pleasing (or of fellowship). The aorists
eujaresth'sai, pisteu'sai
express the absolute idea.
pisteu'sai dei'
...] The Faith which is thus declared to be necessary for everyone who approaches God as a worshipper (
to;n prosercovmenon
Heb. 7:25 note), includes two elements, the belief (
a
) that God is, and (
b
) that He is morally active; in other words it is a Faith in the existence and in the moral government of God.
o{ti e[stin kai;...givnetai
]
that He is
that there is One Who answers to the intuition
and that He shews Himself a rewarder
.... Vulg.
quia est et...fit.
For
misqapodovth"
see Heb. 2:2 note. In connexion with this statement Chrysostom asks
povqen
;
ou[pw ga;r oujde; tw'/ [Abel ajpevdwken
.
w{ste oJ logismo;" e{tera uJpevballen hJ de; pivsti" ta; ejnantiva tw'n oJrwmevnwn
.
The word ejkzhtei'n , which is common in the LXX. wherever it occurs in the N. T. in the sense of searching suggests the notion of strenuous endeavour: Heb. 12:17; Acts 15:17 (LXX.); Rom. 3:11 (LXX.); 1 Pet. 1:10.
Heb. 11:7. Nw'e ] Gen. 6. The Faith of Noah was directed to a special revelation which was made known to others also. In this respect it differed from the Faith of Abel and Enoch. Thus Chrysostom to; me;n uJpovdeigma tou' jEnw;c pivstew" h\n uJpovdeigma movnon, to; de; tou' Nw'e kai; ajpistiva" .
For
crhmatisqeiv"
(Vulg.
responso accepto
) see Heb. 8:5 note.
The things not yet seen
(not indefinitely things), the judgment which was to come upon the world with all its attendant circumstances, were the subject of the divine communication. Contrast
peri; mell.
11:20.
eujlabhqei;" katesk.
]
moved with pious care (he) prepared
... Vulg.
metuens aptavit
... Compare Heb. 5:7 (
ajpo; th'" eujlabeiva"
); 12:28 (
meta; aijdou'" kai; eujlabeiva"
); Acts 23:10.
This characteristic was at once called out by the divine warning. Crhmatisqeiv" and eujlabhqeiv" appear to be coincident in time.
The word
kateskeuvasen
(1 Pet. 3:20) includes both the construction and the fitting up of the ark: comp. Heb. 3:3 note.
dij h|"
]
through which
ark (comp. Heb. 11:4). His Faith was visibly presented to the eyes of his contemporaries by the construction of the ark. Through this then he condemned the unbelieving world, as witnessing to the divine destruction which was to come upon them in just recompense for their deeds.
Both here and in 11:4
dij h|"
may be referred to Faith, but in both cases the form of the argument seems to require a reference to the outward expression of the Faith. The sacrifice of Abel and the ark of Noah were, so to speak, the Faith of each made visible. And so it can rightly be said that Noah through the arkthe embodiment of his Faith in deed
became heir of the righteousness according to Faith.
katevkrinen
...
ejgevneto
] The first verb though the form is ambiguous, is probably an imperfect and describes the constant significance of his action, comparatione scilicet melioris fidei et facti (Primas.).
to;n kovsmon
] Compare 11:38.
th'" kata; pivst. dikaios. klhr.
] Noah is the first man who receives the
title of righteous in the O. T. (Gen. 6:9 qyDIx' , H7404), as was remarked by
Philo, de congr. erud. gr. § 17 (i. p. 532 M.). Comp. Ezek. 14:14, 20; Ecclus.