Topic
Sand
24 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Genesis 22:17ISBE
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; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
- Genesis 32:12ISBE
And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
- Genesis 41:49ISBE
And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.
- Deuteronomy 33:19ISBE
They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.
- Joshua 11:4ISBE
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.
- Judges 7:12ISBE
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.
- 1 Samuel 13:5ISBE
¶ 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 Beth-aven.
- 2 Samuel 17:11ISBE
Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.
- 1 Kings 4:20ISBE
¶ Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.
- 1 Kings 4:29ISBE
¶ And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.
- Job 6:3ISBE
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.
- Job 29:18ISBE
Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.
Show 12 more
- Psalms 78:27 ISBE
- Psalms 139:18 ISBE
- Proverbs 27:3 ISBE
- Isaiah 10:22 ISBE
- Isaiah 48:19 ISBE
- Jeremiah 15:8 ISBE
- Jeremiah 33:22 ISBE
- Hosea 1:10 ISBE
- Matthew 7:26 ISBE
- Romans 9:27 ISBE
- Hebrews 11:12 ISBE
- Revelation 20:8 ISBE
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 24 references
(chol; ammos; a variant of the more usual psammos; compare amathos, psamathos): Sand is principally produced by the grinding action of waves. This is accompanied by chemical solution, with the result that the more soluble constituents of the rock diminish in amount or disappear and the sands tend to become more or less purely silicious, silica or quartz being a common constituent of rocks and very Insoluble. The rocks of Palestine are so largely composed of limestone that the shore and dune sands are unusually calcareous, containing from 10 to 20 per cent of calcium carbonate. This is subject to solution and redeposition as a cement between the sand grains, binding them together to form the porous sandstone of the seashore, which is easily worked and is much used in building.
See Rock, III, (2).
Figurative:
(1) Used most often as a symbol of countless multitude; especially of the children of Israel (Ge 22:17; 32:12; 2Sa 17:11; 1Ki 4:20; Isa 10:22; 48:19; Jer 33:22; Ho 1:10; Ro 9:27; Heb 11:12); also of the enemies of Israel (Jos 11:4; Jud 7:12; 1Sa 13:5; compare Re 20:8). Joseph laid up gram as the sand of the sea (Ge 41:49); God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding and largeness of heart as the sand that is on the seashore (1Ki 4:29); Job says "I shall multiply my days as the sand" (Job 29:18); the multitude of quails provided for the Israelites in the desert is compared to the sand (Ps 78:27); the Psalmist says of the thoughts of God, "They are more in number than the sand" (Ps 139:18); Jeremiah, speaking of the desolation of Jerusalem, says that the number of widows is as the sand (Jer 15:8).
(2) Sand is also a symbol of weight (Job 6:3; Pr 27:3), and
(3) of instability (Mt 7:26).
It is a question what is meant by "the hidden treasures of the sand" in De 33:19.
Alfred Ely Day
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.