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There is much in the passage for meditation. Faith is to the things hoped for as the
unborn embryo is to the fully formed and living child. There is much that is secret, dark
and mysterious, but the whole presses forward to fullness of life. Such is the underlying
thought of Heb. 11: 1. The things hoped for were at the moment "not seen", they were
as yet "unborn" yet very real to faith. As we watch the expectant mother lovingly and
quietly preparing the little garments for the life that is not yet manifest, we have God's
own illustration of that faith which is the substance of things hoped for. Let us now
examine the second statement:
"Faith is . . . . . the evidence of things not seen."
Elengchos occurs but twice in the New Testament, Heb. 11: 1 and II Tim. 3: 16.
The A.V. translates it once "evidence" and once "reproof". When we turn to the verb
elengcho we have a wider field for investigation. The following are the renderings in the
A.V., convict, convince, rebuke, reprove, tell one's fault. In no one place is it ever
translated "prove" or "demonstrate", or by any such word that is parallel to "evidence".
We find the word in Heb. 12: 5 where it is translated "to be rebuked". Now structurally
this passage balances Heb. 11: 1 thus:
Elengchos
A |
11: 1. Faith. Substance and elengchos. A.V. "evidence".
B
| 11: 2-40. The cloud of witnesses.
B
| 12: 1, 2. The cloud of witnesses.
A |
12: 3-5. Faith. The elengchos. A.V. "rebuked".
Now if the last passage is rightly rendered "rebuke", how can the only other
occurrence of the word in Hebrews, bound as it is by all the ties of structure and
consistent argument, be rightly translated "evidence"? The reader may by this time be
ready to consult the LXX again, and the first passage we note will be Habk. 2: 1, "I will
stand upon my watch . . . . . what I shall answer upon my reproof", which is in the
immediate context of the quotation, "the just shall live by his faith". Instead of "proof"
we find "reproof". Let us search this matter further. Now elengchos occurs some
twenty one times, and elengcho some 53 times. It is manifestly impossible to provide a
concordance of the occurrences here. We will give a few, but would here assure the
reader that every one of these 74 occurrences has been investigated, and that all point in
one direction, namely, that elengchos does not mean "evidence" but "rebuke". Let us see
a few examples:
"And Abraham REPROVED Abimelech because of a well of water" (Gen. 21: 25).
"Thou shalt in any wise REBUKE thy neighbour" (Lev. 19: 17).
"The Lord had REBUKED him" (II Chron. 26: 20).
"Behold, happy is the man whom God CORRECTETH" (Job. 5: 17).
"My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of HIS
CORRECTION: for whom the "LORD loveth He CORRECTETH" (Prov. 3: 11, 12).
The apostle has quoted this passage of Prov. 3: 11, 12 in Heb. 12: 5, 6 and there,
instead of giving the word "correction" twice as does the LXX, he uses the word
"chasteneth". For confirmation of this synonym we may turn to Rev. 3: 19, "As many