Keluaran 12:37

12:37 The Israelites journeyed ¹  from Rameses ²  to Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men ³  on foot, plus their dependants. ⁴ 

Kejadian 1:20

1:20 God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms ⁵  of living creatures and let birds fly ⁶  above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

Kejadian 1:28

1:28 God blessed ⁷  them and said ⁸  to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! ⁹  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” ¹⁰ 

Kejadian 9:1

God’s Covenant with Humankind through Noah

9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Kejadian 12:2

12:2 Then I will make you ¹¹  into a great nation, and I will bless you, ¹² 

and I will make your name great, ¹³ 

so that you will exemplify divine blessing. ¹⁴ 

Kejadian 13:16

13:16 And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted. ¹⁵ 

Kejadian 15:5

15:5 The Lord ¹⁶  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”

Kejadian 17:4-6

17:4 “As for me, ¹⁷  this ¹⁸  is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be ¹⁹  Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham ²⁰  because I will make you ²¹  the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you ²²  extremely ²³  fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. ²⁴ 

Kejadian 17:16

17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. ²⁵  Kings of countries ²⁶  will come from her!”

Kejadian 22:17

22:17 I will indeed bless you, ²⁷  and I will greatly multiply ²⁸  your descendants ²⁹  so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession ³⁰  of the strongholds ³¹  of their enemies.

Kejadian 26:4

26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ³²  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ³³ 

Kejadian 28:3-4

28:3 May the sovereign God ³⁴  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ³⁵  Then you will become ³⁶  a large nation. ³⁷  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ³⁸  so that you may possess the land ³⁹  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ⁴⁰ 

Kejadian 28:14

28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ⁴¹  and you will spread out ⁴²  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁴³  using your name and that of your descendants. ⁴⁴ 

Kejadian 35:11

35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. ⁴⁵  Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! ⁴⁶ 

Kejadian 46:3

46:3 He said, “I am God, ⁴⁷  the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Kejadian 47:27

47:27 Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they owned land there. They were fruitful and increased rapidly in number.

Kejadian 48:4

48:4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful ⁴⁸  and will multiply you. ⁴⁹  I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants ⁵⁰  as an everlasting possession.’ ⁵¹ 

Kejadian 48:16

48:16 the Angel ⁵²  who has protected me ⁵³ 

from all harm –

bless these boys.

May my name be named in them, ⁵⁴ 

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.

May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”

Ulangan 10:22

10:22 When your ancestors went down to Egypt, they numbered only seventy, but now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky. ⁵⁵ 

Ulangan 26:5

26:5 Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering ⁵⁶  Aramean ⁵⁷  was my ancestor, ⁵⁸  and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, ⁵⁹  but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people.

Nehemia 9:23

9:23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of the sky. You brought them to the land you had told their ancestors to enter in order to possess.

Mazmur 105:24

105:24 The Lord ⁶⁰  made his people very fruitful,

and made them ⁶¹  more numerous than their ⁶²  enemies.

Kisah Para Rasul 7:17-18

7:17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham, ⁶³  the people increased greatly in number ⁶⁴  in Egypt, 7:18 until another king who did not know about ⁶⁵  Joseph ruled ⁶⁶  over Egypt. ⁶⁷ 

[12:37]  ¹ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel journeyed.”

[12:37]  ² sn The wilderness itinerary begins here. W. C. Kaiser records the identification of these two places as follows: The name Rameses probably refers to Qantir rather than Tanis, which is more remote, because Qantir was by the water; Sukkoth is identified as Tell el Maskhuta in the Wadi Tumilat near modern Ismailia – or the region around the city (“Exodus,” EBC 2:379). Of the extensive bibliography, see G. W. Coats, “The Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 34 (1972): 135-52; G. I. Davies, “The Wilderness Itineraries: A Comparative Study,” TynBul 25 (1974): 46-81; and J. T. Walsh, “From Egypt to Moab. A Source Critical Analysis of the Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 39 (1977): 20-33.

[12:37]  ³ tn The word for “men” (הַגְּבָרִים, haggÿvarim) stresses their hardiness and capability – strong men, potential soldiers – in contrast with the word that follows and designates noncombatants.

[12:37]  sn There have been many attempts to calculate the population of the exodus group, but nothing in the text gives the exact number other than the 600,000 people on foot who were men. Estimates of two million people are very large, especially since the Bible says there were seven nations in the land of Canaan mightier than Israel. It is probably not two million people (note, the Bible never said it was – this is calculated by scholars). But attempts to reduce the number by redefining the word “thousand” to mean clan or tribe or family unit have not been convincing, primarily because of all the tabulations of the tribes in the different books of the Bible that have to be likewise reduced. B. Jacob (Exodus, 347) rejects the many arguments and calculations as the work of eighteenth century deists and rationalists, arguing that the numbers were taken seriously in the text. Some writers interpret the numbers as inflated due to a rhetorical use of numbers, arriving at a number of 60,000 or so for the men here listed (reducing it by a factor of ten), and insisting this is a literal interpretation of the text as opposed to a spiritual or allegorical approach (see R. Allen, “Numbers,” EBC 2:686-96; see also G. Mendenhall, “The Census Lists of Numbers 1 and 26,” JBL 77 [1958]: 52-66). This proposal removes the “embarrassingly” large number for the exodus, but like other suggestions, lacks completely compelling evidence. For a more extensive discussion of the large numbers used to describe the Israelites in their wilderness experience, see the note on “46,500” in Num 1:21.

[12:37]  ⁴ tn For more on this word see 10:10 and 24.

[1:20]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text again uses a cognate construction (“swarm with swarms”) to emphasize the abundant fertility. The idea of the verb is one of swift movement back and forth, literally swarming. This verb is used in Exod 1:7 to describe the rapid growth of the Israelite population in bondage.

[1:20]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text uses the Polel form of the verb instead of the simple Qal; it stresses a swarming flight again to underscore the abundant fruitfulness.

[1:28]  ⁷ tn As in v. 22 the verb “bless” here means “to endow with the capacity to reproduce and be fruitful,” as the following context indicates. As in v. 22, the statement directly precedes the command “be fruitful and multiply.” The verb carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); Gen 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).

[1:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “and God said.” For stylistic reasons “God” has not been repeated here in the translation.

[1:28]  ⁹ tn Elsewhere the Hebrew verb translated “subdue” means “to enslave” (2 Chr 28:10; Neh 5:5; Jer 34:11, 16), “to conquer,” (Num 32:22, 29; Josh 18:1; 2 Sam 8:11; 1 Chr 22:18; Zech 9:13; and probably Mic 7:19), and “to assault sexually” (Esth 7:8). None of these nuances adequately meets the demands of this context, for humankind is not viewed as having an adversarial relationship with the world. The general meaning of the verb appears to be “to bring under one’s control for one’s advantage.” In Gen 1:28 one might paraphrase it as follows: “harness its potential and use its resources for your benefit.” In an ancient Israelite context this would suggest cultivating its fields, mining its mineral riches, using its trees for construction, and domesticating its animals.

[1:28]  ¹⁰ sn The several imperatives addressed to both males and females together (plural imperative forms) actually form two commands: reproduce and rule. God’s word is not merely a form of blessing, but is now addressed to them personally; this is a distinct emphasis with the creation of human beings. But with the blessing comes the ability to be fruitful and to rule. In procreation they will share in the divine work of creating human life and passing on the divine image (see 5:1-3); in ruling they will serve as God’s vice-regents on earth. They together, the human race collectively, have the responsibility of seeing to the welfare of that which is put under them and the privilege of using it for their benefit.

[12:2]  ¹¹ tn The three first person verbs in v. 2a should be classified as cohortatives. The first two have pronominal suffixes, so the form itself does not indicate a cohortative. The third verb form is clearly cohortative.

[12:2]  ¹² sn I will bless you. The blessing of creation is now carried forward to the patriarch. In the garden God blessed Adam and Eve; in that blessing he gave them (1) a fruitful place, (2) endowed them with fertility to multiply, and (3) made them rulers over creation. That was all ruined at the fall. Now God begins to build his covenant people; in Gen 12-22 he promises to give Abram (1) a land flowing with milk and honey, (2) a great nation without number, and (3) kingship.

[12:2]  ¹³ tn Or “I will make you famous.”

[12:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and be a blessing.” The verb form הְיֵה (hÿyeh) is the Qal imperative of the verb הָיָה (hayah). The vav (ו) with the imperative after the cohortatives indicates purpose or consequence. What does it mean for Abram to “be a blessing”? Will he be a channel or source of blessing for others, or a prime example of divine blessing? A similar statement occurs in Zech 8:13, where God assures his people, “You will be a blessing,” in contrast to the past when they “were a curse.” Certainly “curse” here does not refer to Israel being a source of a curse, but rather to the fact that they became a curse-word or byword among the nations, who regarded them as the epitome of an accursed people (see 2 Kgs 22:19; Jer 42:18; 44:8, 12, 22). Therefore the statement “be a blessing” seems to refer to Israel being transformed into a prime example of a blessed people, whose name will be used in blessing formulae, rather than in curses. If the statement “be a blessing” is understood in the same way in Gen 12:2, then it means that God would so bless Abram that other nations would hear of his fame and hold him up as a paradigm of divine blessing in their blessing formulae.

[13:16]  ¹⁵ tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.

[15:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I.”

[17:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “is” (הִנֵּה, hinneh).

[17:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “will your name be called.”

[17:5]  ²⁰ sn Your name will be Abraham. The renaming of Abram was a sign of confirmation to the patriarch. Every time the name was used it would be a reminder of God’s promise. “Abram” means “exalted father,” probably referring to Abram’s father Terah. The name looks to the past; Abram came from noble lineage. The name “Abraham” is a dialectical variant of the name Abram. But its significance is in the wordplay with אַב־הֲמוֹן (’av-hamon, “the father of a multitude,” which sounds like אַבְרָהָם, ’avraham, “Abraham”). The new name would be a reminder of God’s intention to make Abraham the father of a multitude. For a general discussion of renaming, see O. Eissfeldt, “Renaming in the Old Testament,” Words and Meanings, 70-83.

[17:5]  ²¹ tn The perfect verbal form is used here in a rhetorical manner to emphasize God’s intention.

[17:6]  ²² tn This verb starts a series of perfect verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive to express God’s intentions.

[17:6]  ²³ tn Heb “exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and I will make you into nations, and kings will come out from you.”

[17:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “she will become nations.”

[17:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “peoples.”

[22:17]  ²⁷ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

[22:17]  ²⁸ tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

[22:17]  sn I will greatly multiply. The Lord here ratifies his earlier promise to give Abram a multitude of descendants. For further discussion see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

[22:17]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.

[22:17]  ³⁰ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ³¹ tn Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

[26:4]  ³² tn Heb “your descendants.”

[26:4]  ³³ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 22:18). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

[28:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “El Shaddai.” See the extended note on the phrase “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[28:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and make you fruitful and multiply you.” See Gen 17:6, 20 for similar terminology.

[28:3]  ³⁶ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here indicates consequence. The collocation הָיָה + preposition לְ (hayah + lÿ) means “become.”

[28:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

[28:4]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and may he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you.” The name “Abraham” is an objective genitive here; this refers to the blessing that God gave to Abraham.

[28:4]  ³⁹ tn The words “the land” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[28:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the land of your sojournings,” that is, the land where Jacob had been living as a resident alien, as his future descendants would after him.

[28:14]  ⁴¹ tn This is the same Hebrew word translated “ground” in the preceding verse.

[28:14]  ⁴² tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew; Jacob is addressed as the representative of his descendants.

[28:14]  ⁴³ tn Theoretically the Niphal stem can be translated either as passive or reflexive/reciprocal. (The Niphal of “bless” is only used in formulations of the Abrahamic covenant. See Gen 12:2; 18:18; 28:14.) Traditionally the verb is taken as passive here, as if Jacob were going to be a channel or source of blessing. But in other formulations of the Abrahamic covenant (see Gen 22:18; 26:4) the Hitpael replaces this Niphal form, suggesting a translation “will bless (i.e., pronounce blessings upon) themselves/one another.” The Hitpael of “bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 28:14 predicts that Jacob will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae (see Gen 12:2 and 18:18 as well, where Abram/Abraham receives this promise). For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11.

[28:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and they will pronounce blessings by you, all the families of the earth, and by your offspring.”

[35:11]  ⁴⁵ tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.

[35:11]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”

[35:11]  sn A nation…will descend from you. The promise is rooted in the Abrahamic promise (see Gen 17). God confirms what Isaac told Jacob (see Gen 28:3-4). Here, though, for the first time Jacob is promised kings as descendants.

[46:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “the God.”

[48:4]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Look, I am making you fruitful.” The participle following הִנֵּה (hinneh) has the nuance of a certain and often imminent future.

[48:4]  ⁴⁹ tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.

[48:4]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[48:4]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew word אֲחֻזָּה (’akhuzzah), translated “possession,” describes a permanent holding in the land. It is the noun form of the same verb (אָחַז, ’akhaz) that was used for the land given to them in Goshen (Gen 47:27).

[48:16]  ⁵² sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.

[48:16]  ⁵³ tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).

[48:16]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “be recalled through them.”

[10:22]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[26:5]  ⁵⁶ tn Though the Hebrew term אָבַד (’avad) generally means “to perish” or the like (HALOT 2-3 s.v.; BDB 1-2 s.v.; cf. KJV “a Syrian ready to perish”), a meaning “to go astray” or “to be lost” is also attested. The ambivalence in the Hebrew text is reflected in the versions where LXX Vaticanus reads ἀπέβαλεν (apebalen, “lose”) for a possibly metathesized reading found in Alexandrinus, Ambrosianus, ἀπέλαβεν (apelaben, “receive”); others attest κατέλειπεν (kateleipen, “leave, abandon”). “Wandering” seems to suit best the contrast with the sedentary life Israel would enjoy in Canaan (v. 9) and is the meaning followed by many English versions.

[26:5]  ⁵⁷ sn A wandering Aramean. This is a reference to Jacob whose mother Rebekah was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26) and who himself lived in Aram for at least twenty years (Gen 31:41-42).

[26:5]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “father.”

[26:5]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “sojourned there few in number.” The words “with a household” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[105:24]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[105:24]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “him,” referring to “his people.”

[105:24]  ⁶² tn Heb “his,” referring to “his people.”

[7:17]  ⁶³ tn Grk “But as the time for the fulfillment of the promise drew near that God had declared to Abraham.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to improve English style. See vv. 6-7 above.

[7:17]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “the people increased and multiplied.”

[7:18]  ⁶⁵ tn Or simply “did not know.” However, in this context the point is that the new king knew nothing about Joseph, not whether he had known him personally (which is the way “did not know Joseph” could be understood).

[7:18]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “arose,” but in this context it clearly refers to a king assuming power.

[7:18]  ⁶⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 1:8.