Yesaya 10:22

10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as ¹  the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. ²  Destruction has been decreed; ³  just punishment ⁴  is about to engulf you. ⁵ 

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. ⁶ 

Kejadian 22:17

22:17 I will indeed bless you, ⁷  and I will greatly multiply ⁸  your descendants ⁹  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 ¹⁰  of the strongholds ¹¹  of their enemies.

Yeremia 33:22

33:22 I will make the children who follow one another in the line of my servant David very numerous. I will also make the Levites who minister before me very numerous. I will make them all as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sands which are on the seashore.’” ¹² 

Hosea 1:10

The Restoration of Israel

1:10 (2:1) ¹³  However, ¹⁴  in the future the number of the people ¹⁵  of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. Although ¹⁶  it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it will be said to them, “You are ¹⁷  children ¹⁸  of the living God!”

Roma 9:27

9:27 And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children ¹⁹  of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved,

[10:22]  ¹ tn Heb “are like.”

[10:22]  ² sn The twofold appearance of the statement “a remnant will come back” (שְׁאָר יָשׁוּב, she’ar yashuv) in vv. 21-22 echoes and probably plays off the name of Isaiah’s son Shear-jashub (see 7:3). In its original context the name was meant to encourage Ahaz (see the note at 7:3), but here it has taken on new dimensions. In light of Ahaz’s failure and the judgment it brings down on the land, the name Shear-jashub now foreshadows the destiny of the nation. According to vv. 21-22, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that a remnant of God’s people will return; the bad news is that only a remnant will be preserved and come back. Like the name Immanuel, this name foreshadows both judgment (see the notes at 7:25 and 8:8) and ultimate restoration (see the note at 8:10).

[10:22]  ³ tn Or “predetermined”; cf. ASV, NASB “is determined”; TEV “is in store.”

[10:22]  ⁴ tn צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) often means “righteousness,” but here it refers to God’s just judgment.

[10:22]  ⁵ tn Or “is about to overflow.”

[13:16]  ⁶ tn The translation “can be counted” (potential imperfect) is suggested by the use of יוּכַל (yukhal, “is able”) in the preceding clause.

[22:17]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Or “inherit.”

[22:17]  ¹¹ 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”).

[33:22]  ¹² tn Heb “Just as the stars in the sky cannot be numbered or the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so I will greatly increase [or multiply] the seed of my servant David and the Levites who minister before me.” The word “seed of” does not carry over to the “the Levites” as a noun governing two genitives because “the Levites” has the accusative marker in front of it. The sentence has been broken down in conformity with contemporary English style.

[33:22]  sn Context makes it clear that what is in view is an innumerable line of descendants from the righteous ruler that the Lord raises up over Israel and Judah after their regathering and restoration to the land. What is in view, then, is a reinstitution or reinstatement of the Davidic covenant of grant, the perpetual right of the Davidic dynasty to rule over the nation of Israel for all time (see also v. 26). This is guaranteed by the creation order which is the object of both God’s creative decree (Gen 1:14-19) and his covenant with Noah after the flood (Gen 8:22). (For further discussion on the nature of a covenant of grant see the study note on 32:40.) The rejection of the lines of Jehoiakim (36:30) and Jeconiah (22:30) and the certain captivity and death of Zedekiah (32:4) may have called into question the continuance of the Davidic promise which always had a certain conditional nature to it (cf. 1 Kgs 2:4; 8:25; 9:5). This promise and this guarantee show that the covenant of grant still stands and will ultimately find its fulfillment. Because this promise never found its fulfillment after the return from exile, it is left to the NT to show how it is fulfilled (cf., e.g., Matt 1:1-17 where it is emphasized that Jesus is the son (and heir) of both Abraham and David).

[1:10]  ¹³ sn Beginning with 1:10, the verse numbers through 2:23 in the English Bible differ by two from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:10 ET = 2:1 HT, 1:11 ET = 2:2 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:3 HT, etc., through 2:23 ET = 2:25 HT. Beginning with 3:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[1:10]  ¹⁴ tn The vav prefixed to וְהָיָה (véhaya) functions in an adversative sense: “however” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §432).

[1:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV “the children”; NAB, NIV “the Israelites.”

[1:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the place” (בִּמְקוֹם, bimqom). BDB 880 s.v. מָקוֹם 7.b suggests that בִּמְקוֹם (preposition בְּ, bet, + noun מָקוֹם, maqom) is an idiom carrying a concessive sense: “instead of” (e.g., Isa 33:21; Hos 2:1). However, HALOT suggests that it functions in a locative sense: “in the same place” (HALOT 626 s.v. מָקוֹם 2b; e.g., 1 Kgs 21:19; Isa 33:21; Hos 2:1).

[1:10]  ¹⁷ tn The predicate nominative, “You are…,” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “sons” (so KJV, NASB, NIV).

[9:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “sons.”