Joshua 11:4
in Joshua 11So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
KJV
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
⋯
This verse in Joshua 11
Commentary
3 notes on this verseMuch people, even as the sand - This form of speech, by some called a hyperbole, conveys simply the idea of a vast or unusual number - a number of which no regular estimate could be easily formed. Josephus, who seldom finds difficulties in such cases, and makes no scruple of often speaking without book, tells us that the allied armies amounted to 300,000 foot 10,000 horse, and 20,000 chariots of war. Antiq. lib. v., c.
This site's exposition
even as the sand that
on Joshua 11:4-5
Sand upon the sea shore is the measure God gave Abraham for his own descendants at Genesis 22:17 and Jacob at Genesis 32:12, and here it counts the army assembled to destroy them. This verse is the first place in Scripture where that figure is turned on an enemy, and it does the same work later at 1 Samuel 13:5 of the Philistines and at Revelation 20:8. The waters of Merom are named twice in the whole King James Bible and both are in this chapter, at verses 5 and 7.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
on Joshua 11:1-9
Jabin ("the Intelligent"), which seems to have been a hereditary title (Jud 4:2), took the lead, from Hazor being the capital of the northern region (Jos 11:10). It was situated on the borders of lake Merom. The other cities mentioned must have been in the vicinity though their exact position is unknown.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצְא֣וּ | vaiyetzeu | and they came out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| הֵ֗ם | hem | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַֽחֲנֵיהֶם֙ | machaneihem | armies their | H4264 → | 215 times |
| עִמָּ֔ם | ʾimam | with them | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| עַם־ | ʾam- | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| רָ֕ב | rav | numerous | H7227 → | 454 times |
| כַּח֛וֹל | kachol | like the sand | H2344 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [is] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שְׂפַת־ | sefat- | [the] shore of | H8193 → | 176 times |
| הַיָּ֖ם | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| לָרֹ֑ב | laro | for multitude | H7230 → | |
| וְס֥וּס | vesus | and horse[s] | H5483 → | 140 times |
| וָרֶ֖כֶב | varekhev | and chariot[s] | H7393 → | 119 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיֵּצְא֣וּand they came out
vaiyetzeuH3318 →1067 times
הֵ֗םthey
hemH1992 →553 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
מַֽחֲנֵיהֶם֙armies their
machaneihemH4264 →215 times
עִמָּ֔םwith them
ʾimamH5973 →1050 times
עַם־a people
ʾam-H5971 →1873 times
רָ֕בnumerous
ravH7227 →454 times
כַּח֛וֹלlike the sand
kacholH2344 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[is] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שְׂפַת־[the] shore of
sefat-H8193 →176 times
הַיָּ֖םthe sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
לָרֹ֑בfor multitude
laroH7230 →
וְס֥וּסand horse[s]
vesusH5483 →140 times
וָרֶ֖כֶבand chariot[s]
varekhevH7393 →119 times
רַב־many
rav-H7227 →454 times
מְאֹֽד׃very
meodH3966 →300 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 22:17I 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.
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.”
- Genesis 24:60
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”
- Jeremiah 33:22
As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister…
- Genesis 26:4
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
- Numbers 24:17–19
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and…
- Genesis 15:5
Through
2 Samuel 17:11Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba—a multitude like the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle.
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 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 22:17
Through
Genesis 32:12But You have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to count.’”
it leads to
- Genesis 28:13–15
And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the…
- Genesis 28:13–15
Through
Judges 7:12Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore.
it leads to
- Judges 6:5
For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it.
- Judges 6:5
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
