the other, ‘Do you see yonder shining light?’ He said, ‘I think I do.’ Then said Evangelist, ‘Keep that light in your eye, and go up directly thereto, so shalt thou see the gate; at which, when thou knockest, it shall be told thee what thou shalt do.’ So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now he had not run far from his own door when his wife and children, perceiving it, began to cry after him to return; but the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on crying, ‘Life! life! eternal life!’ So he looked not behind him, but fled towards the middle of the plain. The neighbors also came out to see him run, and as he ran, some mocked, others threatened, and some cried after him to return…"
The verbal structure of this verse is significant: two aorist passive participles which set the story up (“having been instructed” and “having responded with reverence”) and three aorist indicative verbs that tell the story (“he prepared,” “he condemned,” and “he became”). These verbs provide a nice outline of Hebrews 11:7, so they will be my five main points.
God’s warning with its information about the unexpected deluge is recorded in Genesis 6:13-21, And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch... [God even specified dimensions and design for the ark, then said] behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female... And you shall... gather [food] to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them." (NKJV)
It isn’t just God’s blessings that we take on faith, it is also God’s threatenings of judgment. Jesus didn’t merely speak of getting His followers into heaven, He also spoke of coming and destroying those who would not believe and obey Him.
We live in a world which is subject to God’s wrath. God has already come a number of times throughout history to to “visit judgment” upon the earth:
It had happened already before Noah, when God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and stationed an angel with a flaming sword at the entrance to keep everyone out in the wilderness of the world from ever re-entering that garden. But Eve didn’t see that coming when she was thinking about eating the forbidden fruit.
The people of Noah’s day apparently didn’t “see it coming” either, or the ark would have been so jam-packed with people that there wouldn’t have been room for the animals!
The 10 plagues against the nation of Egypt, likewise, were unexpected, or Pharoah would have let the Israelites go a lot sooner!
Visitations of God’s punative wrath came later against the
divided nations of Israel in the form of hostile armies. The
prophets always warned them ahead-of-time, but every time the
sieges came, it took the wicked rulers by surprise, because the
natural indicators of local politics had not lead them to expect
it. It took faith to believe the prophets’ warnings,
and they didn’t have that kind of faith. Listen to what they
said in Isaiah 28:14-23 “‘We have
cut a covenant with death and with Sheol we have made an agreement,
so that the overwhelming scourge will pass over; it will not get to
us. For we have placed a lie for our refuge, and we are covered
through deception.’
Therefore, the Lord Yahweh has
spoken thus, ‘Look... I will institute justice for a
measuring-line and righteousness for a plumb-line, and hail will
sweep away the refuge of a lie and water will overwhelm the
cover-up, thus your covenant with death will be buried and your
agreement with Sheol will not stand up. For the overwhelming
scourge will pass over, and y’all will become a
trampling-place for it. From the abundance of its passings, it will
take you, for it will pass over morning by morning, by day and by
night, and it will be sheer terror to understand what is heard...’
[Isaiah added,] And now, don’t you scoff! Otherwise your
bonds will become strong. For I have heard from my Lord, Yahweh of
Hosts; it is complete and decided over all the land. Give ear and
listen to my voice; pay attention and listen to my speech’”
(NAW) They didn’t pay attention, so they became exiles.
Later, in the first century AD, Jesus – and the writer of Hebrews – warned the Jews around Jerusalem once again of coming destruction at the hand of a foreign army, and, once again, the Jews by-and-large didn’t believe it; it was the Christians (as a general rule) who paid attention to the warning who got out of there before General Titus leveled it to the ground.
Over the last couple thousand years since then, other wars and natural disasters can be seen as visitations of God in judgment, but God promised an ultimate one in the future that will affect every living soul, separating them into either the bright presence of God or the eternal fire of hell. One of the places that warning comes is toward the end of the second epistle of Peter, where it says that “the earth and all its works will be burned up” It takes faith to believe that instead of the world’s false message that “everything is going to just keep on going like it has since the beginning...”
Are we living lives that show we believe God’s warning, or are we bending all our energies toward developing nugatory things that will burn up on that day?” Where is your faith?
“The A[uthorized] V[ersion] gives the impression that Noah acted under the influence of fright ...” wrote one of my most trusted experts on classical Greek, Marvin Vincent, who explained that, “The true idea is pious care, a reverent circumspection with regard to things enjoined by God...” ~Word Studies of the New Testament, AD 1886
Noah let God’s warning “get hold of” him.
He didn’t make himself too busy to tend to it.
He didn’t drown it out with music.
He didn’t let the incredulity of it all cause him to procrastinate and do nothing.
He used God’s warning to put his devotional life into overdrive!
“It was a wonderful example of magnanimity, that when the whole world were promising themselves impunity, and securely and unrestrainedly indulging themselves in sinful pleasures, Noah alone paid regard to God’s vengeance, though deferred for a considerable time, —that he greatly wearied himself for a hundred and twenty years in building the ark, —that he stood unshaken amidst the scoffs of so many ungodly men, —that he entertained no doubt but that he would be safe in the midst of the ruin of the whole world, —yea, that he felt sure of life as it were in the grave, even in the ark.” ~John Calvin, AD 1554
In my house, my wife and I post 10 rules on the refrigerator door that we want our kids to follow year-round. About once a year, I take down the list and read it to my children, reviewing our household rules with them. They know that an infraction of any of these rules will probably result in a spanking, but often the standing warning of those rules posted on the ‘fridge is not enough to motivate them, and they enter into flagrant disobedience. But it really works wonders when I walk into the room with a bamboo spanking stick. Suddenly everyone starts behaving because they no longer have to take judgment on faith; it is now perfectly visible how imminent a spanking will be if they disobey! Children, one of the ways you live out your faith is by obeying your parents and believing that disobedience will bring punishment.
Faith like Noah’s, responds to the warnings of God’s judgment against sin before the judgment starts. Responding only after the rod becomes visible won’t save you from God’s wrath: Revelation 6:15-17 "And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?'" (NKJV)
In the year 2003, Henry Blackaby & Kerry Skinner wrote about how faith “takes good heed” to God’s warnings, in their book, Holiness: God's Plan for Fullness of Life, “Remember when the priests were cleaning the temple in Josiah's day and they found the Scriptures? The Scripture says, ‘When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes’ (2 Kings 22:11). When Josiah heard all of the blessings promised for obedience and the curses that would overtake God's people for disobedience (Dt 28: all) he trembled. The Spirit of God that was upon him as king caused his heart to be pierced. He immediately began to weep and tear his clothes. He put on sackcloth and ashes and called for the people to repent. Josiah took seriously that what God said, He meant. He knew there were no favorites and no exceptions. He realized they were standing on the utter edge of destruction. But they had set the Scriptures over in a place where they were no longer being noticed.... covered with debris. All the time the Scriptures were being ignored, the judgment was progressing. They were closer to God's judgment because they had lost any standard for behavior. They would sit and discuss what they thought was acceptable to God. But it was what God had said that was important. Everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes, moving steadfastly toward the utter judgment of God. Judgment was coming just as God said it would. Josiah wisely understood and immediately adjusted his life to God. The king called all the spiritual leaders together quickly to bring the people together and corporately repent (2 Kings 22:11-23:3). God heard Josiah's heart... ‘Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself... when I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants ... I also have heard you... your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.’ 2 Kg 22:19-20 What happens when you come up against the Word of God? Do you tremble when God speaks? Isaiah 66:2 says, ‘But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.’ When was the last time you literally shook like a leaf?...”
Faith that saves listens to God’s warnings, takes good heed, and then acts on it...
Mere fear of judgment would not have been enough to motivate Noah to build that ark. The hope that God would save him and his household (and the animals of the world) was his positive motivator. Nobody is going to invest in something that they think will fail. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for,” and that “assurance of the hope” of salvation is what inspired Noah to outfit that ark, because God told him that the ark would be his salvation.
“He did not dispute with God why he should make an ark, nor how it could be capable of containing what was to be lodged in it, nor how such a vessel could possibly weather out so great a storm. His faith silenced all objections, and set him to work in earnest.” ~Matthew Henry, AD 1714
It’s fine for parents to explain the reasons for their commands to their kids, but if we consistently let our children respond to our commands with delayed obedience and demanding why, we are training them away from faith instead of into faith.
“It hence appears that faith alone is the teacher of obedience; and we may on the contrary draw this conclusion, that it is unbelief that prevents us to obey God.” ~J. Calvin, AD 1549
This is a key point. The reason you are not obeying God in the things He has called you to is because you don’t believe Him. “Just trying harder” to obey is not going to work. You have to repent of your unbelief and fill your mind with God’s promises if you want the power to obey and to persevere in obedience.
“Faith enabled Noah to perform very difficult duties. It enabled him to make the laborious preparations, which must have occupied many years, for the approaching deluge; it enabled him to do his duty, and to persevere in doing it amid many difficulties and discouragements...”~J.Brown
Faith that believes both God’s warnings and God’s promises gives the ability to persevere. About seven years ago, I went through a bit of a midlife crisis: I wrote a book that I was very excited about and I promoted it everywhere I could, but hardly anyone wanted to buy it. I felt like a failure as an author. Then I went to a homeschool conference, and as I listened to the nationally-known speaker talk, I thought to myself, “I know more about this subject than he does, but he’s the one who’s going to be on the stage because he is a nationally-known speaker, and I’m not. I’m just a looser. Later, I went to a concert with Matthew Ward (from 2nd Chapter of Acts) and Michael Card (who wrote the song “By Faith”) and Phil Keaggy (who is reputed to be the world’s best electric guitar player), and as I watched those great artists, I realized that, even though I’ve practiced and performed music all of my life, I’ll never be on their level. It made me once again feel like a failure. And what God brought me around to, is that, in each of those circumstances where I felt like a failure, I had my children with me, and they were evaluating my successes totally differently than I was. God didn’t give me a calling to be in the limelight; He called me to quietly study and teach the Bible and to raise a dozen children, and so that’s what I needed to pour my heart into and not give up simply because I wasn’t famous enough to suit my ego. And now, sometimes, when I am sore from sitting at a desk for 12 hours writing a sermon, or when I’m frustrated with my family for keeping me up too late, I have to go back to that lesson God brought to me seven years ago, to find the faith to carry on. I think about what God could do in 200 years through my offspring – if my children are only half a prolific as I was, there will be over 100,000 souls descended from me and my wife two centuries from now. 100,000 more believers in Jesus, Lord willing, obeying God in every vocation throughout this world, if the Lord tarries. That is inspiring to me! That hope gets me going again and helps me endure!
Notice also that Noah’s faith did not stop with saving himself, it extended efforts to save his entire household. He probably couldn’t force any of them to come along with him on the ark, but you can be sure he built enough beds for them on the ark and put up enough food so that there would be provisions for them if they were willing to come, and you can be sure he told them that this was their only hope of salvation from the time they were little and that he encouraged them in every way possible to come on board. Are you hoping for your whole family to be saved too? Are you working by faith in that direction?
The Bible also calls Noah a “preacher of righteousness1,” so he also called others outside of his family – throughout the world – to be saved by heeding God’s warning and taking refuge in the ark which God had instructed him to build. But despite his best efforts, most of the people in Noah’s world were condemned instead of saved. This “condemnation” also came “through” Noah’s faith and work:
The grammar of this phrase is similar to verse 4, where there is a feminine singular pronoun (“which”) but two feminine singular nouns to choose from as the antecedent (“faith” and “ark”), neither of which matches the case of the pronoun.
Commentators and translators argue for one or the other2, as though it is either by faith or it was by the ark that Noah condemned the world, but I think that the Greek grammar here indicates that we should consider both his faith and his action of building the ark together.
Noah could have believed God was coming to judge the world and preached about it until he was blue in the face, but if he didn’t build the ark, he would have been condemned along with the rest of the world. On the other hand, Noah could have gone around building boats according to his own ideas, without faith in God, and the result would have been pretty much the same.
This still applies to us today: God’s way of salvation was designed for our intellectual assent and action to go together.
But how did that actually condemn the world? This happened verbally and non-verbally:
Through words: 1 Peter 3:18-21 “...He preached ... when the patience of God was waiting in Noah's days during the equipping of an ark...” (NAW) “[T]he Epistle of Peter… [explains] that the warning Noah received from God he publicly proclaimed, remonstrated with the men of his age on their wickedness, called them to repentance, and denounced, on their continuing in sin, the awful sentence of a common and universal destruction.” ~John Brown of Edinborough, AD 1862
Condemnation also comes through our deeds: “The wickedness of the sinner is condemned not only by preaching, and by the admonitions and threatenings of the Law of God, but by the conduct of every good man.” ~Albert Barnes, AD 1885
“Noah by building the ark, which he did by faith, condemned the conduct of others in neglecting to provide for the coming destruction. His preparation, done by faith, condemned their neglect, which was owing to unbelief.” ~John Owen of Thrussington3
Nowadays,
simply getting married condemns the world for its adultery.
Simply having children condemns the world for its
materialism (and its infanticide).
Simply praying before
meals proclaims there is a God worth thanking for blessings.
Simply using wholesome speech condemns the world for its
profanity.
Working or studying without cheating condemns the
world for its dishonesty.
If it weren’t so sad, it would be amusing how often worldly people have watched us do these kinds of things and then fell all over themselves trying to justify their failure to do these things, when we never said a word to criticize them.
God uses our behavior as well as our speech to point out to the world that they are not o.k. with God. But it’s not our speech and actions that make us right with God; our righteousness is “inherited:”
The word “heir/inheritor” implies that righteousness did not belong to Noah to begin with.
It was acquired by someone else, and that other person passed it down to Noah as an inheritance. (An inheritance is not something which is earned or necessarily even deserved; rather it is given.)
The concept of “inheriting righteousness” should not be pressed so far, however, as to mean that it was inherited naturally from his earthly father. Instead it has to do with the Biblical doctrine of God “adopting” those He loves as His children (Rom. 8:15, 23; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5), then, as their heavenly Father, giving them His righteousness.
“Noah and every other heir of righteousness is so only by virtue of having been made one with Christ... the heir of all things… [T]here is no inheritance remaining for others unless they are united with him. (Rom. 8:17, 32… 1 Cor. 3:21ff).” ~Phillip E. Hughes4
Hebrews has already spoken a few times to this inheritance: 1:1-2 “God... has spoken to us at the last of these days by means of a Son, whom He appointed to be the one to inherit all things, through whom also He made the universe… 6:11 Now we desire for each one of y'all to display the same diligence toward the full assurance of the hope until the end, 12 in order that y´all might become – not lazy-persons but – imitators of those who, through faith and longsuffering, are inheriting the promises… 9:15 So, on account of death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions upon the first covenant, He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that the ones who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” (NAW)
What is inherited is righteousness – being in a right relationship with God, and that only comes by trusting Jesus, in faith, to make you right with God.
The Apostles may have known that Noah had inherited this righteousness because God had said so in Genesis 6:9-10 “But Noe found grace before the Lord God. And these are the generations of Noe. Noe was a just man; being perfect in his generation, Noe was well-pleasing to God.”5
Ah, but Noah didn’t know about Jesus! True, but the ark was the symbol of Jesus for Noah’s time, as Peter pointed out in his first epistle (3:21), and Noah put his faith in God to save him through the flood. (John Gill)
And “by his believing God he was shown to be righteous.” ~John Chrysostom, c. AD400
Listen to God’s warnings; take good heed to them – Read the Bible and meditate on it.
Matthew 24:37-42 “And just as the days of Noah were, so also the coming of the Son of Man will be, for [just] as, in the days before the flood, they were munching and drinking, getting married and marrying off – until that day Noah entered into the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took away absolutely all men, thus also will be the coming of the Son of Man. At that time, two will be [working] in the field: one man being taken along and one man being forsaken. Two will be grinding [flour] using the mill: one woman being taken along and one woman being forsaken. Therefore, stay alert, because y'all don't know what day [hour] your Lord is coming.” (NAW)
“The believer, like Noah, has been ‘warned of God of things not seen as yet’ … and he has heard also, that ‘God hath set forth His Son a propitiation through His blood,’ and that ‘whosoever believeth shall not perish, but have everlasting life;’ … The unbeliever, like the ungodly world in the days of Noah, hears the divine testimony, but will not receive it. Hell excites no fears – heaven no desires. He continues in impenitence and disobedience, till down comes the thunderbolt.” ~J. Brown
Obey God’s commands for salvation – repent of your sin and trust Jesus to make you right – and persevere in hope
"[Noah’s] was no feeble faith which could hold on in this manner, for an hundred and twenty years, believing unwaveringly that all which God had said would be accomplished. But it is an illustration of faith in the Christian church now. The church maintains the same confidence in God from age to age – and regardless of all the reproaches of scoffers, and all the arguments of philosophy, still adheres to the truths which God has revealed. So with individual Christians. They look for the promise. They are expecting heaven. They doubt not that the time will come when they will be received to glory; when their bodies will be raised up glorified and immortal, and when sin and sorrow will be no more. In the conflicts and trials of life the time of their deliverance may seem to be long delayed. The world may reproach them, and Satan may tempt them to doubt whether all their hope of heaven is not delusion. But their faith fails not, and though hope seems delayed, and the heart is sick, yet they keep the eye on heaven..." ~Albert Barnes
Prepare for the salvation of others – especially of your household
“Give a hand, stretch it forth, O ye who have not yet been overwhelmed, to them who are undone through their drunkenness: ye that are whole to them that are sick, ye that are sober-minded to them that are mad, that are giddily whirling round. Let no man, I beseech you, prefer the favor of his friend to his salvation... Each one is in earnest as to how he shall increase his possessions; no one as to how he shall aid the needy... lest we should fall into hell...” ~John Chrysostom, c. AD400
Let your faith express itself in holy words and actions that condemn the world
“What was a means of salvation was also a means of destruction: the water which overwhelmed the scornful also supported the ark and those who were in it… The sacrament of the eucharist was ordained by Christ as a means of grace, but to the unworthy recipient, who profanes the body and blood of the Lord, it becomes instead a means of condemnation, so that ‘he eats and drinks judgment upon himself’ (1 Cor. 11:27ff). The day of Christ’s parousia will be not only the consummating moment of salvation for those who are his, but also the moment of final judgment for those who persist in unbelief… Those who will not have God as Savior will meet him as Judge.” ~Phillip E. Hughes
Seek the inheritance of eternal life by trusting Jesus to make you right with God.
Greek NT |
NAW |
KJV |
11:1 ῎Εστι δὲ πίστις ἐλπιζομένων ὑπόστασις πραγμάτων ἔλεγχοςB οὐ βλεπομένων |
11:1 Now, faith is the understanding of things being hoped for; it is the making of a case concerning matters which are not being seen, |
11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. |
2 ἐν ταύτῃ γὰρ ἐμαρτυρήθησαν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι. |
2 and it was for this that the ancients got a good reference. |
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. |
3 Πίστει νοοῦμεν κατηρτίσθαι τοὺς αἰῶνας ῥήματι Θεοῦ, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἐκ φαινομένων τὸ βλεπόμενονC γεγονέναι. |
3 Withfaith we figure out that the worlds have been fixed up by the word of God such that it was not out of visible things that what is seen came into being. |
3
Through faith we understand that the worlds were
framed by the word of God, so
that things which are seen were not |
4 Πίστει πλείοναD θυσίαν ῎Αβελ παρὰ Κάϊν προσήνεγκεν τῷ Θεῷ, δι᾿ ἧς ἐμαρτυρήθη εἶναι δίκαιος, μαρτυροῦντος ἐπὶ τοῖς δώροις αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ δι᾿ αὐτῆς ἀποθανὼν ἔτι λαλεῖE. |
4 With faith, Abel offered to God a greater sacrifice than Cain, on account of which he was given a good reference of being righteous (God having given a good reference because of his gifts), and on account of this, he still speaks after having died. |
4
By faith Abel offered unto God a more
[excellent]
sacrifice than Cain, by which he X
|
5 Πίστει ῾Ενὼχ μετετέθη τοῦ μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατονF, καὶ οὐχ εὑρίσκετοG, διότι μετέθηκεν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεός. πρὸ γὰρ τῆς μεταθέσεωςH μεμαρτύρηται εὐηρεστηκέναιI τῷ Θεῷ· |
5 With faith, Enoch was transferred so as not to see death, and he was never found [again] on account of God having transferred him. Now, before his being transferred, he had been given a good reference of having been well-pleasing to God. |
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had [this] testimony, that he pleased X God. |
6 χωρὶς δὲ πίστεως ἀδύνατον εὐαρεστῆσαι· πιστεῦσαι γὰρ δεῖ τὸν προσερχόμενον τῷ Θεῷ ὅτι ἐστὶ καὶ τοῖς ἐκζητοῦσιν αὐτὸν μισθαποδότηςJ γίνεται. |
6 On the other hand, without faith, it’s impossible to be well-pleasing, for it is necessary for the one who approaches God to have faith that He exists and He becomes the payoff to those who are seeking Him out. |
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. |
7 Πίστει χρηματισθεὶς Νῶε περὶ τῶν μηδέπωK βλεπομένων, εὐλαβηθεὶςL κατεσκεύασεM κιβωτὸν εἰς σωτηρίαν τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ, δι᾿ ἧςN κατέκρινε τὸν κόσμον, καὶ τῆς κατὰO πίστιν δικαιοσύνης ἐγένετοP κληρονόμοςQ. |
7 With faith, Noah, after being informed concerning the things which were not yet seen, taking good heed, constructed an ark for the purpose of saving his household, through which he condemned the world, and became an inheritor of the righteousness according to faith. |
7 By faith Noah, being warned [of God] of X things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. |
12 Peter 2:5 “God... did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly...” (NKJV)
2J. Calvin: “...he built an ark, that he condemned the world by building it… [T]he context will hardly allow faith to be meant; we must then understand this of the ark.” J. Brown: “...there can be no doubt the reference is to faith in the relative ‘which,’ and not to the ark…" (The NIV just as confidently substituted the word “faith” for the Greek relative pronoun correctly translated “which” by all the other standard English translations.)
3AD 1853, footnote in his translation of Calvin’s commentary on Hebrews 11:7
4A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, AD 1977
5Brenton’s English translation of the LXX, cf. Ezekiel 14:13 which also refers to Noah as exceptionally righteous.
AThe
Greek is the Majority text, edited by myself to follow the majority
of the earliest-known manuscripts only when the early manuscript
evidence is practically unanimous. My original document includes
notes on the NKJV, NASB, NIV, & ESV English translations, but
since they are all copyrighted, I cannot include them in my online
document. Underlined words in English versions indicate a
standalone difference from all other English translations of a
certain word. Strikeout usually indicates that the
English translation is, in my opinion, too far outside the range of
meaning of the original Greek word. The addition of an X indicates a
Greek word left untranslated – or a plural Greek word
translated as an English singular. [Brackets] indicate words added
in English not in the Greek. Key words are colored consistently
across the chart to show correlations.
BAlthough used nowhere else in the NT, there are 31 occurrences in the OT of this root, almost all of which are translated “reproof” (although a couple in Job are translated “argument”).
CThe majority of Greek manuscripts read plural “things seen” (τὰ βλεπόμενα), and the traditional editions of the Greek NT (Textus Receptus, Patriarchal, and Contemporary Greek Orthodox) follow the majority, as did the Syriac and Vulgate, and King James English versions (and, surprisingly, the NASB and ESV). However, all four of the Greek manuscripts from the first millennium read singular (“what was visible” = NIV). The plural appears to be a style change that began in the 900’s AD, but means the same thing.
DL&N tagging project labeled this word 66.11 “pertaining to being more appropriate or fitting.”
EThis active form of the verb is the reading of the four oldest-known Greek manuscripts followed by a dozen later Greek manuscripts, the modern Critical GNT and Scrivner’s 1894 Textus Receptus edition of the GNT, and of the Vulgate, Syriac, and English versions. The middle form of the verb “speaks for himself” is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts starting with the 6th century Claramontanus, and is found in the Greek Orthodox GNT’s and in Stephens’ 1550 Textus Receptus. The difference in meaning is negligible, unless the reading be construed as a passive “is spoken of,” but even then it is true, for Abel is still being spoken of by the present author!
Fcf. Luke 2:26 and synonymous statements in John 8:51... ἐάν τις τὸν ἐμὸν λόγον τηρήσῃ, θάνατον οὐ μὴ θεωρήσῃ... and Psalm 88:49 τίς ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὃς ζήσεται καὶ οὐκ ὄψεται θάνατον
GFour of the 5 oldest-known Greek manuscripts (plus a dozen later ones) lengthened the initial vowel into ηυρισκετο, so the modern Critical GNT and 1904 Patriarchal editions of the GNT, followed that spelling. The majority of Greek manuscripts (supported by P13, one of the oldest-known), on the other hand, read as above, followed by the Textus Receptus and the Contemporary Greek Orthodox editions. It is merely a difference in spelling conventions; either way it’s spelled, it’s still imperfect passive indicative. The same thing happens to the second iteration of this verb at the end of this verse, where there are two spelling variants of the infinitive perfect active form of the same verb, the non-lengthened vowel being supported by the Alexandrinus manuscript (and 19 others) – followed by the modern critical and 1904 Patriarchal editions, and the lengthened vowel being supported by the majority of Greek manuscripts (including the majority of the oldest-known manuscripts: P13, P46, Sinaiticus, and Claramontanus) – followed by the Textus Receptus and the Contemporary Greek Orthodox editions. Why the modern critical scholars would side against what they considered their “best witnesses” is a mystery to me, but it makes no difference in meaning.
HAlthough the majority of Greek manuscripts (and therefore the traditional editions of the GNT and the Syriac and English versions) have the word autou (“of him”) here, this possessive pronoun is not in any of the five oldest-known Greek manuscripts, nor is it in the ancient Boharic or most of the Latin versions. It appears to have been added in the ninth century AD to clarify meaning. Even without the pronoun, the definite article can be legitimately interpreted as a possessive pronoun (“his translation” rather than merely “the translation”), and the well-established tradition of the added pronoun confirms that it should be translated as such, so it makes no difference in translation.
IThis word is found in the Greek NT only here and Heb. 13:16.
JHapex Legomenon, but the feminine form of this noun is found three other places in Hebrews (2:2; 10:35; 11:26) and nowhere else in the Greek Bible.
KHapex Legomenon, similar to oudepw, found in John 7:39; 19:41; 20:9; Acts 8:16.
LNo other occurrence of this word in the NT, but 38 occurrences in the LXX. The Aorist tense of this participle would seem to indicate that this action happened prior to his building the ark. I suppose the participle could possibly be construed as a simultaneous Aorist to the Aorist main verb, but neither Vincent nor Robertson took it that way, and Hanna didn’t comment (and I’d think he would if there were such a thing of interest as a Simultaneous Aorist).
MAlso used in 1 Pet 3:20 regarding the outfitting of Noah’s ark. Used in Heb. 3 for the construction of a house and in Heb. 9 for the furnishing of the temple.
NI suspect a similar situation to the pronouns in v.4 which may be intended to refer to more than just “faith,” since “by faith” is in a different case than the pronoun, and since there is another feminine singular antecedent closer (“ark”) which is also of a different case. Again, the application is that intellectual assent and action go together, neither one being independently capable of producing the effect.
OI labeled this preposition with L&N #89.4 (“a specific element bearing a relation to something else - 'in relation to, with regard to.'”, but was outvoted by the tagging team by #89.8 “a relation involving similarity of process - 'in accordance with, in relation to.'”
PThe “change of state” is really only in logical progression, not in real time, since his salvation was planned before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1).
QThe verbal structure of this verse is significant: two aorist passive participles describing the beginning of the story (having been instructed and having responded with reverence) and three aorist indicatives (he prepared, he condemned, and he became). Curiously, none of the key words in this verse from the Greek are found in the LXX of Genesis 6-10.