What is meant by "as numerous as the stars of the sky"?

Question

The Bible in a few places references the stars as a large number. Genesis 22:17, Deut 1:10, Deut 28:62 all make statements referring to the Nation of Israel being as "numerous as the stars of the sky". What does this mean? Was there some large number assumed as the number of stars? Does it just mean "uncountably large in number"?

Of possible relevance, Rashi (a 11th century Jewish commentator on the Torah) says on Deut 1:10:

But were they [the Israelites] on that day as [many as] the stars of the heavens? Were they not only six hundred thousand? 1

I'm unsure, for example, if Rashi's trying to say that they weren't at the height of their population, or they were still small enough to count, or if Rashi actually understood there as being more than 600,000 stars.

Answer 1

Gen 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore;

God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as the sand of the sea, and as the stars of heaven. These two metaphors are in direct apposition to each other, and explain each other. The former metaphor is more plentiful in the Bible, so let's take a look at it:

Psa 139:18 If I should count [God's thoughts for me], they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

Psa 78:27 He rained [birds that they could eat] also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea

Job 29:18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.

1Ki 4:20 Judah and Israel were many [under Solomon's reign], as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.

1Ki 4:29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

2Sa 17:11 Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.

1Sa 13:5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.

Jdg 7:12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

Jos 11:4 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.

Deu 28:62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.

If you actually read all of those, color me impressed. The point being: Several armies and peoples are compared in number to the sand of the sea. As are birds, camels, days, and thoughts. "As the sand of the sea", or "as the stars of heaven" are not to be taken literally - they are simply idiomatic expressions meaning "very, very many". The same way I might say, "I'm hungry enough to eat a horse", or "enough of something to fill the Grand Canyon". God promised to make Abraham's descendants very, very numerous. 600 000 men over 20 (that is, probably ca. 2 million people) may or may not be counted as "very, very many" - 2 mill would be more than Job's days (6000 years are about 2 million days), but less than the number of Jews in Solomon's days. And under Solomon's reign, it specifically says (twice) that the Jews were as the sand of the sea - and by implication also as the stars of heaven. Moreover, Deut 28:62 seems to speak as the promise fulfilled while the Jews still had only 600 000 fighting men.

Answer 2

Although Niobius' answer is good, it misses a bit of the point.

G-d gives a childless Avram two metaphors to understand (a) that he would have a lot of progeny, and (b) that they had both tremendous potential to achieve great heights and also to suffer great lows.

First, let me give you a fascinating look into how the Jewish Midrashic tales from the Torah expounded the words written there.

Gen: 15:6 says:

"And He took him outside, and He said, 'Please look heavenward and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' And He said to him, 'So will be your seed.'"

As Rashi notes in his commentary to this verse, the phrase "He took him outside" implies that Avram was in-doors in the first place. But a legend cited at Genesis Rabba 44:12, states that what is really meant is that G-d took Avram outside of the universe to get a Hubble-like look at the stars from above themselves -- today we know that that view would literally show us billions and billions of stars out there.

The late Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook (1891-1982) (son of the legendary Israeli chief rabbi) notes that the promise is given again in Chapter 22 with an additional metaphor:

"That I will surely bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand that is on the seashore, and your descendants will inherit the cities of their enemies." (Gen. 22:17.)

HaRav Kook saw the richness in these metaphors. On one hand, every single star is unique, and on the other hand, an individual speck of sand is only significant when it combines with the rest of the sand to fulfill their collective mission. Similarly, every Jew is unique and special. Yet, we also have a collective responsibility as a nation. HaRav Kook also noted that stars act as a mode of navigation, and similarly, the Jewish people were commanded to live to a spiritually higher standard than the rest of the world, become a Holy Nation, and serve as a “light unto the nations,” advancing the world’s spirituality. (See, e.g. Isaiah 42:6, 49:6, 60:3.) I would add that sand often is trampled under the feet of oppressors, just as the Jews have from time to time.

Yes, the metaphors of stars and sands indicate numbers of great magnitude over thousands of years, but the metaphors also indicate great significance, potential and purpose.

Answer 3

I believe that the above cited verses are figurative speech and not to be taken literally. But regarding Genesis 22:17, it seems like there is a point of comparison between the number of stars and the sands of the sea. And this is God's promise to Abraham that his seed will be as innumerable as the stars and sands of the seashore. In another sense, God might be telling, indirectly stating that stars are as many as the sands in the seashore. So this is also in a way an advance scientific foreknowledge of the Torah.

Answer 4

Consider also Jer.33:22. God is comparing the no. of stars as innumerable as the sand in the seashore. This seems scientific foreknowledge and not only idiomatic expressions per se. Even the verses quoted above seem like has sense of scientific foreknowledge for the reason that why is it that God is comparing innumerability with the sand, which is acceptable, and the no. of stars as innumerable too, which He will not say if He's referring to capability of being counted?