Hebrews Hall Of Faith

Hebrews 11, "The Hall of Faith," maps to the 13 tribes.

Grid

The people of faith in this chapter map to the tribes as per the following table.

Notes on mapping

There are many "by faith" statements made throughout the chapter. More than there are tribes or individuals. So the basic strategy here is to map individuals who are named to tribes, realizing that some individuals are noted more than once for living "by faith."

Within the strategy of mapping individuals to tribes Abraham is used twice, first for Asher then for Manasseh. This might seem odd at first, but Moses is also used twice since he lands on Joseph and Joseph includes both Ephraim and Manasseh. Thus the two who are used twice are used on Manasseh, the double portion holder. In the end this doubling is strong confirmation that the map is right even if it seems odd at first.

There's an interlude commentary given in verses 13-16 about the first 5 people/tribes in the list. At first it seemed this interlude should be skipped, but after further consideration it appears to fit with Manasseh. You can ponder for yourself whether this is correct, but it seems to speak of the early "pilgrims" and puritans and such who fled to the new world to have their own country without the religious persecution they experienced at home. This is in contrast to the earlier mentioned tribes who either did not leave home or may have sought the same country as Manasseh (think Vikings = Reuben or Spain = Gad).

Often times it's a little challenging knowing where Dan fits into the series. The tribal order we're using is the seal date order given in Revelation 7, which does not list Dan directly. However, Dan is present in that list, though inferred, at the start, or zero point. Remember, Dan is the "judge" and as such everything is measured from or by him. Here in Hebrews 11 it seems Dan appears last in the list, in the closing passage dealing with people from the book of Judges. It appears Dan sometimes starts the list and other times ends the list, which may not even turn out to matter as these things tend to be cyclic anyhow.

Observations

The following notes give some confirmation of the general mapping of tribes to people in Hebrews 11. It's given in order.

Judah mapping to Abel boggles me.

Also not sure why Reuben is matched to Enoch other than the sense that Enoch had a place of intimacy with God and Reuben seems to be the tribe that best picks up intimacy in relationship, though used inappropriately in his youth. Reuben is the ark of the contract in the tent, the inner room, the bridal chamber, the place of meeting, the place of intimacy.

Gad and Noah are a wonderful match. Noah leaves the old world by boat and Gad does the same famously with the likes of Christopher Columbus and Magellan.

Asher and Abraham make sense when "foundations" are the topic. Asher's feet are bathed in oil and his commandment is not to bow to (the feet of) idols. Asher's oil is what lights his lamp in the tent, and that lamp gives light unto one's path, as the Psalm says, which is what Abraham needed on his journey down an unknown path.

Naphtali and Sarah makes sense in that Sarah is described as nearly "dead" when she gives birth. Germany of course was decimated in World War II, nearly dead, and without any colonies or kids out and about. Her fruit comes after nearly dying, which means now for Germany.

Manasseh hits Abraham and his near sacrifice of Isaac. Manasseh's tent article is the altar, which matches, and his plague is soot into the air from the furnace (like ashes from the altar) which produces boils. Job is one of Manasseh's books and Job's boils are the same as those in Egypt. The Notes on mapping above give a little more insight into how Manasseh informs the proper grid, which is something he does many times.

Simeon as Isaac makes sense. Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. Simeon's redemptive gift is giving counsel, though sometimes he gives/follows bad counsel.

Levi as Jacob is a solid match. Jacob is described as blessing and leaning on his staff as he worships. Levi of course is the one with the staff in Scripture (the L in his name too) and Levi blesses all the tribes just as Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph and his own sons.

Issachar and Joseph are an interesting match. Issachar has a general theme of hard work or working hard land as per Jacob's blessing at the end of Genesis. Joseph had difficult times of service in Potiphar's house in Egypt (rather than home with his father Jacob) and then in the prison house in Egypt. But as we known Joseph rose to prominence in Egypt and brought deliverance to his family, which probably says something that is not understood or under appreciated about Issachar. We also know Issachar knew the times as per Chronicles. Joseph knew the timing of the famines in Egypt.

Zebulun and Moses' Parents are also an interesting match. Zebulun became Greece, the first nation to develop democracy. Zebulun has a recurring theme of origins, first, beginnings. As a match to Moses' parents the writer of Hebrews is dealing with the beginnings of Moses. A nice match to Zebulun.

Joseph and Moses are a good match. Joseph is the double portion holder and as such he has two distinct passages here. He has five verses about Moses and then 2 about the larger community of Israel. Joseph has both Ephraim and Manasseh. Manasseh's promise is that he would be a "great nation" (singular) and Ephraim's promise is that he would become a "community of nations" (plural). We see this same pattern here where Moses the individual is spoken about then the passage turns it's attention to the community of tribes who together went through the Red Sea and together marched around the walls of Jericho.

Benjamin and Rahab is another strong match. Rahab was a prostitute, but she had faith and was the sole survivor when Israel destroyed Jericho. When the Assyrian's defeated Israel and Judah, the only people to remain in the land were those inside the city walls of Jerusalem (the main city in Benjamin's territory), and that by an act of God. Other passages of Scripture seem to paint a scenario where the same thing will happen again in modern Israel (Benjamin). It's also the case that Benjamin is the only brother who is not Christian. That's not to say that Christians have it all right, but they do acknowledge God in the flesh while as a tribe Benjamin is a prostitute by denying his husband.

Dan and the closing passage also appears to be a good fit. Dan's promise was that he would judge his brothers. Of course the World Court is in the Netherlands as are other agencies and courts that fulfill this prophecy/promise. The closing passage of Hebrews 11 begins with a list of notable people from the book of Judges. A nice match. It then goes on to say how much trouble many of these people had to endure in their lifetime ending with the general theme of these people being outcasts who lived on the edge of civilization. Dan had trouble taking his land in Joshua and Judges and he eventually takes the sea instead. He's pushed back, he lives on the edge of civilization, but apparently this leads to a better resurrection for him.