Nehemiah 9:23-24
What is written? (ESV)
You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
What does it say?
You [God] multiplied their [Israelites] children as the stars of the heaven and brought them in to possess the land you had promised to their fathers. So their descendants went in a possessed it and you subdued the inhabitants and delivered them over to the Israelites – their kings and their people – that they might do with them as they pleased.
What is its immediate context?
A great scene of repentance and confession by the people that had returned to the land after seventy years of captivity in Babylon. It was led by several Levites (vs 5). Nehemiah’s metaphor (“multiplied their children as the stars of heaven”) matches God’s metaphor spoken to Abraham, “And he brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be.“ (Genesis 15:5)
How Nehemiah 9:23-24 is applied across Bible answers
Was the land promise fulfilled in 1948?
At around 450 BC, the Levites and the people believed the land promise had been fulfilled, while acknowledging their loss of the land due to their disobedience.
Nehemiah's metaphor ("multiplied their children as the stars of heaven") matches God's metaphor spoken to Abraham, "And he brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be." (Genesis 15:5)
