The Meaning of Hebrews 11:21 Explained

Hebrews 11:21

KJV: By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

YLT: by faith Jacob dying -- each of the sons of Joseph did bless, and did bow down upon the top of his staff;

Darby: By faith Jacob when dying blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshipped on the top of his staff.

ASV: By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

By faith  Jacob,  when he was a dying,  blessed  both  the sons  of Joseph;  and  worshipped,  [leaning] upon  the top  of his  staff. 

What does Hebrews 11:21 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 11:21

Leaning upon the top of his staff [επι το ακρον της ραβδου αυτου]
From Genesis 47:31, but no word for “leaning.” The quotation is from the lxx, the Hebrew having “the head of the bed,” but the Hebrew word allows either meaning with different vowel points. [source]
When he died [ἀποθνήσκων]
Rend. “when dying.” It is quite superfluous to explain this as emphasizing the strength in contrast with the weakness of approaching death; or that, in the birth of Joseph's two sons before Jacob's death, Jacob discerned a monition to adopt them into the direct line of his own sons. The meaning is simply that these events took place in Jacob's last hours. [source]
Blessed each [ἕκαστον εὐλόγησεν]
See Genesis 48:17-20. Each son received a separate and distinct blessing, although Joseph had expected only one common blessing for both. Jacob's discernment of faith appeared in this, as in the precedence assigned to the younger son. [source]
And worshipped leaning on the top of his staff [καὶ προσεκύνησεν ἐπὶ τὸ ἄκρον τῆς ῥάβδου αὐτοῦ]
From the lxx of Genesis 47:31. It seems to have been loosely included by our writer among the incidents of Jacob's last hours ( ἀποθνήσκων ), although it belongs to a different part of the narrative. The promise given by Joseph to remove his father's remains to the family sepulchre may have been regarded as preparatory to the blessing, or introduced in order to emphasize the devotional character of the entire proceeding. The words upon the head of his staff are from the lxx; the Hebrew being “Jacob bowed himself upon the head of the bed.” Comp. 1 Kings 1:47. According to its vowel-points the same Hebrew word signifies either staff or bed. The lxx has chosen the former, and renders by ῥάβδος staffAccording to the Hebrew, the meaning is that Jacob, having been sitting during the conversation, lay down when it was finished, probably overcome by weakness, and breathing a prayer as he fell back on his pillow. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Hebrews 11:21

Hebrews 1:8 O God [ο τεος]
This quotation (the fifth) is from Psalm 45:7. A Hebrew nuptial ode Old word for walking-stick, staff (Hebrews 11:21). [source]

What do the individual words in Hebrews 11:21 mean?

By faith Jacob dying each of the sons of Joseph blessed and worshiped on the top of the staff of him
Πίστει Ἰακὼβ ἀποθνῄσκων ἕκαστον τῶν υἱῶν Ἰωσὴφ εὐλόγησεν καὶ προσεκύνησεν ἐπὶ τὸ ἄκρον τῆς ῥάβδου αὐτοῦ

Πίστει  By  faith 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: πίστις  
Sense: conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it.
Ἰακὼβ  Jacob 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰακώβ  
Sense: was the second son of Isaac.
ἀποθνῄσκων  dying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀποθνῄσκω  
Sense: to die.
ἕκαστον  each 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ἕκαστος  
Sense: each, every.
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
υἱῶν  sons 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
Ἰωσὴφ  of  Joseph 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰωσήφ 
Sense: the patriarch, the eleventh son of Jacob.
εὐλόγησεν  blessed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εὐλογέω 
Sense: to praise, celebrate with praises.
προσεκύνησεν  worshiped 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: προσκυνέω  
Sense: to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence.
ἄκρον  top 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: ἄκρον  
Sense: the farthest bounds, uttermost parts, end, highest, extreme.
τῆς  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ῥάβδου  staff 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ῥάβδος  
Sense: a staff, a walking stick, a twig, rod, branch.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.

What are the major concepts related to Hebrews 11:21?

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