Hebrews 11:35-38

Hebrews 11:35-38

[35] Women  received  their  dead  raised to life again:  and  others  were tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance;  that  they might obtain  a better  resurrection:  [36] And  others  had  trial  of cruel mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover  of bonds  and  imprisonment:  [37] They were stoned,  they were sawn asunder,  were tempted,  were slain  with  the sword:  they wandered about  in  sheepskins  and  goatskins;  being destitute,  afflicted,  tormented;  [38] (Of whom  the world  not  worthy:)  they wandered  deserts,  and  in mountains,  and  in dens  and  caves  of the earth. 

What does Hebrews 11:35-38 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Faith does not result in deliverance in every case, however. These verses refer to many different forms of persecution, which would have been particularly comforting to the original distressed readers. Traditionally Isaiah suffered death at King Manasseh"s hand by being sawn in two. [1]
"According to ... mutually complementary rabbinic sources, Prayer of Manasseh , enraged because Isaiah had prophesied the destruction of the Temple, ordered his arrest. Isaiah fled to the hill country and hid in the trunk of a cedar tree. He was discovered when the king ordered the tree cut down. Isaiah was tortured with a saw because he had taken refuge in the trunk of a tree ..." [2]
Sometimes the faithful person"s reward comes on the other side of the grave. Some of the readers, and we, might have to endure death. Those who accept death without apostatizing are those the world is not worthy of because they do not turn from following the Lord even under the most severe pressure.