The Meaning of Hebrews 11:12 Explained

Hebrews 11:12

KJV: Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

YLT: wherefore, also from one were begotten -- and that of one who had become dead -- as the stars of the heaven in multitude, and as sand that is by the sea-shore -- the innumerable.

Darby: Wherefore also there have been born of one, and that of one become dead, even as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the countless sand which is by the sea shore.

ASV: wherefore also there sprang of one, and him as good as dead,'so many as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand, which is by the sea-shore, innumerable.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore  sprang there  even  of  one,  and  him  as good as dead,  [so many] as  the stars  of the sky  in multitude,  and  as  the sand  which  is by  the sea  shore  innumerable. 

What does Hebrews 11:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Hebrews 11:11-22 - Seeking The Better Country
Faith has the twofold power, first, of making the unseen real; and second, of receiving the grace and strength of God into the heart. Sarah, through faith, received strength to bear Isaac. By faith may come physical as well as spiritual strength.
The pilgrim life is possible only for those who have seen the city of God beckoning them from afar. Then they strike their tents and follow the gleam. By faith they so comport themselves that God is not ashamed to own them. They will discover, even in this life, that they have not trusted Him in vain, and that the half has not been told. On the mere rumor that a new gold field is found, men sell off everything in their mad rush. How many are disappointed! But none of those that trust God shall be left desolate.
Abraham was absolutely sure that Isaac would return with him, even though the lad might die beneath the knife. When leaving the young men at Moriah's foot, he said: "We will worship and come again." Had not God's voice definitely designated Isaac as his heir? [source]

Chapter Summary: Hebrews 11

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

Greek Commentary for Hebrews 11:12

And that as good as dead [και ταυτα νενεκρωμενου]
Accusative of general reference “Along the lip of the sea” (from Genesis 22:17), χειλος — cheilos here alone in this sense in the N.T. Innumerable Old compound verbal adjective (alpha privative and αριτμεω — arithmeō to number), here alone in N.T. [source]
As good as dead [νενεκρωμένου]
Comp. Romans 4:19. As good as is an addition of A.V. The Greek reads and that a dead man. Comp. νέκρωσιν deadnessapplied to Sarah, Romans 4:19. [source]
Stars - sand []
See Genesis 22:17; Genesis 32:12. [source]
By the seashore [παρὰ τὸ χεῖλος τῆς θαλάσσης]
Lit. by the lip of the sea. The phrase N.T.oVery often in lxx, as Genesis 22:17; Exodus 14:30; lip of a river, Genesis 41:17; Exodus 7:15; of a brook, Deuteronomy 2:36; Deuteronomy 3:12; of Jordan, 2 Kings 2:13. So in Class. The vigor thus supernaturally imparted to Abraham does not appear to have exhausted itself in the generation of Isaac; since, according to Genesis 25:2, Abraham became by Keturah the father of six sons after the death of Sarah. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Hebrews 11:12

Colossians 3:5 Mortify [νεκρώσατε]
Only here, Romans 4:19; Hebrews 11:12. Mortify is used in its literal sense of put to death. So Erasmus: “Christ was mortified and killed.” And Shakespeare:“ - his wildness mortified in him,Seemed to die too.”“1 Henry V., 1, 26 ” [source]
Hebrews 11:17 Also he received him in a figure [αὐτὸν καὶ ἐν παρασολῇ ἐκομίσατο]
Καὶ marks the receiving as answering to the faith. As Abraham believed in God's power to restore Isaac, so, because of his faith, he also received him. For ἐκομίσατο receivedsee on Hebrews 10:36. Ἐν παραβολῆ ina parable. Since the sacrifice did not take place as a literal slaughter, there could not be a literal restoration from death. There was a real offering in Abraham's will, but not a real death of Isaac. Isaac's death took place symbolically, in the sacrifice of the ram: correspondingly, the restoration was only a symbolic restoration from the dead. Some expositors, among whom is Westcott, explain thus: Abraham accounted that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead, from which he received him at birth, in that Isaac sprung from one dead ( νενεκρωμένου , Hebrews 11:12). This is extremely labored and artificial. [source]
Hebrews 1:4 Than they [παρ ' αὐτοὺς]
Lit. beside or in comparison with them. Παρα , indicating comparison, occurs a few times in Luke, as Luke 3:13; Luke 13:2; Luke 18:4. In Hebrews always to mark comparison, except Hebrews 11:11, Hebrews 11:12. [source]

What do the individual words in Hebrews 11:12 mean?

Therefore also from one man were born and he having been as good as dead as the stars of heaven - in multitude as the sand - by the shore of the sea countless
διὸ καὶ ἀφ’ ἑνὸς ἐγεννήθησαν καὶ ταῦτα νενεκρωμένου καθὼς τὰ ἄστρα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τῷ πλήθει ὡς ἄμμος παρὰ τὸ χεῖλος τῆς θαλάσσης ἀναρίθμητος

καὶ  also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
ἑνὸς  one  man 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: εἷς  
Sense: one.
ἐγεννήθησαν  were  born 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: γεννάω  
Sense: of men who fathered children.
νενεκρωμένου  having  been  as  good  as  dead 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Middle or Passive, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: νεκρόω  
Sense: to make dead, to put to death, slay.
ἄστρα  stars 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: ἄστρον  
Sense: a group of stars, a constellation.
οὐρανοῦ  heaven 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
τῷ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
πλήθει  in  multitude 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: πλῆθος  
Sense: a multitude.
ἄμμος  sand 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ἄμμος  
Sense: sand, sandy ground.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
χεῖλος  shore 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: χεῖλος  
Sense: a lip, of the speaking mouth.
τῆς  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
θαλάσσης  sea 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: θάλασσα  
Sense: the sea.
ἀναρίθμητος  countless 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀναρίθμητος  
Sense: innumerable.