"Hoping against Hope" phrase ...Rom. 4:18?

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brb3 said:
Someone explain…translation please !!
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Without having empirical evidence or good reason for any hope in his present situation, Abraham nonetheless placed his hope in God and His promises.
 
brb3 said:
Someone explain…translation please !!
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You would really need to consult a Greek grammar expert, I think. But in english it looks like a verbal phrase that is more than an adverb. I thought of an image of a person rubbing two sticks one against the other to produce a heartfelt, red flame. Any good figure substituted for the verbal phrase given in Romans, when referenced to the text of Genesis, can’t really be all that wrong a guess at its figurative meaning. The events Paul refers to involve a range of actions taken by Abraham, including falling on his face and laughing.
Maybe a translation might be “He believed, finding hope in all that was said, that …”
Point is, the affective distance between the promises made to Abraham and his resolute belief in the faithfulness of God was all filled with hope.
 
fhansen said:
Without having empirical evidence or good reason for any hope in his present situation, Abraham nonetheless placed his hope in God and His promises.
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So …against …seems the wrong translation. Hoping ‘in opposition to’ hope seems bizarre to what Paul meant.
 
I could see him saying ’ hoping against failure’ … but not against hope.
 
brb3 said:
So …against …seems the wrong translation. Hoping ‘in opposition to’ hope seems bizarre to what Paul meant.
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Another translation puts it this way:
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed…”
Even though hope appeared to be lost or against him, Abraham hoped anyway.
 
fhansen said:
Another translation puts it this way:
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed…”
Even though hope appeared to be lost or against him, Abraham hoped anyway.
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So …Abram, hoped against ‘slim’ chances of hope…against all odds ! Meaning he had Supreme Faith…that even at his elderly age & barren wife …God could deliver a son.

Abram …the ultimate optimist …like Job !
 
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