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 looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore there sprang even from 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. 13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

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

• Thereforeδιόdio · thereforeG1352
• sprangγεννάωgennaō · to begetG1080
• evenκαίkai · andG2532
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• himταῦταtauta · thisG5023
• deadνεκρόωnekroō · to put to deathG3499
• asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
• starsἄστρονastron · starG798
• skyοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
• multitudeπλῆθοςplēthos · multitudeG4128
• asὡσείhōsei · like/as/aboutG5616
• sandἄμμοςammos · sandG285
• whichὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• byπαράpara · from/with/besideG3844
• seaθάλασσαthalassa · seaG2281
• shoreχεῖλοςcheilos · lipG5491
• innumerableἀναρίθμητοςanarithmētos · countlessG382

Cross-references for Hebrews 11:12

• Romans 4:19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:
• Genesis 15:5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou art able to number them: and he said to him, So shall thy seed be.
• Genesis 22:17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
• Genesis 26:4And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give to thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
• Exodus 32:13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thine own self, and saidst to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
• Deuteronomy 1:10The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
• Deuteronomy 28:62And ye shall be left few in number, though ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.
• 1 Chronicles 27:23But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like the stars of the heavens.
• Nehemiah 9:23Their children also didst multiply thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou didst promise to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it .
• Romans 4:17As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth those things which are not as though they were.
• Genesis 32:12And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
• Joshua 11:4And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, many people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots.
• Judges 7:12And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
• 1 Samuel 12:5And he said to them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found any thing in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.
• 2 Samuel 17:11Therefore I counsel that all Israel should be generally gathered to thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou shouldest go to battle in thy own person.
• 1 Kings 4:20Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.

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