Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 1:10
The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye [are] this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
10. the Lord your God ] See on Deu 1:6.
as the stars in heaven ] So Deu 10:22; Deu 28:62; and Gen 22:17; Gen 26:4; Exo 32:13, in contexts that otherwise betray the editorial hand. It is one of the many hyperboles in D and is not found in the parallel E, Exodus 18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 10. Ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.] This was the promise God made to Abraham, Ge 15:5-6; and Moses considers it now as amply fulfilled. But was it really so? Many suppose the expression to be hyperbolical; and others, no friends to revelation, think it a vain empty boast, because the stars, in their apprehension, amount to innumerable millions. Let us consider this subject. How many in number are the stars which appear to the naked eye? for it is by what appears to the naked eye we are to be governed in this business, for God brought Abraham forth abroad, i. e., out of doors, and bade him look towards heaven, not with a telescope, but with his naked eyes, Ge 15:5. Now I shall beg the objector to come forth abroad, and look up in the brightest and most favourable night, and count the stars-he need not be terrified at their abundance; the more they are, the more he can count; and I shall pledge myself to find a male Israelite in the very last census taken of this people, Num. xxvi., for every star he finds in the whole upper hemisphere of heaven. The truth is, only about 3,010 stars can be seen by the naked eye in both the northern and southern hemispheres; and the Israelites, independently of women and children, were at the above time more than 600,000. And suppose we even allow that, from the late discoveries of Dr. Herschel and others with telescopes which have magnified between 35 and 36,000 times, there may be 75 millions of stars visible by the help of such instruments, which is the highest calculation ever made, yet still the Divine word stands literally true: St. Matthew says, Mt 1:17, that the generations from Abraham to Christ were 42; now we find at the second census that the fighting men among the Hebrews amounted to 603,000; and the Israelites, who have never ceased to be a distinct people, have so multiplied as far to exceed the number of all the fixed stars taken together.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
10. ye are this day as the stars ofheaven for multitudeThis was neither an Oriental hyperbole nora mere empty boast. Abraham was told (Gen 15:5;Gen 15:6) to look to the stars,and though they “appear” innumerable, yet those seen by thenaked eye amount, in reality, to no more than three thousand ten inboth hemispheres. The Israelites already far exceeded that number,being at the last census above six hundred thousand [Nu26:51]. It was a seasonable memento, calculated to animate theirfaith in the accomplishment of other parts of the divine promise.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Lord your God hath multiplied you,…. Which was the reason why he could not bear them, or the government of them was too heavy for him, because they were so numerous, and the cases brought before him to decide were so many:
and, behold, you are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude; whereby it appeared that the promise to Abraham was fulfilled, Ge 15:5, they were now 600,000 men fit for war, besides women and children, and those under age, which must make the number of them very large.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
What a delightful view doth the increase of Israel afford! Compare this verse with the account of Jacob’s first going down into Egypt. Gen 46:27 . But what a more glorious view doth the apostle give of the church of JESUS, the true Israel of GOD! Rev 7:4-9 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
multiplied. Compare Deu 10:22.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
your God: Deu 10:22, Deu 28:62, Gen 15:5, Gen 22:17, Gen 28:14, Exo 12:37, Exo 32:13, Num 1:46, 1Ch 27:23, Neh 9:23
ye are this day: This was the promise made by God to Abraham – Gen 15:5, Gen 15:6, which Moses considers now as amply fulfilled. Many suppose the expression to be hyperbolical; and others, no friends to revelation, think it a vain, empty boast, because the stars, in their apprehension, amount to innumerable millions. But, as this refers to the number of stars that appear to the naked eye, which only amount to about 3,010 in both hemispheres, the number of the Israelites far exceeded this; for independently of women and children, at the last census, they amounted to more than 600,000.
Reciprocal: Gen 13:16 – General Gen 46:3 – I will Gen 48:19 – become Num 10:36 – many thousands of Israel Eze 16:7 – excellent ornaments Heb 6:14 – multiplying Heb 11:12 – as the stars
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1:10 The LORD your God hath {h} multiplied you, and, behold, ye [are] this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
(h) Not so much by the course of nature, as miraculously.