Genesis 13:16

Gen 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also be numbered.

Ver. 16. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth.] Afterwards, {Gen 15:5} God promiseth that his seed shall be as the stars of heaven. Abram’s seed, saith one, {a} are of two sorts: some are visible members of a church, yet have earthly hearts: others are as the stars of heaven, for spiritual light, motion, and influence.

{a} Moses’s Choice, by Mr Burr.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 13:16. I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth — That is, they shall increase incredibly, and, take them all together, shall be such a multitude as no man can number. When Moses wrote this history, these predictions had been in some measure fulfilled. But the increase of Abram’s seed at that time bore no proportion to what it was in the days of Solomon, when Israel and Judah, without taking his descendants by Ishmael, Esau, and the children he had by his second wife Keturah, into the account at all, were as many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude. Now what human foresight could have perceived that this would be the case? And who that was prudent, and professed to be a messenger of God to man, and to be intrusted with the revelation of his counsel, would have ventured to predict such a thing, and thereby to risk his character as a true prophet of the Lord on the accomplishment of the prediction, if he had not known, on the most solid grounds, that God had actually made such a promise? How thankful we ought to be for the demonstration this affords us, that Moses spake by inspiration of God, and that our faith in the divine revelation made by him is built on a firm foundation!

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. And I will make thy seed as the dust. Omitting those subtleties, by means of which others argue about nothing, I simply explain the words to signify, that the seed of Abram is compared to the dust, because of its immense multitude; and truly the sense of the term is to be sought for only in Moses’ own words. It was, however, necessary to be here added, that God would raise up for him a seed, of which he was hitherto destitute. And we see that God always keeps him under the restraint of his own word; and will have him dependent upon his own lips. Abram is commanded to look at the dust; but when he turns his eyes upon his own family, what similitude is there between his solitariness and the countless particles of dust? This authority the Lord therefore requires us to attribute to his own word, that it alone should be sufficient for us. It may also give occasion to ridicule, that God commands Abram to travel till he should have examined the whole land. To what purpose shall he do this, except that he may more clearly perceive himself to be a stranger; and that, being exhausted by continual and fruitless disquietude, he may despair of any stable and permanent possession? For how shall he persuade himself that he is lord of that land in which he is scarcely permitted to drink water, although he has with great labor dug the wells? But these are the exercises of faith, in order that it may perceive, in the word, those things which are far off, and which are hidden from carnal sense. For faith is the beholding of absent things, (Hebrews 11:1,) and it has the word as a mirror, in which it may discover the hidden grace of God. And the condition of the pious, at this days is not dissimilar: for since they are hated by all, are exposed to contempt and reproach, wander without a home, are sometimes driven hither and thither, and suffer from nakedness and poverty, it is nevertheless their duty to lay hold on the inheritance which is promised. Let us therefore walk through the world, as persons debarred from all repose, who have no other resource than the mirror of the word.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

16. as the dust of the earth] For this simile cf. Gen_28:14, which is also from J. Abram’s descendants are elsewhere compared in number to the stars, Gen_15:5, Gen_22:17, Gen_26:4; and to the sand which is upon the seashore, Gen_22:17, Gen_32:12.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth,.... An hyperbolical expression denoting the great multitude of Abram's posterity, as they were in the days of Solomon, and as they will be in the latter day; and especially as this may respect all the spiritual seed of Abram, Jews and Gentiles, and as they will be in the spiritual reign of Christ, see Hos 1:10,

so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed be numbered; but as it is impossible to do the one, so the other is not practicable, see Num 23:10.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

As the dust, an hyperbole, to express a very numerous offspring, which is more exact, if we take in the spiritual children of Abram. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth. "As the land shall be great for thy people, thy posterity, so thy people shall be great or innumerable for the land" (Lunge). Afterwards the seed of Abram is likened to the stars of heaven for multitude. (Gen_15:5) So that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth - That is, they shall increase incredibly, and take them altogether; they shall be such a great multitude as no man can number. They were so in Solomon's time, 1 Kings iv, 20. Judah and Israel were many as the land which is by the sea in multitude. This God here gives him the promise of.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

walk through the length and breadth of the land

"walk around all over the whole land"

Mamre

This was the name of the man who owned the oak trees. (See: How to Translate Names)

Hebron

place name (See: How to Translate Names)

an altar to Yahweh

"an altar for worshiping Yahweh"

translationWords

descend

oak

Hebron

altar

Yahweh

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

אשר אם יוכל איש SO THAT IF A MAN IS ABLE [TO COUNT] —just as it is impossible for the dust to be counted, so, too, your seed shall not be counted.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ושמתי את זרעך כעפר הארץ, a figure of speech, poetic license, exaggeration. We find more such metaphors, such as in Genesis 22,17 ככוכבי השמים, “as numerous as the stars in heaven.” According to the Midrash Aggadah, Vayetze 25,13 the reason why on occasion the Jewish people and their numbers are compared to dust and on other occasions to the stars, is that when they deserve it they are comparable to the stars in heaven, whereas at times when they do not deserve it, they are compared to the dust of the earth which everyone steps on.

גם זרעך ימנה, if one part of the metaphor comes true so does the other. Just as it is inconceivable to have a world without stars or dust, so it is inconceivable to have a world without Jews. (compare Jeremiah 13,23)

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.