Deuteronomy 10:22
in Deuteronomy 10Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now Jehovah thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
KJV
Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
⋯
This verse in Deuteronomy 10
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThy fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons,.... That is, in all; for there were not seventy besides Jacob and the patriarchs his sons, but with them; see Gen 46:26 and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude; as he promised they should be, Gen 15:5.
This site's exposition
Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all
Seventy went down and a nation came out, Genesis 46:27 and Exodus 1:5 answered by the promise of the stars at Genesis 15:5. The count is Moses' evidence that the oath to the fathers has held.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
It is customary for Holy Scripture to imply the whole by the part. For He that said, "Unto Thee shall all flesh come," does not mean that the flesh will be presented before the Judge apart from the souls: and when we read in sacred History that Jacob went down into Egypt with seventy-five souls, we understand the flesh also to be intended together with the souls.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
With threescore and ten persons - And now, from so small a beginning, they were multiplied to more than 600,000 souls; and this indeed in the space of forty years, for the 603,000 which came out of Egypt were at this time all dead but Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. How easily can God increase and multiply, and how easily diminish and bring low! In all things, because of his unlimited power, he can do whatsoever he will; and he will do whatsoever is right.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Moses here resumes his address, and having made a passing allusion to the principal events in their history, concludes by exhorting them to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּשִׁבְעִ֣ים | beshivim | <in> seventy | H7657 → | |
| נֶ֔פֶשׁ | nefesh | person[s] | H5315 → | 754 times |
| יָרְד֥וּ | yaredu | they went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ | ʾavoteikha | ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יְמָהּ | mitzrayemah | Egypt towards | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְעַתָּ֗ה | veatah | and now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| שָֽׂמְךָ֙ | samekha | he has made you | H7760 → | 584 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כְּכוֹכְבֵ֥י | kechokhvei | like [the] stars of | H3556 → | 37 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| לָרֹֽב׃ | laro | for multitude | H7230 → | 149 times |
בְּשִׁבְעִ֣ים<in> seventy
beshivimH7657 →
נֶ֔פֶשׁperson[s]
nefeshH5315 →754 times
יָרְד֥וּthey went down
yareduH3381 →381 times
אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָancestors your
ʾavoteikhaH1 →1212 times
מִצְרָ֑יְמָהּEgypt towards
mitzrayemahH4714 →641 times
וְעַתָּ֗הand now
veatahH6258 →433 times
שָֽׂמְךָ֙he has made you
samekhaH7760 →584 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
כְּכוֹכְבֵ֥יlike [the] stars of
kechokhveiH3556 →37 times
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
לָרֹֽב׃for multitude
laroH7230 →149 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 15:5And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
it leads to
- Genesis 22:17
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 32:13
Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 11:12
And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
- Romans 4:18
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”
- Deuteronomy 1:10
The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
- Genesis 22:17
Through
Deuteronomy 1:10The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:5
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 28:62
You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
- Genesis 15:5
Through
Genesis 46:27And with the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt were seventy in all.
it leads to
- Acts 7:14
Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.
- Acts 7:14
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory of Nyssa, AGAINST EUNOMIUS 2.13; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.