Now faith is the
assurance of things hoped for . . . Commentators are divided over
whether “assurance” is an objective or a subjective thing . . . It is not out of the question that the author may intend both senses. One of his favorite
words, for example, “confidence,” parrhesia, has both an objective and subjective
dimension . . . The substance of faith, then, is not something the believer can
produce at will, because it rests on a reality that transcends the individual.
Still, the experience of trust in that transcendent reality cannot be completely
excluded from the believer’s experience of faith (cf. Josephus, Antiquities
18.24). The translation “assurance” covers both these aspects, since an
assurance can be a guarantee . . . coming from outside, as well as a feeling of
confidence in what is assured . . . “Things hoped for” parallels “things not
seen” in the next part of the verse. In Hebrews these objects of hope are
things yet to be realized, i.e., the final destination of the believers:
salvation (1:14; 2:3; 6:9, 11; 7:19, 25; 9:28; 10:23), rest (4:1, 6, 9),
perfection (6:1; 11:40), promises (4:1; 6:12, 17; 8:6; 9:15; 10:36),
purification of conscience (9:14), eternal inheritance (1:14; 6:12, 17; 9:15),
redemption (9:15), and an unshakable kingdom (12:28). (Alan C. Mitchell, Hebrews
[Sacra Pagina 13; Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 2007], 228, emphasis in bold added)
The text from Josephus, referenced above, reads thusly:
And since this immovable resolution of theirs is well known to a great many, I shall speak no further about that matter; nor am I afraid that anything I have said of them should be disbelieved, but rather fear that what I have said is beneath the resolution they show when they undergo pain (Antiquities 18:24)
