Chapter 10
The good example of Abraham
| 1 Ἀβραάμ, ὁ φίλος προσαγορευθείς, πιστὸς εὑρέθη ἐν τῷ αὐτὸν ὑπήκοον γενέσθαι τοῖς ῥήμασιν τοῦ θεοῦ. | Abraham, who was designated the “friend,” was found faithful in that he became obedience to the words of God. |
| 2 οὗτος δι' ὑπακοῆς ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, ὅπως γῆν ὀλίγην καὶ συγγένειαν ἀσθενῆ καὶ οἶκον μικρὸν καταλιπὼν κληρονομήσῃ τὰς ἐπαγγελίας τοῦ θεοῦ. λέγει γὰρ αὐτῷ· |
Through obedience he went out from his land and from his relatives and from his father’s household, leaving a small land and a feeble relative and a minor house in order that he might inherit the promises of God. For He says to him, |
| 3 Ἄπελθε ἐκ τῆς γῆς σου καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας σου καὶ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν ἄν σοί δείξω· καὶ ποιήσω σε εἰς ἔθνος μέγα καὶ εὐλογήσω σε καὶ μεγαλυνῶ τὸ ὄνομά σου, καὶ ἔσῃ εὐλογημένος· καὶ εὐλογήσω τοὺς εὐλογοῦντάς σε καὶ καταράσομαι τοὺς καταρωμένους σε, καὶ εὐλογηθήσονται ἐν σοί πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς. | “Go forth from your land and from your relatives and from your father’s house into the land which I will show you, and I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and will magnify your name, and you will be blessed. And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in you.” |
| 4 καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ διαχωρισθῆναι αὐτὸν ἀπὸ Λὼτ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεός. Ἀναβλέψας τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου ἴδε ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου, οὗ νῦν σὺ εἶ, πρὸς βορρᾶν καὶ λίβα καὶ ἀνατολὰς καὶ θάλασσαν, ὅτι πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἣν σὺ ὁρᾷς, σοί δώσω αὐτὴν καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου ἕως αἰῶνος. | And again, when he separated from Lot, God said to him, “Look up with your eyes, and behold from the place where you now are, unto the north and the south and the sunrise and the sea; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendant for ever; |
| 5 καὶ ποιήσω τὸ σπέρμα σου ὡς τὴν ἄμμον τῆς γῆς· εἰ δύναταί τις ἐξαριθμῆσαι τὴν ἄμμον τῆς γῆς, καὶ τὸ σπέρμα σου ἐξαριθμηθήσεται. | and I will make your descendant like the dust of the earth. If anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendant will also be counted.” |
| 6 καὶ πάλιν λέγει· Ἐξήγαγεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν Ἀβραὰμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἀνάβλεψον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἀρίθμησον τοὺς ἀστέρας, εἰ δυνήσῃ ἐξαριθμῆσαι αὐτούς· οὕτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου. ἐπίστευσεν δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην. | And again it says; “God led Abraham forth and said unto him, ‘Look up unto the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them. So will your descendant be.’ And Abraham believed God, and it was attributed to him for righteousness.” |
| 7 διὰ πίστιν καὶ φιλοξενίαν ἐδόθη αὐτῷ υἱὸς ἐν γήρᾳ, καὶ δι' ὑπακοῆς προσήνεγκεν αὐτὸν θυσίαν τῷ θεῷ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος ὃ ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ. | Because of his faith and hospitality a son was given unto him in old age, and by obedience he offered him a sacrifice unto God on one of the mountains that He showed him. |
Summary
In Chapter 10, Clement advances his historical survey of exemplars by presenting Abraham as the supreme model of faith (πίστις), obedience (ὑπακοή), and hospitality (φιλοξενία). Clement crafts a rhetorical contrast between the temporary, earthly ties Abraham surrendered—a small land, weak kinsfolk, a modest household—and the eternal, cosmic inheritance promised to him by God.
Clement cites Genesis 12, 13, and 15 (LXX), explicitly bringing in the foundational justification text of Genesis 15:6 (ἐπίστευσεν... καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην). Crucially, Clement links Abraham’s faith directly to his practical virtue of hospitality (φιλοξενία), showing that true faith is always coupled with generous, welcoming action—a virtue Clement previously commended in the Corinthians (Chapter 1) and now urges them to recover.
Significant Greek Expressions
ὁ φίλος προσαγορευθείς (Called "the friend"): A traditional title for Abraham drawing on Isaiah 41:8, 2 Chronicles 20:7, and James 2:23. It frames the patriarch’s covenantal relationship with God as intimate fellowship built on trust and alignment of will.
δἰ ὑπακοῆς ἐξῆλθεν (Through obedience he went forth): Echoes Hebrews 11:8 (πίστει καλούμενος Ἀβραὰμ ὑπήκουσεν ἐξελθεῖν). Clement couples faith tightly with active, costly obedience (hypakoē), establishing that faith is not passive mental assent but active movement in response to God’s word.
γῆν ὀλίγην καὶ συγγένειαν ἀσθενῆ... καταλιπών (Leaving behind a small land and weak kinship): Clement’s own rhetorical framing (not present in Genesis). He emphasizes the contrast between earthly security (which is insignificant and fragile, asthenēs) and the grandeur of divine inheritance (τὰς ἐπαγγελίας τοῦ θεοῦ).
ἐπίστευσεν... καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην (Believed... and it was reckoned to him as righteousness): A verbatim citation of Genesis 15:6 LXX (cf. Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6). Clement integrates Paul’s signature Old Testament prooftext for righteousness by faith into his sub-apostolic moral framework.
διὰ πίστιν καὶ φιλοξενίαν (On account of faith and hospitality): A significant thematic pairing in 1 Clement (repeated in Chapter 12 regarding Rahab). Clement refuses to treat pistis as an abstract conviction; true faith inherently manifests as concrete love and welcoming open-handedness (philoxenia).
δἰ ὑπακοῆς προσήνεγκεν αὐτὸν θυσίαν (Through obedience he offered him as a sacrifice): Refers to the Akedah (the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22). Clement presents Abraham’s willing surrender of his promised heir as the ultimate culmination of an obedient life.