Hebrews 11:32Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"And what more shall I say? For time would fail me." The Apostle no longer gives examples in full. Having ended with the harlot and shamed them by the character of this person, he no longer expands in narratives, lest he seem verbose. Yet he does not entirely leave them aside. Rather, with great wisdom he lists them in passing, gaining a twofold benefit: he avoids excess and does not violate completeness. He neither remains wholly silent nor wearies them with verbosity, but avoids both. When someone proves something insistently and expands too much in proofs, he becomes burdensome to a hearer already convinced. He wearies him and exposes his own love of honor. One must consider what is profitable. "And what more shall I say?

"And what more shall I say?" Having brought his discourse down to a harlot and sufficiently shamed them by the character of this person, he then does not enumerate everyone individually, for the sake of brevity. He did this so that he would not seem ignorant of propriety. Yet he does not remain entirely silent. While seeming to end the discourse, he does not leave them unmentioned. In this way he does not weary the hearer, and he teaches what he wishes no less effectively by enumerating a large number of persons. "For time would fail me to tell." What time? Either this is said generally and hyperbolically, as we commonly speak, or it means the time required for an epistle.

Besides Moses, there were many in the Old Testament who believed in the one true God. The holy Apostle says that time would fail him to tell of the Hebrew judges who saved the Hebrew people from enemies. Such were the judges after Moses: Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah (Judg 6:11-8:30; 4:6-22; 13:24-16:30; 11:1-12:7). There was also King David, who struck down the giant Goliath (1 Kgs 17:23). In his life, though royal, yet full of labor and sorrow, he lived only by faith in God and hope in the future Redeemer. And there was Samuel the prophet, who by prayer obtained from God victory for the Hebrews over the Philistines (1 Kgs 7:3-13:11).

But so as not to enumerate separately and in detail all the works of faith of the Old Testament righteous, he then points to them only briefly. "And what more," he says, "shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon," that is, of Gideon's faith, by which he struck down ten thousand Midianites with three hundred men (Judg 7:1, 7). And of Barak, who by his faith conquered the army of Sisera (Judg 4:7). And of Samson, who through his faith struck down a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass (Judg 15:15). And of Jephthah, who by his faith destroyed twenty-two cities of the Ammonites (Judg 11:33). And of David, who through his faith struck down Goliath (1 Kgs 17:4). And of Samuel, who by his faith conquered the Philistines (1 Kgs 7:10), and of the other prophets.

In speaking of justice, we have examined in sufficient detail the nature and meaning of what is fitting. Let us now turn to courage, which rises above the other virtues and is divided into military and peaceful courage. But concern with military affairs seems foreign to our duties, for we care more for the soul than for the body, and we occupy ourselves not with military matters, but with peaceful ones. Yet our fathers, Joshua, Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, Samson, and David, won great glory even in war. Courage, then, is a most high virtue, but it never stands alone and does not trust itself. Otherwise courage without justice would give occasion to injustice. The stronger someone is, the more ready he is to oppress the weaker. Therefore in military affairs it is considered necessary to decide whether a war is just or not.

"And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel." The Apostle set forth their names, but passed over the kind of their merits. Yet in what follows, though not clearly, he does speak of each one's excellences. Then he mentions others in general and says, "and of the other prophets." He then relates in what they excelled.

The Apostle does not expand his narratives, lest he seem loquacious. On the contrary, he speaks concisely and at the same time very clearly. On the one hand he avoids excess; on the other, he does not omit what is important. "And what more," he says, "shall I say about Gideon and the others? For time would fail me," the time needed in the epistle to narrate all who attained righteousness through faith. It is not surprising that he also placed Barak, Samson, and Jephthah in line with the others. He even mentioned a harlot. For his subject was not a detailed account of life, but only faith, since these very persons were glorified through it.

"Who through faith subdued kingdoms." Gideon overthrew the Midianites, Samson the Philistines, Barak Sisera, David the Ammonites, the Amalekites, and both tribes of the Syrians (2 Sam 10:6), and Samuel the Philistines. "They stopped the mouths of lions" refers to Daniel.

After the possession of the promised land, many persons appeared among the chosen people who proved their faith either by performing great deeds, victories and miracles, or by enduring severe sufferings. The Apostle lists these men of faith not in chronological order, but with regard to their different significance in the history of the chosen people. Thus he mentions Gideon before Barak, probably because Gideon was called to service by the Angel of the Lord, while Barak was called by the prophetess Deborah. Likewise he names Samson, who had already been appointed to Naziriteship before birth, before Jephthah, who was placed in the high position of judge in mature age.