Hebrews 11:38

(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
whom	ὧν hōn	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — genitive plural masculine
world	κόσμος· kosmos	G2889	orderly arrangement · noun — nominative singular masculine
was	ἦν ēn	G2258	I (thou
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
worthy	ἄξιος axios	G514	deserving · adjective — nominative singular masculine
wandered	πλανώμενοι planōmenoi	G4105	to (properly · verb — present passive participle, nominative plural masculine
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in
deserts	ἐρημίαις erēmiais	G2047	solitude (concretely) · noun — dative plural feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
mountains	ὄρεσιν oresin	G3735	perhaps akin to G142 (αἴρω) · noun — dative plural neuter
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
dens	σπηλαίοις spēlaiois	G4693	a cavern · noun — dative plural neuter
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
caves	ὀπαῖς opais	G3692	a hole (as if for light) · noun — dative plural feminine
earth	γῆς.¶ gēs	G1093	soil · noun — genitive singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Kings 18:4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fe…
1 Samuel 22:1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down…
1 Kings 19:9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here…
Isaiah 57:1 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away f…
1 Samuel 24:1-3 And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness…
1 Samuel 26:1 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?
1 Kings 14:12-13 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
1 Kings 17:3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 11:32–end

The apostle having given us a classis of many eminent believers, whose names are mentioned and the particular trials and actings of their faith recorded, now concludes his narrative with a more summary account of another set of believers, where the particular acts are not ascribed to particular persons by name, but left to be applied by those who are well acquainted with the sacred story; and, like a divine orator, he prefaces his part of the narrative with an elegant expostulation: What shall I say more? Time would fail me; as if he had said, "It is in vain to attempt to exhaust this subject; should I not restrain my pen, it would soon run beyond the bounds of an epistle; and therefore I sh…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hebrews 11:38

Of whom the world was not worthy--So far from their being unworthy of living in the world, as their exile in deserts, &c., might seem to imply, "the world was not worthy of them." The world, in shutting them out, shut out from itself a source of blessing; such as Joseph proved to Potiphar (Gen 39:5), and Jacob to Laban (Gen 30:27). In condemning them, the world condemned itself. caves--literally, "chinks." Palestine, from its hilly character, abounds in fissures and caves, affording shelter to the persecuted, as the fifty hid by Obadiah (Kg1 18:4, Kg1 18:13) and Elijah (Kg1 19:8, Kg1 19:13); and Mattathias and his sons (1 Maccabees 2:28, 29); and Judas Maccabeus (2 Maccabees 5:27).

Adam Clarke on Hebrews 11:38

Of whom the world was not worthy - Yet they were obliged to wander by day in deserts and mountains, driven from the society of men, and often obliged to hide by night in dens and caves of the earth, to conceal themselves from the brutal rage of men. Perhaps he refers here principally to the case of Elijah, and the hundred prophets hidden in caves by Obadiah, and fed with bread and water. See Kg1 18:4. David was often obliged thus to hide himself from Saul; Sa1 24:3, etc.

John Gill on Hebrews 11:38

Of whom the world was not worthy,.... These words are inserted in a parenthesis, to remove or prevent such objections as these; that they were restless and unquiet persons, that made disturbance in the world, and so unfit to live in it; and that they were deservedly punished for crimes they were guilty of; and to show the great worth and inestimable value of the people of God, which exceeds that of the whole world; and to intimate the removal of them out of the world, or from dwelling among the men of it, is by way of punishment to it: they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth; as Elijah did; 1 Kings 18:4, and many in the times of the Maccabees; "And th…

The Church Fathers

Here is the narrow and close way that leads to life. Here are the teachers and prophets, "wandering in deserts, mountains, caves and holes in the earth." Here are the apostles and evangelists … living as citizens of the desert.
— Basil of Caesarea, LETTER 42

"Of whom the world was not worthy." … He does not say this about everyone but about the latter ones whom he sees as martyrs, witnesses of faith. He reminds us that these put foreign armies to flight and through their service to their people received grace.
— Severian of Gabala, FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 11.38

"of whom the world was not worthy." This also encourages them. For if this world was not worthy of those who suffer badly for the sake of God, that is, all people and this creation itself, why do you, he says, wish to receive the rewards here for the sufferings endured for Christ? For being better than the world, do not seek anything in this world. "wandering about in deserts." But Elijah, and the prophets whom Obadiah fed. (1 Kings 23:19) Note, however, that it does not say, "They found rest in the occupied desert," but rather that they also wandered there in fear of their persecutors.
— Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Den — A lair of wild beasts (Ps. 10:9; 104:22; Job 37:8); the hole of a venomous reptile (Isa. 11:8); a recess for secrecy “in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb. 11:38); a resort of thieves (Matt. 21:13;…
Cave · .Saints — .Saints
Caves · Natural — Natural
Dens · Used as places of refuge — Used as places of refuge
Deserts · The persecuted fled to — The persecuted fled to
Faith · 10:20;14:32;26:3;30:15;57:13; — 10:20;14:32;26:3;30:15;57:13;
Mountains · Afford refuge in time of danger — Afford refuge in time of danger
Pilgrims And Strangers · As saints they: The world is not worthy of — As saints they: The world is not worthy of
Prophets · Were mighty through faith — Were mighty through faith

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrews 11:38

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 11:32–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hebrews 11:38

Adam Clarke on Hebrews 11:38

John Gill on Hebrews 11:38

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Hebrews 11:38

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 11:32–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hebrews 11:38

Adam Clarke on Hebrews 11:38

John Gill on Hebrews 11:38

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Hebrews 11:35–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Hebrews 11:38