Genesis 13:16

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And I will make your children like the dust of the earth, so that if the dust of the earth may be numbered, then will your children be numbered.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְשַׂמְתִּ֥י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֖ כַּעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ אִם־יוּכַ֣ל אִ֗ישׁ לִמְנוֹת֙ אֶת־עֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ גַּֽם־זַרְעֲךָ֖ יִמָּנֶֽה׃

Transliteration

And wĕśamtî your zarʿăḵā as kaʿăp̄ar hāʾāreṣ, that if yûḵal ʾîš to limnôṯ ʿăp̄ar hāʾāreṣ, also your zarʿăḵā yimmānê.

Grammar Details

• *wĕśamtî*: waw consecutive + qal perfect, 1st common singular - and I will make
• *zarʿăḵā*: noun, masculine singular + 2nd masculine singular suffix - your seed/descendants
• *kaʿăp̄ar*: preposition + noun, masculine singular construct - as the dust of
• *hāʾāreṣ*: definite article + noun, feminine singular - the earth
• *yûḵal*: qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - he is able
• *ʾîš*: noun, masculine singular - a man
• *limnôṯ*: preposition + qal infinitive construct - to count
• *ʿăp̄ar*: noun, masculine singular construct - dust of
• *yimmānê*: niphal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - will be counted

Word Meanings

• *wĕśamtî*: I will make/I will set/I will place
• *zarʿăḵā*: your seed/your offspring/your descendants
• *kaʿăp̄ar*: as the dust/like the dust
• *yûḵal*: he is able/he can/he could
• *limnôṯ*: to count/to number/to reckon
• *ʿăp̄ar*: dust/soil/powder
• *yimmānê*: will be counted/will be numbered

Referenced Verses

• Gen 28:14 : 14 Your seed will be like the dust of the earth, covering all the land to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south: you and your seed will be a name of blessing to all the families of the earth.
• Num 23:10 : 10 Who is able to take the measure of the dust of Jacob or the number of the thousands of Israel? May my death be the death of the upright and my last end like his!
• Gen 32:12 : 12 And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered.
• Gen 15:5 : 5 And he took him out into the open air, and said to him, Let your eyes be lifted to heaven, and see if the stars may be numbered; even so will your seed be.
• Gen 22:17 : 17 That I will certainly give you my blessing, and your seed will be increased like the stars of heaven and the sand by the seaside; your seed will take the land of those who are against them;
• 1 Kgs 3:8 : 8 And your servant has round him the people of your selection, a people so great that they may not be numbered, and no account of them may be given.
• 1 Kgs 4:20 : 20 Judah and Israel were as great in number as the sand by the seaside, and they took their food and drink with joy in their hearts.
• 1 Chr 21:5 : 5 And Joab gave David the number of all the people; all the men of Israel, able to take up arms, were one million, one hundred thousand men; and those of Judah were four hundred and seventy thousand men, able to take up arms.
• 1 Chr 27:23 : 23 But David did not take the number of those who were under twenty years old, for the Lord had said that he would make Israel like the stars of heaven in number.
• 2 Chr 17:14-18 : 14 This is the number of them, listed by their families, the captains of thousands of Judah: Adnah, the captain, and with him three hundred thousand men of war; 15 Second to him Jehohanan, the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand; 16 After him Amasiah, the son of Zichri, who freely gave himself to the Lord, and with him two hundred thousand men of war; 17 And the captains of Benjamin: Eliada, a great man of war, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bows and body-covers; 18 And after him Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and eighty thousand trained for war.
• Isa 48:18-19 : 18 If only you had given ear to my orders, then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea: 19 Your seed would have been like the sand, and your offspring like the dust: your name would not be cut off or come to an end before me.
• Jer 33:22 : 22 As it is not possible for the army of heaven to be numbered, or the sand of the sea measured, so will I make the seed of my servant David, and the Levites my servants.
• Rom 4:16-18 : 16 For this reason it is of faith, so that it may be through grace; and so that the word of God may be certain to all the seed; not only to that which is of the law, but to that which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 (As it is said in the holy Writings, I have made you a father of a number of nations) before him in whom he had faith, that is, God, who gives life to the dead, and to whom the things which are not are as if they were. 18 Who without reason for hope, in faith went on hoping, so that he became the father of a number of nations, as it had been said, So will your seed be.
• Heb 11:12 : 12 So that from one man, who was near to death, came children in number as the stars in heaven, or as the sand by the seaside, which may not be numbered.
• Rev 7:9 : 9 After these things I saw a great army of people more than might be numbered, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and languages, taking their places before the high seat and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, and with branches in their hands,
• Gen 12:2-3 : 2 And I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing: 3 To them who are good to you will I give blessing, and on him who does you wrong will I put my curse: and you will become a name of blessing to all the families of the earth.
• Gen 25:1-9 : 1 And Abraham took another wife named Keturah. 2 She became the mother of Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah. 3 And Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. And from Dedan came the Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim. 4 And from Midian came Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All these were the offspring of Keturah. 5 Now Abraham gave all his property to Isaac; 6 But to the sons of his other women he gave offerings, and sent them away, while he was still living, into the east country. 7 Now the years of Abraham's life were a hundred and seventy-five. 8 And Abraham came to his death, an old man, full of years; and he was put to rest with his people. 9 And Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, put him to rest in the hollow rock of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, near Mamre; 10 The same field which Abraham got from the children of Heth: there Abraham was put to rest with Sarah, his wife. 11 Now after the death of Abraham, the blessing of God was with Isaac, his son. 12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, whose mother was Hagar the Egyptian, the servant of Sarah: 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their generations: Ishmael's first son was Nebaioth; then Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam 14 And Mishma and Dumah and Massa, 15 Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names in their towns and their tent-circles; twelve chiefs with their peoples. 17 And the years of Ishmael's life were a hundred and thirty-seven: and he came to his end, and was put to rest with his people. 18 And their country was from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt: they took their place to the east of all their brothers. 19 Now these are the generations of Abraham's son Isaac: 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramaean of Paddan-aram, and the sister of Laban the Aramaean, to be his wife. 21 Isaac made prayer to the Lord for his wife because she had no children; and the Lord gave ear to his prayer, and Rebekah became with child. 22 And the children were fighting together inside her, and she said, If it is to be so, why am I like this? So she went to put her question to the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her, Two nations are in your body, and two peoples will come to birth from you: the one will be stronger than the other, and the older will be the servant of the younger. 24 And when the time came for her to give birth, there were two children in her body. 25 And the first came out red from head to foot like a robe of hair, and they gave him the name of Esau. 26 And after him, his brother came out, gripping Esau's foot; and he was named Jacob: Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them. 27 And the boys came to full growth; and Esau became a man of the open country, an expert bowman; but Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Now Isaac's love was for Esau, because Esau's meat was greatly to his taste: but Rebekah had more love for Jacob. 29 And one day Jacob was cooking some soup when Esau came in from the fields in great need of food; 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Give me a full meal of that red soup, for I am overcome with need for food: for this reason he was named Edom. 31 And Jacob said, First of all give me your birthright. 32 And Esau said, Truly, I am at the point of death: what profit is the birthright to me? 33 And Jacob said, First of all give me your oath; and he gave him his oath, handing over his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave him bread and soup; and he took food and drink and went away, caring little for his birthright.
• Gen 26:4 : 4 I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and will give them all these lands, and your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth;
• Gen 28:3 : 3 And may God, the Ruler of all, give you his blessing, giving you fruit and increase, so that you may become an army of peoples.
• Gen 17:6 : 6 I will make you very fertile, so that nations will come from you and kings will be your offspring.
• Gen 17:16 : 16 And I will give her a blessing so that you will have a son by her: truly my blessing will be on her, and she will be the mother of nations: kings of peoples will be her offspring.
• Gen 17:20 : 20 As for Ishmael, I have given ear to your prayer: truly I have given him my blessing and I will make him fertile and give him great increase; he will be the father of twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation.
• Gen 18:18 : 18 Seeing that Abraham will certainly become a great and strong nation, and his name will be used by all the nations of the earth as a blessing?
• Gen 21:13 : 13 And I will make a nation of the son of your servant-woman, because he is your seed.
• Gen 35:11 : 11 And God said to him, I am God, the Ruler of all: be fertile, and have increase; a nation, truly a group of nations, will come from you, and kings will be your offspring;
• Gen 36:1-9 : 1 Now these are the generations of Esau, that is to say, Edom. 2 Esau's wives were women of Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 And Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah had a son Eliphaz; and Basemath was the mother of Reuel; 5 Oholibamah was the mother of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the sons of Esau, whose birth took place in the land of Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters, and all the people of his house, and his beasts and his cattle and all his goods which he had got together in the land of Canaan, and went into the land of Seir, away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their wealth was so great that the land was not wide enough for the two of them and all their cattle. 8 So Esau made his living-place in the hill-country of Seir (Esau is Edom). 9 And these are the generations of Esau, the father of the Edomites in the hill-country of Seir: 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 And Eliphaz, the son of Esau, had connection with a woman named Timna, who gave birth to Amalek: all these were the children of Esau's wife Adah. 13 And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: they were the children of Esau's wife Basemath. 14 And these are the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon: she was the mother of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These were the chiefs among the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz, Esau's first son: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, Amalek: all these were chiefs in the land of Edom, the offspring of Eliphaz, the seed of Adah. 17 And these are the sons of Esau's son Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah: these were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom, the children of Esau's wife Basemath. 18 And these are the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah: these were the chiefs who came from Esau's wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah. 19 These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs. 20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite who were living in that country; Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan: these are the chiefs of the Horites, offspring of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 And these are the children of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 And these are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; that same Anah who made the discovery of the water-springs in the waste land, when he was looking after the asses of his father Zibeon. 25 And these are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah his daughter. 26 These are the children of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. 27 These are the children of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the children of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These were the Horite chiefs: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. Such were the Horite chiefs in their order in the land of Seir. 31 And these are the kings who were ruling in the land of Edom before there was any king over the children of Israel. 32 Bela, son of Beor, was king in Edom, and the name of his chief town was Dinhabah. 33 At his death, Jobab, son of Zerah of Bozrah, became king in his place. 34 And at the death of Jobab, Husham, from the country of the Temanites, became king in his place. 35 And at the death of Husham, Hadad, son of Bedad, who overcame the Midianites in the field of Moab, became king; his chief town was named Avith. 36 And at the death of Hadad, Samlah of Masrekah became king. 37 And at the death of Samlah, Shaul of Rehoboth by the River became king in his place. 38 And at the death of Shaul, Baal-hanan, son of Achbor, became king. 39 And at the death of Baal-hanan, Hadar became king in his place; his chief town was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel; she was the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab. 40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau in the order of their families and their places: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, Iram; these are the Edomite chiefs, in their places in their heritage; this is Esau, the father of the Edomites.
• Gen 46:3 : 3 And he said, I am God, the God of your father: go down to Egypt without fear, for I will make a great nation of you there:
• Exod 1:7 : 7 And the children of Israel were fertile, increasing very greatly in numbers and in power; and the land was full of them.
• Exod 32:13 : 13 Have in mind Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you gave your oath, saying, I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and all this land will I give to your seed, as I said, to be their heritage for ever.
• Deut 1:10 : 10 The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number.
• Judg 6:3 : 3 And whenever Israel's grain was planted, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east came up against them;
• Judg 6:5 : 5 For they came up regularly with their oxen and their tents; they came like the locusts in number; they and their camels were without number; and they came into the land for its destruction.