Hebrews 11:20 Meaning Explained

Hebrews 11:20

By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

English Standard Version (ESV)

It's easy to skim over this, but the text highlights that Isaac's blessing wasn't just about immediate circumstances; it prophetically declared future realities for his sons. This act of faith demonstrates he trusted God's promises to guide his words even when speaking about events far beyond his lifetime.

What Hebrews 11:20 means

This passage appears right after Abraham's faith and precedes Jacob's faith, focusing on Isaac's act of blessing his sons, Jacob and Esau. The blessing, recorded in Genesis 27, was a prophetic declaration about their future destinies, extending beyond their lifetimes. Despite Isaac being deceived into blessing Jacob instead of Esau, the author highlights that Isaac's faith lay in trusting God's pronouncements about these future events, recognizing the divine plan unfolding.

Blessing Beyond the Present

Isaac, an aging patriarch, looked past his own lifespan. How did his faith let him see and declare future realities?

Looking Ahead with Faith

The Bible often highlights faith as believing in unseen realities. For Isaac, blessing his sons Jacob and Esau wasn't just about their immediate lives. The phrase "concerning things to come" signals that Isaac was invoking blessings that extended far beyond his own lifetime, touching the destinies of generations yet unborn. This was faith in action—a deep conviction that God's promises would unfold, even when the evidence was not yet visible. He didn't just wish them well; he declared divine pronouncements about their future.

This forward-looking blessing was rooted in the covenant promises God had made to Abraham. Isaac's faith wasn't guesswork; it was a confident trust in God's faithfulness to fulfill His word, impacting the future lineage and national destinies of his sons.

Faith in God's Sovereign Plan

Isaac's blessing wasn't just a father's wish; it was a prophetic declaration. What does this tell us about God's control over history?

God's Unfolding Purposes

Isaac’s act of blessing was more than a personal endorsement; it was an echo of God’s sovereign plan. Even though Isaac was deceived about which son he was blessing at first, his words, guided by the Holy Spirit, ultimately affirmed God's predetermined purpose for Jacob to receive the primary blessing. The blessings declared were not merely about temporal success but about destinies intertwined with God's covenant.

This demonstrates that faith involves trusting that God is orchestrating events according to His perfect will, even when human circumstances seem contrary. Isaac, by faith, spoke words that aligned with God's unfolding redemptive history, recognizing that God's promises would stand regardless of human error or schemes.

Understand the original words

Original language

blessingsεὐλογέω

eulogeō · Greek Verb

Spoken words of divine favor or empowerment bestowed upon another, reflecting the authority of the speaker as a representative of God's covenantal grace.

Historical context

Written: Estimated to be between 64 and 69 AD.
Author: Traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul, though debated by some scholars.
Location: Likely written from Italy, possibly Rome.
Genre: Epistle (letter); features a strong emphasis on faith and a narrative showcasing Old Testament figures.

Historical background

Isaac's blessing, given in faith while deceived, highlights that divine promises often unfold through human weakness and surprising circumstances, pointing to a future beyond immediate sight.

c. 1800 BC
Abraham receives promises
God promises Abraham descendants, land, and that through him all nations would be blessed. These promises are foundational for future generations.
c. 1770 BC
Isaac is born
Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah as a fulfillment of God's promise, signifying the continuation of the chosen lineage.
c. 1720 BC— this verse
Isaac blesses Jacob and Esau
Isaac, frail and near death, mistakenly blesses his younger son Jacob instead of his elder son Esau. This blessing prophetically declares future status and inheritance, including Jacob's supremacy.
c. 1720 BC
Isaac confirms blessings
After realizing his error, Isaac trembles but affirms Jacob's blessing, acknowledging the divine will already in motion. He also blesses Esau, but with a subordinate destiny.

Key themes

01Faith in future blessings
02Prophetic declaration
03Divine revelation's power
04Blessing beyond the present

Cross-references

Genesis 27:27-29

This passage is the direct historical account of Isaac blessing Jacob, which Hebrews 11:20 refers to, highlighting the faith involved in the patriarch's prophetic words.

Genesis 27:39-40

This shows the specific blessing Isaac gave to Esau, which, while seemingly harsh, involved future promises and confirms the prophetic, faith-based nature of Isaac's words mentioned in Hebrews.

Romans 9:10-13

Paul directly references the story of Jacob and Esau's birthright and blessings, emphasizing God's sovereign choice regardless of human actions, which provides theological context for Isaac's faith-driven actions.

Hebrews 11:21

This immediately following verse speaks of Jacob's faith in blessing his sons, showing a continuation of this family legacy of faith in prophetic blessing.

Scholarly commentary

Hebrews 11:20: "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come."

Blessed (εὐλόγησεν)See on John 12:13.Concerning things to come (καὶ περὶ μελλόντων)A.V. Omits καὶ which gives an emphasis to the following words. Isaac pronounced a blessing, and that concerning things to come; things beyond the lifetime of Jacob and Esau. See Genesis 27:29, Genesis 27:39. The blessing was an act of faith. Isaac's confidence in the power of his blessing to convey the good which it promised w…
vincent

Hebrews 11:20: "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come."

20 . By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau ] It is true that the blessing of Esau when rightly translated, “Behold thy dwelling shall be away from the fatness of the earth and away from the dew of blessing” ( Genesis 27:39 ) reads more like a curse; but the next verse (40) involves a promise of ultimate freedom, and Esau obtained the blessings of that lower and less spiritual life for which he was alone fitted by…
cambridge

Frequently asked questions

What does Hebrews 11:20 mean?

Explain the meaning of Hebrews 11:20

What is the context of Hebrews 11:20?

Study this verse in Sola

Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.

Open in Sola app Get the app

Ask a follow-up

Ask Sola about this verse

Ask Sola things like:

“What does "blessings" mean in the original Greek?”
“Why did Traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul, though debated by some scholars. write Hebrews 11:20?”
“How does faith in future blessings show up in Hebrews 11:20?”

Ask in the Sola app Get the app

Live chat about Hebrews 11:20 is available in the Sola app.

This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.

What Hebrews 11:20 means

Historical background

Isaac's blessing, given in faith while deceived, highlights that divine promises often unfold through human weakness and surprising circumstances, pointing to a future beyond immediate sight.

c. 1800 BC

Abraham receives promises

God promises Abraham descendants, land, and that through him all nations would be blessed. These promises are foundational for future generations.

c. 1770 BC

Isaac is born

Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah as a fulfillment of God's promise, signifying the continuation of the chosen lineage.

c. 1720 BC— this verse

Isaac blesses Jacob and Esau

Isaac, frail and near death, mistakenly blesses his younger son Jacob instead of his elder son Esau. This blessing prophetically declares future status and inheritance, including Jacob's supremacy.

c. 1720 BC

Isaac confirms blessings

After realizing his error, Isaac trembles but affirms Jacob's blessing, acknowledging the divine will already in motion. He also blesses Esau, but with a subordinate destiny.