Hebrews 11:12

Hebrews 11:12 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

Context of Hebrews 11:12

10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own.

Hebrews 11:12 word by word

διὸ καὶ ἀφ᾽ ἑνὸς ἐγεννήθησαν, καὶ ταῦτα νενεκρωμένου, καθὼς τὰ ἄστρα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τῷ πλήθει καὶ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος ἡ παρὰ τὸ χεῖλος τῆς θαλάσσης ἡ ἀναρίθμητος.¶Read the interlinear

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• soδιόdio · thereforeG1352
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• one manεἷςheis · oneG1520
• heοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• as good as deadνεκρόωnekroō · to put to deathG3499
• came descendantsγεννάωgennaō · to begetG1080
• asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• numerousπλῆθοςplēthos · multitudeG4128
• starsἄστρονastron · starG798
• skyοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
• as countlessἀναρίθμητοςanarithmētos · countlessG382
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• sandἄμμοςammos · sandG285
• onπαράpara · from/with/besideG3844
• seashoreχεῖλοςcheilos · lipG5491
• seashoreθάλασσαthalassa · seaG2281

Cross-references for Hebrews 11:12

• Romans 4:19Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb.
• Genesis 15:5And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
• Genesis 22:17I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
• Genesis 26:4I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
• Exodus 32:13Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’”
• Deuteronomy 1:10The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
• Deuteronomy 28:62You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
• 1 Chronicles 27:23David did not count the men aged twenty or under, because the LORD had said that He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky.
• Nehemiah 9:23You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven and brought them to the land You had told their fathers to enter and possess.
• Romans 4:17As 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.
• Genesis 32:12But You have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to count.’”
• Joshua 11:4So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots.
• Judges 7:12Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore.
• 1 Samuel 12:5Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.
• 2 Samuel 17:11Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba—a multitude like the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle.
• 1 Kings 4:20The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.

Commentaries on Hebrews 11:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Him as good as dead - According to nature, long past the time of the procreation of children. The birth of Isaac, the circumstances of the father and mother considered, was entirely supernatural; and the people who proceeded from this birth were a supernatural people; and were and are most strikingly singular through every period of their history to the present day.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Therefore sprang there even of one - From a single individual. What is observed here by the apostle as worthy of remark, is, that the whole Jewish people sprang from one man, and that, as the reward of his strong faith he was made the father and founder of a nation. And him as good as dead - So far as the subject under discussion is concerned, To human appearance there was no more probability, that he would have a son at that period of life, than that the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-19Verses 8-19 We are often called to leave worldly connexions, interests, and comforts. If heirs of Abraham's faith, we shall obey and go forth, though not knowing what may befall us; and we shall be found in the way of duty, looking for the performance of God's promises. The trial of Abraham's faith was, that he simply and fully obeyed the call of God. Sarah received the promise as the promise of God; being convinced of that, she truly judged that he both…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12and he as good as dead: Abraham, who was very old, became the ancestor of an entire nation. Faith means believing that God can fulfill his promises, even when it seems impossible. as the stars … and the sand: See Genesis 22:17. God kept his promise (Exodus 1:7).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. as good as dead--literally, "deadened"; no longer having, as in youth, energetic vital powers. stars ... sand--(Ge 22:17).Read the comment

Topics related to Hebrews 11:12

• Faith
• Obedience

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Builder
• Conceive
• Confess
• Cruel
• Faith
• Impossible
• Proper
• Rewarder
• Trial

Commentaries on Hebrews 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings