Cart 0
In Genesis 15:5 God instructs Abraham to, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And God said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” The Lord later reaffirmed this promise in Genesis 22:17 where He proclaims: “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.”[1] This was quite the promise, especially for an elderly man who was still childless. And while there’s no debating that the stars and sand are uncountable, some question the fulfillment of this prophecy. After all, did Abraham really have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or sand on the seashore?
First off, it’s important to keep in mind that this prophecy may ultimately refer not just to Abraham’s physical descendants but also his spiritual heirs through Christ Jesus (Gal 3:29).[2] That being said, many Biblical passages do make it clear that this promise to Abraham was (initially) fulfilled during the time of Moses. Some examples include Deuteronomy 1:10 in which Moses says, “The LORD your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude.” And Moses says again in Deuteronomy 10:22, “Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.” And Nehemiah 9:23 declares, “You [God] also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land which You had told their fathers to go in and possess.”
““Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And God said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
Genesis 15:5
While there’s no doubt that Israel was a great multitude could it really be said that they were as numerous as the stars and the sand? Well, literally speaking, no. But “it was not intended to be taken literally”[3] but hyperbolically. Hyperbole is a figure of speech that uses exaggeration for the sake of emphasis and is employed many times by the writers of the Bible. This shouldn’t surprise us since hyperbole is a normal part of human language. As one scholar explains, “The writers of the Bible’s 66 books used all the richness and variety of human language to communicate God’s message. To understand the Bible accurately, its various literary devices and figures of speech must be seen for what they are. If we interpret them at face value, the intended meaning may be missed completely.”[4] In this case, by comparing Abraham’s descendants to stars and sand, the author simply means that they are uncountable, which of course was true.[5] King Solomon made a similar statement in 2 Chronicles 1:9 when he said the people under him were “as numerous as the dust of the earth.” This is clearly not intended to be taken literally. Solomon just meant that he ruled over a lot of people.[6] We make similar statements today. If someone says that it’s a million degrees outside, you know they are not claiming that it’s literally a million degrees but just that it’s very hot.
In the same way, we must not misinterpret these “stars and sand” statements in the Bible. God promised Abraham that his descendants would be too many to count, and that is precisely what happened.
Ryan Hembree is a daily co-host, speaker, and writer of Bible Discovery. He also hosts a YouTube channel that shows the unity of the Bible and how science and Scripture fit together. Ryan also has an honorary Masters of Ministry in Creation Science from Phoenix University of Theology.
[1] This promise God made to Abraham is referred to frequently in the Bible (E.g., Genesis 13:16, 15:5, 22:17, 26:4, 28:14; Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 1:10, 10:22, 28:62; 1 Chronicles 27:23; Nehemiah 9:23; Jeremiah 15:8; Hebrews 11:12).
[2] NIV Quest Study Bible, Why Compare Offspring to Dust? (13:16), P.20.
[3] Ibid., P.20.
[4] NIV Quest Study Bible, Can the Bible Exaggerate and Still be True? (1:9-15), P.627.
[5] These stars and sand statements are used more than a dozen times in the Bible most of which are related to God’s promise to Abraham (E.g., Genesis 13:16, 15:5, 22:17, 26:4, 28:14; Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 1:10, 10:22, 28:62; 1 Chronicles 27:23; Nehemiah 9:23; Jeremiah 15:8, 33:22; Nahum 3:16; Hebrews 11:12)
[6] NIV Quest Study Bible, Can the Bible Exaggerate and Still be True? (1:9-15), P.627.
