11:16

they are reaching out for a better place: This “better place” is the city that God has prepared for men and women of faith. It is the city that Paul mentions at Heb 11:10, the city “whose designer and builder is God.” Paul also refers to this better place at Heb 12:22 as “a city of the living God” and at Heb 12:28 as “a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.” At Da 2:44, the prophet Daniel described this Kingdom as something that “the God of heaven will set up.” And according to the Gospel accounts, Jesus called it “the Kingdom of the heavens” or “the Kingdom of God.” (Mt 3:2 and study note; Mr 1:15 and study note) In this Kingdom, the offspring of Abraham​—Jesus and his spirit-anointed followers​—will rule from heaven “over the earth.” (Re 5:9, 10; Ga 3:16, 29) Abraham and his family looked forward to being resurrected to life on earth under that government. Such a place on earth could rightly be called “one belonging to heaven.”​—See study note on Heb 11:13.

one belonging to heaven: Many translations read “a heavenly one,” giving the impression that Abraham and his family had the hope of going to heaven. However, there is no indication in the Hebrew Scriptures that those faithful ones had such a hope. Although the Greek word here used is often rendered “heavenly,” it does not necessarily mean “in heaven.” One lexicon gives “pertaining to heaven” as a possible meaning and goes on to explain: “Frequently such terms are translated as ‘in heaven’ or ‘from heaven’ or ‘belonging to heaven.’” So in view of the Hebrew Scripture background, in this context the rendering “one belonging to heaven” is well-supported.

God is not ashamed of them, to be called on as their God: Jehovah takes fatherly pride in Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob; he is not ashamed of them. They showed outstanding faith by “reaching out” for a place under His rulership, or Kingdom. So Jehovah was pleased to be their God and to hear them when they called on him in prayer. Even after they died, he spoke of them as if they were still living, as Jesus noted.​—See study notes on Lu 20:37, 38.

not ashamed: Paul here uses a negative statement to emphasize a positive idea. He uses the same expression at Heb 2:11, where he shows that Jesus is proud to call imperfect anointed Christians his brothers. (See study note on Heb 2:11.) Such reminders of how Jehovah and Jesus take pride in their faithful servants no doubt strengthened the Hebrew Christians, who faced the ridicule of opposers seeking to shame them.​—Compare study notes on 2Ti 1:8; Heb 12:2.