Hebrews 11:8
New International Version
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

New Living Translation
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.

English Standard Version
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Berean Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.

Berean Literal Bible
By faith Abraham, being called to go out into a place that he was going to receive for an inheritance, obeyed and went out, not knowing where he is going.

King James Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

New King James Version
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

New American Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going.

NASB 1995
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

NASB 1977
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Legacy Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Amplified Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was called [by God], obeyed by going to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went, not knowing where he was going.

Christian Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going.

American Standard Version
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Contemporary English Version
Abraham had faith and obeyed God. He was told to go to the land that God had said would be his, and he left for a country he had never seen.

English Revised Version
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Faith led Abraham to obey when God called him to go to a place that he would receive as an inheritance. Abraham left his own country without knowing where he was going.

Good News Translation
It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God had promised to give him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going.

International Standard Version
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Majority Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.

NET Bible
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.

New Heart English Bible
By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going.

Webster's Bible Translation
By faith Abraham, when he was called to remove into a place which he should afterwards receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out not knowing whither he was going.

Weymouth New Testament
Through faith Abraham, upon being called to leave home and go into a land which he was soon to receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he was going to.

World English Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
By faith Abraham, being called, obeyed, to go forth into the place that he was about to receive for an inheritance, and he went forth, not knowing to where he goes.

Berean Literal Bible
By faith Abraham, being called to go out into a place that he was going to receive for an inheritance, obeyed and went out, not knowing where he is going.

Young's Literal Translation
By faith Abraham, being called, did obey, to go forth to the place that he was about to receive for an inheritance, and he went forth, not knowing whither he doth go;

Smith's Literal Translation
By faith Abraham, being called, listened, to go forth into the place which he was about to receive for an inheritance; and he came out, not knowing where he is coming.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
By faith he that is called Abraham, obeyed to go out into a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Catholic Public Domain Version
By faith, the one called Abraham obeyed, going out to the place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

New American Bible
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.

New Revised Standard Version
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was called to depart for the land which he was to receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place that he was going to receive for an inheritance, and he went out when he did not know where he was going.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
By faith Abraham, when called to go out into a place that he should afterward receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Godbey New Testament
By faith Abraham, being called to go out into a place which he was about to receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and went out, not knowing whither he goes.

Haweis New Testament
By faith Abraham, called to go forth unto a place which he should in future obtain as an heritage, obeyed; and he went forth, not knowing whither he was going.

Mace New Testament
'Twas by faith that he who was named Abraham, showed his obedience in travelling to a foreign country, which he was afterwards to inherit; and began his journey without knowing where he was going.

Weymouth New Testament
Through faith Abraham, upon being called to leave home and go into a land which he was soon to receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he was going to.

Worrell New Testament
By faith Abraham, when called, obeyed to go forth into the place which he was about to receive for an inheritance; and he went forth, not knowing whither he was going.

Worsley New Testament
By faith Abraham when called to go out to a place which he was afterwards to receive for an inheritance obeyed: and went out, though he knew not whither he was going.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Faith of Abraham and Sarah
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. 9By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.…

Cross References
Genesis 12:1-4
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. / I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. / I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” ...

Genesis 15:7
The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

Genesis 22:1-3
Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. / “Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” / So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.

Acts 7:2-4
And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, / and told him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you.’ / So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.

Romans 4:12
And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Romans 4:16-17
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. / As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.

Galatians 3:6-9
So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” / Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. / The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” ...

James 2:21-23
Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? / You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. / And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.

Genesis 17:5
No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

Genesis 18:18
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

Genesis 24:7
The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me from my father’s house and my native land, who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—He will send His angel before you so that you can take a wife for my son from there.

Nehemiah 9:7-8
You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. / You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites, of the Amorites and Perizzites, of the Jebusites and Girgashites—to give it to his descendants. You have kept Your promise, because You are righteous.

Isaiah 51:2
Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him, he was but one; then I blessed him and multiplied him.

John 8:39
“Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham.

Romans 9:7-8
Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” / So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.


Treasury of Scripture

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he went.

Abraham.

Genesis 11:31
And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

Genesis 12:1-4
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: …

Joshua 24:3
And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

which.

Genesis 12:7
And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

Genesis 13:15-17
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever…

Genesis 15:7,8
And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it…

obeyed.

Hebrews 11:33
Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Hebrews 5:9
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Genesis 22:18
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

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Hebrews 11
1. What faith is.
6. Without faith we cannot please God.
7. The examples of faithfulness in the fathers of old time.














By faith
The phrase "By faith" sets the tone for the entire chapter of Hebrews 11, often referred to as the "Faith Hall of Fame." The Greek word for faith, "pistis," implies a deep trust and confidence in God. This faith is not merely intellectual assent but involves a commitment and reliance on God's promises. In the context of Hebrews, faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It is the foundation upon which the patriarchs acted, demonstrating that faith is active and dynamic, not passive.

Abraham
Abraham, originally named Abram, is a central figure in the Bible, often called the "father of faith." His account begins in Genesis 12, where God calls him to leave his homeland. Abraham's life is a testament to obedience and trust in God, despite not having the full picture. Historically, Abraham lived around the early second millennium BC, and his journey from Ur to Canaan is significant in the biblical narrative, marking the beginning of God's covenant relationship with His chosen people.

when called
The phrase "when called" indicates immediacy and readiness to respond to God's voice. The Greek word "kaleo" means to call or summon. Abraham's response to God's call was prompt and without hesitation, illustrating his willingness to obey. This call was not just a physical journey but a spiritual one, requiring Abraham to leave behind his past and step into the unknown, trusting in God's guidance.

to go to a place
This phrase highlights the journey aspect of Abraham's faith. The "place" refers to the land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and his descendants. The journey to this place was not just geographical but also spiritual, symbolizing the journey of faith that all believers are called to undertake. It represents stepping out of comfort zones and trusting in God's promises, even when the destination is not fully known.

he would later receive as his inheritance
The concept of inheritance is significant in the biblical context. It refers to the land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and his descendants. This promise is foundational to the Abrahamic Covenant, which is central to the narrative of the Old Testament. The inheritance is not just physical land but also spiritual blessings, foreshadowing the eternal inheritance believers receive through faith in Christ.

obeyed and went
Abraham's obedience is a key theme in this verse. The Greek word "hupakouo" means to listen attentively and to conform to a command or authority. Abraham's obedience was immediate and complete, demonstrating his trust in God's promises. This obedience is a model for believers, showing that true faith results in action. Abraham's journey was not without challenges, but his obedience was unwavering.

even though he did not know where he was going
This phrase underscores the essence of faith—trusting in God without knowing all the details. Abraham's journey was marked by uncertainty, yet he trusted in God's promise. This aspect of faith is challenging but essential, as it requires believers to rely on God's wisdom and guidance rather than their understanding. It highlights the nature of faith as a journey into the unknown, with confidence in God's faithfulness.

(8) When he was called to go out.--Our older versions are here better than the Authorised, bringing in the word "obeyed" after "called"--"obeyed to go out into," &c.

Which he should after receive.--The English rendering may seem to imply that when "called" Abraham received the promise that the land to which he would be directed should in the future be his inheritance. It is not so (Acts 7:5); for this promise is not found in Genesis 12:1-3, but was bestowed when he had obeyed (Genesis 12:7). The meaning here is, "unto a place which he was to receive."

Verse 8. - By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed (literally, when called, obeyed to go out, etc.); and he went out, not knowing whither he went. The reference is to the first call of Abraham (Genesis 12:1), his obedience to which is the first instance of the faith which the whole life of the father of the faithful so eminently exemplifies. The fact of the place he was to go to being so far unrevealed (intimated only as "a land that I will show thee") enhances the faith displayed, He followed the Divine voice as it were blindly, not seeing whither it was leading him, knowing only that it was right to follow it. So to those who walk by faith now the future may be unknown or dim.

"Lead thou me on.
... I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me."


Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
By faith
Πίστει (Pistei)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4102: Faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

Abraham,
Ἀβραὰμ (Abraam)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 11: Abraham, progenitor of the Hebrew race. Of Hebrew origin; Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch.

when called
καλούμενος (kaloumenos)
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2564: (a) I call, summon, invite, (b) I call, name. Akin to the base of keleuo; to 'call'.

to go
ἐξελθεῖν (exelthein)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 1831: To go out, come out. From ek and erchomai; to issue.

to
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

a place
τόπον (topon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5117: Apparently a primary word; a spot, i.e. Location; figuratively, condition, opportunity; specially, a scabbard.

he would later
ἤμελλεν (ēmellen)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3195: A strengthened form of melo; to intend, i.e. Be about to be, do, or suffer something.

receive
λαμβάνειν (lambanein)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 2983: (a) I receive, get, (b) I take, lay hold of.

as
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

[his] inheritance,
κληρονομίαν (klēronomian)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2817: From kleronomos; heirship, i.e. a patrimony or a possession.

obeyed
ὑπήκουσεν (hypēkousen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 5219: From hupo and akouo; to hear under, i.e. To listen attentively; by implication, to heed or conform to a command or authority.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

went,
ἐξῆλθεν (exēlthen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1831: To go out, come out. From ek and erchomai; to issue.

without
μὴ (mē)
Adverb
Strong's 3361: Not, lest. A primary particle of qualified negation; not, lest; also (whereas ou expects an affirmative one) whether.

knowing
ἐπιστάμενος (epistamenos)
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1987: To know, know of, understand. Apparently a middle voice of ephistemi; to put the mind upon, i.e. Comprehend, or be acquainted with.

where
ποῦ (pou)
Adverb
Strong's 4226: Genitive case of an interrogative pronoun pos otherwise obsolete; as adverb of place; at what locality.

he was going.
ἔρχεται (erchetai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2064: To come, go.


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NT Letters: Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham when he was called (Heb. He. Hb)
Hebrews 11:7
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