And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he stopped counting, for it was without number.
- BSB So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance, like the sand of the sea, that he stopped keeping track of it; for it was beyond measure.
- NKJV Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.
- NASB Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.
- NLT He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joseph stored so much grain it was like the sand of the sea, beyond counting.
Overview
The immense store of grain reflects both the abundance God gave and Joseph's faithful management. The hyperbole 'sand of the sea' echoes God's covenant promises of abundance. The Lord provides bountifully so that many may be saved through Joseph.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 78:27He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea:
- 1 Sam 13:5And 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.
- Judg 7:12And 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.
- Judg 6:5For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
- Gen 22:17That 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; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
- Jer 33:22As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
- Job 1:3His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 41:49 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.