"Hoping against hope" is an odd phrase, one that has stuck because of its poetic contradiction. It should be no surprise that this old saying, which dates back (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) to at least 1813, derives from a mistranslation. Still, it invites us to consider the value of hope and faith.
The phrase originates in Romans 4:18. Of the six English New Testaments I consulted, the most literal translation of the original Greek comes from Living Stream Ministry's Recovery Version: "He beyond hope believed in [on] hope." The other five, which concur with one another in various alternate conceptions of "hope against hope," seem to rely on early Latin translations, which mistake the Greek "beyond" for "against." The persistence of the contradiction speaks to our doubts about hope.
The subject "he" is Abraham. Although elderly and childless -- "beyond hope" -- Abraham and his wife trusted in God's promise that Abraham would have numberless descendants (Gen. 15:5). For this reason, St. Paul presents Abraham as the archetypal believer whose persistent hope to beget children demonstrated his faith.
But how strong was Abraham's faith? After 10 post-promise years in Canaan with no sign of offspring (Gen. 16:3), at his wife's instigation Abraham decided to fudge a little and have a child by her maidservant Hagar -- an Egyptian, from the race of the Hebrews' future enslavers, whose name literally means "stranger." This son, Ishmael, a dubious fulfillment of God's promise, was displaced 14 years later when Abraham's wife, Sarah, miraculously gave birth in her old age to Isaac (Gen. 21:2). Isaac then extended the lineage of the Chosen People, fulfilling the promise.
When it comes to having faith and hope, ponder Abraham's advantages. He got several promises directly from God, plus some from God's messengers. God outlined the Hebrews' precise future in a dramatic personal vision (Gen. 15:12-21). God's messenger even blessed Hagar with family advice (Gen. 16:7-12). Yes, Abraham continued to found his belief upon hope when he was beyond a place where hope seemed reasonable. But God's repeated promises were a decent incentive.
Paul describes faith as a gift that comes to us through the hope provided by Jesus' sacrifice and the Holy Spirit's grace (Rom. 5:1-6). In Paul's analogy, if we strive toward Abraham-like faith, Jesus will represent God in a new covenant, offering us not land or descendants but immortality -- immortality that will be realized, strangely, after we die.
It seems Paul wants us to hope not against hope, but for hope. Maybe that's worth trying. What do we have to lose?
* * *
Painting: "Sarah Leading Hagar to Abraham" (1637), by Matthias Stomer.
* * *
DAVID N. MEYER ADDS THIS JOHN CLEESE LINE FROM THE FILM "CLOCKWISE": "It's not the despair. I can stand the despair, it's the hope!"