Hebrews 11:29 (WEB)

Passage

By faith, they passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do so, they were swallowed up.

Nearby Context

Hebrews 11:27 By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Hebrews 11:28 By faith, he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them.

Hebrews 11:29 By faith, they passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do so, they were swallowed up.

Hebrews 11:30 By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days.

Hebrews 11:31 By faith, Rahab the prostitute, didn’t perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "passed", "through", "land", "egyptians", "tried", and "swallowed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "passed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 28's "By faith he kept the Passover and..." into verse 30's "By faith the walls of Jericho fell...", so "faith" and "passed" belong inside that flow. In Hebrews context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "passed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.