Those silly Egyptians! What were they thinking? Riding their chariots into the dry depth of the Red Sea. What would make them “attempt” such a feat? Well, the Israelites had crossed successfully, so “the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea” (14:23).
The writer of Hebrews summarized the event in these words, “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned” (11:29). The Egyptians were not successful, but the Bible says that they made the “attempt.” What if they had not made the “attempt”? What if they had given up and not even tried to pursue into parts unknown and paths uncharted? Well, they still would have failed in their pursuit, but it would have been without even an “attempt.”
The Greek word used for “attempt” in Hebrews 11:29 is peira, and it involves “an effort to accomplish something; attempt, trial, experiment.” The Egyptians would never accomplish their goal if they never attempted or tried. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
Keep that thought in mind and look at Hebrews 5:13. “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.” The Christians addressed in this letter were not growing. Now, why were they not growing? The simple answer is that they were not feeding on the Word of God—they needed to go back “to the milk” (v. 12). But, go a step further—why were they not growing by feeding on the Word of God? The answer is in verse 13—they were “unskilled in the word of righteousness.”
The word “unskilled” is translated from the Greek word apeiros. Look at this word compared to the previous word peira. The Greek apeiros (found only here in the Greek N.T.) combines the Greek alpha (making it negative) in front of the noun peira. The resulting adjective is translated “unskilled” in NKJV, but that does not fully express the emphasis of this word. Go back to the positive use in Hebrews 11:29.
Although the Egyptians failed in their pursuit of Israel, Scripture credits them with making an “attempt” (i.e., an effort to accomplish something). The problem in Hebrews 5 is spiritually devastating. Christians were reprimanded because they were not growing. They were not growing because they were not feeding. Now, apply a-peiros. They were not growing because they were “not attempting” to feed on God’s Word and grow thereby. Success is never possible without an attempt! Are to attempting to grow? Are to attempting to study God’s Word? That’s the only way to become skilled!