Genesis 17:2

17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ¹  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ² 

Genesis 48:4

48:4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful ³  and will multiply you. ⁴  I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants ⁵  as an everlasting possession.’ ⁶ 

Exodus 32:13

32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, ‘I will multiply your descendants ⁷  like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about ⁸  I will give to your descendants, ⁹  and they will inherit it forever.’”

Deuteronomy 1:10

1:10 The Lord your God has increased your population ¹⁰  to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky. ¹¹ 

Nehemiah 9:23

9:23 You multiplied their descendants like the stars of the sky. You brought them to the land you had told their ancestors to enter in order to possess.

¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the Lord will ratify the covenant. Earlier the Lord ratified part of his promise to Abram (see Gen 15:18-21), guaranteeing him that his descendants would live in the land. But the expanded form of the promise, which includes numerous descendants and eternal possession of the land, remains to be ratified. This expanded form of the promise is in view here (see vv. 2b, 4-8). See the note at Gen 15:18 and R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

² tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

³ tn Heb “Look, I am making you fruitful.” The participle following הִנֵּה (hinneh) has the nuance of a certain and often imminent future.

⁴ tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive carries on the certain future idea.

⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds “after you,” which has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn The Hebrew word אֲחֻזָּה (’akhuzzah), translated “possession,” describes a permanent holding in the land. It is the noun form of the same verb (אָחַז, ’akhaz) that was used for the land given to them in Goshen (Gen 47:27).

⁷ tn Heb “your seed.”

⁸ tn “about” has been supplied.

⁹ tn Heb “seed.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “multiplied you.”

¹¹ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.