What Does Hebrews 11:23 Mean?
By trust Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was fair, and they did not fear the king's decree.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.THE KEY
Trust becomes visible as protection when the parents’ recognition of the child’s beauty outweighs fear of the king’s command.
THE MEANING
Trust takes shape as action: the parents hide Moses for three months because they see that the child is beautiful, and they do not fear the king’s command. When power presses against what you recognize as precious, the verse shows trust as protection.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that trust is only an inward conviction: here, trust takes the visible form of protecting a child.
THE ROOT
πίστις
pístis
GROWS FROM
πειθ-
peith-
To persuade or convince; the word family also carries the sense of trust and being persuaded.
The Greek word translated “faith” belongs to a family that includes both trusting and being persuaded. Here, trust is not an idea held at a distance; the parents lean their full weight on what they see and hide the child despite the king’s command.
ALSO GROWS
peíthō: To persuade or convince; in some contexts, to trust or be persuaded.
πείθω
This verbal form shows trust as confidence that takes hold, rather than a bare claim of belief.
pistós: Trustworthy or reliable; also faithful.
πιστός
The same word family names both the act of trusting and the reliability that makes trust possible.
THE PATTERN
Trust becomes visible when a person’s recognition of what is precious holds against a ruler’s command.
But the midwives stood in awe of God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them, but kept the boys alive.Then Peter and the other sent ones answered and said, We must obey God rather than humankind.But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor bow down to the golden image which you have set up.THE THREAD
By trust he left Egypt behind, not fearing the seething of the king, for he held firm as one who sees the unseen.The same Greek word for trust appears in both verses, alongside the same word for fear. The later verse joins Moses’ refusal to fear the king with seeing what is invisible, echoing his parents’ seeing the child and acting on that perception.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us