Kierkegaard on the Difference Between the Tragic Hero and Abraham

22 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by memoirandremains in Faith, Faith, Kierkegaard, Kierkegaard, Uncategorized

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Abraham, Absurd, Agamemnon, Faith, Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard

In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard draws an interesting contrast between Abraham and Agamemnon: both men are called upon to sacrifice a child: but Agamemnon is a tragic hero and Abraham is an example of faith. What then is the true distinction between the two?

The tragic hero is compelled to his end by an ethical demand. To fulfill his oath, Agamemnon must lead the force into war. The demand to sacrifice is daughter is tragic and painful, but it is compelled by the demand of his oath. His act is meaningful and ethical to the community.

But it is not so with Abraham. There is no ethical duty which is recognizable to anyone who watched Abraham. The soldiers who saw Agamemnon move to give up his daughter, would have a basis to understand and even sympathize with Agamemnon. But if one were to watch Abraham: his actions would make no ethical sense. There is no apparent duty.

A second and related comparison comes with the matter of disclosing his conduct.

In this section Kierkegaard first makes an observation about concealment and revelation. In the older Greek tragedies, the concealment was brought about by fate. Oedipus kills his father, but it is concealed to him. It is revealed afterward.

In the modern age, the act of concealment is brought about the character’s decision. He compares two types here. There is the esthetic concealment, where two lovers conceal to bring about their desired end. And to have the happy ending we enjoy such action.

Esthetics permits these actions, even if unethical:

But esthetics is a civil and sentimental discipline that knows more ways out than any pawnshop manager. What it do then? It does everything possible for the lovers. (75)

But ethics requires revelation: The concealment is a deception, and even if pleasing aesthetically it is repugnant to ethics. Ethics requires an explanation, a justification for the conduct. There must be a public rationale.

Abraham differs, because he cannot explain. What is there to say? He is seeking something absurd. Abraham is not merely doing something which seems outside of all ethics; he is doing something he knows cannot be true. He will kill Isaac and Isaac is the child of promise and God will fulfill his promise. This is not merely improbable; it is paradoxical.

There is no public rationale, because the wisdom of God is greater than man.

We go wildly astray if we think Kierkegaard says that faith is believing things which are untrue or improbable. That is what is often miscredited to him. Faith is not believing stupid or false things. Faith is believing that God is above human categories:

1 Corinthians 1:20–29 (ESV)

²⁰Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Stephen’s Speech as Legal Argument/Story Part I

19 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by memoirandremains in Acts, Genesis, Uncategorized, Worship

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Abraham, Acts, Acts 7, Argument, Genesis, Genesis 12, Genesis 17, Narrative, Stephen

First, the structure of Steven’s Speech in Acts 7

THE CHARGE:

Acts 6:8–15 (ESV)

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

DETAILS:

CONCLUSORY CHARGE:
This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,

EVIDENCE:
14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us

LOGIC STRUCTURE:

IF
Stephen said Jesus will (a) destroy the temple and (b) change Moses customs

THEN
Stephen is blaspheming.

Therefore, Ste

STEPHENS DEFENSE

Stephen anchors his defense in the promise of God to Abraham:

A. God’s appearance to Abraham

1. Acts 7:2–3 (ESV)
2 And Stephen said:
“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’
2. God promises Abraham a homeland
It is probably safe to say that Stephen also implies the totality of the promises made to Abraham.

3. This scene is roughly paralleled by the God of glory’s appearance to Stephen at the end of the story:

Acts 7:54–60 (ESV)

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

B. Abraham’s Obedience (v. 4)
Acts 7:4 (ESV)
4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.

C. God explains the delay in the promise being fulfilled/Covenant of Circumcision

1. Acts 7:5–6 (ESV)
5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.

2. Acts 7:8 (ESV)
8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

2. Genesis

Stephen’s order matches Genesis:

Genesis 17:1–14 (ESV)

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

THE SAVOIRS/REJECTIONS

At this point, Stephen a series of three saviors who are rejected: Joseph, Moses & and then Jesus. The odd movement here is between the Temple to Jesus

George Muller, and Contending With God in Prayer

25 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by memoirandremains in Faith, George Muller, Ministry, Prayer

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Abraham, Argument in Prayer, Contending in Prayer, Exodus 32:11-14, Faith, Genesis 18:27-33, George Muller, Moses, Orphanage, Prayer

In 1838, the Boys’ Orphan House lead by George Muller found itself very short of funds. Yet rather than make a plea for money — which Muller knew would be successful — he continued to trust the Lord’s provision even when such trust was strained by the circumstance: “Less than two months later the money-supply ran so low that it was needful that the Lord should give by the day and almost by the hour if the needs were to be met.” Arthur Tappan Pierson. George Müller of Bristol.

While making a public demand would be seemingly prudent, Muller did not take that solution:

He saw at once that this would be finding a way of his own out of difficulty, instead of waiting on the Lord for deliverance. Moreover, he also saw that it would be forming a habit of trusting to such expedients of his own, which in other trials would lead to a similar course and so hinder the growth of faith.

Rather, Muller turned to prayer:

At this time of need—the type of many others—this man who had determined to risk everything upon God’s word of promise, turned from doubtful devices and questionable methods of relief to pleading with God. And it may be well to mark his manner of pleading. He used argument in prayer ….

This method of holy argument—ordering our cause before God, as an advocate would plead before a judge— is not only almost a lost art, but to many it actually seems almost puerile. And yet it is abundantly taught and exemplified in Scripture

When we look to Scripture, we do find argument used throughout. For examples, Abraham uses such argument when pleading for the city of Sodom:

27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.
28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.”
30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.”
31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.”
32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. Genesis 18:27-33

Moses argues with the Lord, when he contends for the people of Israel:

11 But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.'”
14 And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people. Exodus 32:11-14

When we begin to realize how common such prayer is, we will find it everywhere.

Why then should one contend with God in prayer? Pierson explains that such prayer both exalts God & prepares our faith:

Of course God does not need to be convinced: no arguments can make any plainer to Him the claims of trusting souls to His intervention, claims based upon His own word, confirmed by His oath. And yet He will be inquired of and argued with. That is His way of blessing. He loves to have us set before Him our cause and His own promises: He delights in the well-ordered plea, where argument is piled upon argument.

…….

We are to argue our case with God, not indeed to convince Him, but to convince ourselves. In proving to Him that, by His own word and oath and character, He has bound Himself to interpose, we demonstrate to our own faith that He has given us the right to ask and claim, and that He will answer our plea because He cannot deny Himself.

Arthur Tappan Pierson. “George Müller of Bristol.”

Patience and Minisry

22 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by memoirandremains in Church History, George Muller, Ministry, Prayer

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Abraham, Arthur Pierson, Church History, Decision Making, faith, George Muller, George Muller of Bristol, God's Timing, Luke 24, Ministry, Moses, patience, Patience, Paul, Prayer, Wisdom

Pierson’s biography of Muller is wonderful — not only for the charm with which he relates Muller’s life, but also for the lessons which he continually draws from God’s working with Muller. Here is a lesson drawn from the difficulty of decision making. Muller was in a hurry to get busy with some missionary and so resorted to a lottery ticket to determine his future plans! Pierson writes:

“he who would work with God must first wait on Him and wait for Him, and that all undue haste in such a matter is worse than waste. He who kept Moses waiting forty years before He sent him to lead out captive Israel, who withdrew Saul of Tarsus three years into Arabia before he sent him as an apostle to the nations, and who left even His own Son thirty years in obscurity before His manifestation as Messiah—this God is in no hurry to put other servants at work. He says to all impatient souls : “My time is not yet full come, but your time is always ready.”

When one looks at God’s dealings with his people, it seems that God has a habit of coming too late: Abraham must wait too long for Isaac. Joseph must wait too long for God to restore his family. The Israelites must wait too long for Moses — and Moses must wait 40 years in the desert. The Israelites must wait too long on the shore of the Red Sea. God is never rushed, never in a hurry, never in need of human action.

Consider the work of Christ. The followers of Jesus thought God had waited so long that the ministry of Jesus had actually failed:

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad.
18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

Luke 24:13-21.

And so, Pierson notes this proposition illustrated in Muller’s life. The Christian, when faced with a decision must pray and wait and not fret that God will take too long. Patience with God’s timing is a necessary mark of faith. And thus, the faithful Christian must pray and exercise patience:

“He learned two lessons, which new dealings of God more and more deeply impressed:
First, that the safe guide in every crisis is believing prayer in connection with the word of God;
Secondly, that continued uncertainty as to one’s course is a reason for continued waiting.
These lessons should not be lightly passed over, for they are too valuable. The flesh is impatient of all delay, both in decision and action; hence all carnal choices are immature and premature, and all carnal courses are mistaken and unspiritual. God is often moved to delay that we may be led to pray, and even the answers to prayer are deferred that the natural and carnal spirit may be kept in check and self-will may bow before the will of God.”

Excerpt From: Arthur Tappan Pierson. “George Müller of Bristol.” James Nisbet. iBooks.
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Translation and Notes: 1 Clement 10:4-5

11 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by memoirandremains in 1 Clement, Ante-Nicene, Genesis, Greek

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1 Clement, Abraham, Ante-Nicene, Apostolic Fathers, dust of the earth, First Clement, Genesis, Greek, Greek Translation, LXX, Promise, sand of the sea, Translation 1 Clement, Translation First Clement

καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ διαχωρισθῆναι αὐτὸν ἀπὸ Λὼτ εἴπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός. + Ἀναβλέψας τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου, ἴδε ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου, οὗ νῦν σὺ εἶ, πρὸς βορρᾶν καὶ λίβα καὶ ἀνατολὰς καὶ θάλασσαν· ὅτι πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν, ἥν σὺ ὁρᾷς, σοὶ δώσω αὐτὴν καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου ἕως αἰῶνος· 5 καὶ ποιήσω τό σπέρμα σου ὡς τὴν ἄμμον τῆς γῆς εἰ δύναταί τις ἐξαριθμῆσαι τὴν ἄμμον τὴς γῆς, καὶ τὸ σπέρμα σου ἐξαριθμηθήσεται

Translation: And again, at the time of the separation from Lot, God said to him, Lift up your eyes and look about from where you stand, to the north and south, from the rising of the sun even to the sea – this is the place which I shall give to you and forever to your descendants; I will make your descendants as numerous as the sand of earth. If one is able to count the sand of the earth, then will your descendants be numbered.

Kirsopp Lake: 4 And again, when he was separated from Lot, God said to him, “Lift up thine eyes and look from the place where thou art now, to the North and to the South and to the East and to the West; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed for ever. 5 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth. If a man can number the dust of the earth thy seed shall also be numbered.”

Translation notes:

καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ διαχωρισθῆναι αὐτὸν ἀπὸ Λὼτ εἴπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός

And again, in the division (in the to have been divided) he from Lot, he said to him, (that) is God (said)

And again, when God spoke to him to depart from Lot

ὁ Θεός: Being in the nominative and being articular, God is plainly marked as the subject. Moreover, it matches the number of the verb “he said” εἴπεν.

αὐτῷ: that is, Abraham, the one to whom God spoke.

τῷ διαχωρισθῆναι: infinitive (here an aorist passive infinitive) of indirect discourse. This is seen, in part, by being matched to a verb of perception or communication which is a marker for the infinitive of indirect discourse (Wallace, 603-605). The verb form marks this as the summary of the communication from God. Wallace notes, “The general principle for these infinitives is th the infinitive of indirect discourse retains the tense of the direct discourse and usually represents either an imperative or a indicative” (Wallace, 604).

Ἀναβλέψας τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου: Lifting up the eyes of you (your eyes).

Ἀναβλέψας: aorist participle of attendant circumstance: 1) it is in the aorist; 2) the main verb (“see”) is aorist; 3) the mood of the main verb is imperatival; 4) the participle precedes the main verb; and 5) occurs in narrative.

τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου: the thing seen would be in the accusative (see, e.g., Matt. 14:19), the eyes, being moved are in the dative.

ἴδε ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου: look from this place.

τοῦ: the article is deictic; that is, it refers to the particular place at hand. Translate as a demonstrative, this.

οὗ νῦν σὺ εἶ: where now you are.

Note: hou (the genitive of hos) means “where”; it marks a place. Ou (without the rough breathing) means no.

πρὸς βορρᾶν καὶ λίβα καὶ ἀνατολὰς καὶ θάλασσαν: to the north and south and rising (sun) (east) and sea (west).

ὅτι πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν: namely, all the land. This is an appositional use of the hoti: it elaborates the hen (that) of the next clause. Wallace, 458-4459.

ἥν σὺ ὁρᾷς: that you see

σοὶ δώσω αὐτὴν καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου ἕως αἰῶνος: to you I shall give it and to the see of you until the ages.

σοὶ: to you, dative as indirect object.

δώσω αὐτὴν: I shall give it (that is the land; note feminine form)

καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου: and to your seed (descendants). Dative of indirect object. The kai and indicates that the give to the descendants is parallel to the gift to Abraham.

ἕως αἰῶνος:

In other passages we have the expressions εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, εἰς τοὺς αἰώνας, ἕως αἰῶνος, εἰς τοὺς αἰώνας τῶν αἰώνων; see, e.g., Luke 1:33, 55; John 12:34, 13:8; Rom. 9:5; Gal. 1:5; 1 Tim. 1:17. Some translators have rendered these passages literally, and without respect to their usage in the LXX; (e.g. ‘unto the age,’ ‘unto the ages,’ &c.). In 1 Tim. 1:17, God is called ‘the King of ages’ (A. V. King Eternal); whilst in Heb. 1:2, 11:3, He is said to have made ‘the ages’ (A. V. the worlds). The rendering of the A. V. is no doubt right in the first case, and probably in the second also. Ages and worlds bear the same relation to one another as time and space do, and the process of creating worlds was the means of bringing ages into being.

Robert Baker Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament: Their Bearing on Christian Doctrine. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1998), 318.

That God should remember his commitment to Abraham is the theme of Exod 2:24; 32:13; Deut 9:27 and Ps 104 [105]:8–11, 42. His mercy to the patriarchs or David appears in 2 Sam 22:51; Ps 97 [98]:3; Mic 7:20. Appeal to what was spoken to the patriarchs is also found in Deut 7:8, 12; Josh 1:6; 5:6; etc In language, “mercy—just as he spoke to our fathers—to Abraham” is close to Mic 7:20, but not closer to LXX than MT while “mercy to … and to his seed forever” could echo 2 Sam 22:51 (for “forever” Luke has εἰς τὸναἰῶνα [only here in Luke-Acts] rather than LXX ἕως αίῶνος). The first allusion underlines the eschatological coloring of the Magnificat. The second may draw in a messianic note, but probably only reflects the Jewish application to the nation of OT promises to the royal line.

John Nolland, vol. 35A, Luke 1:1–9:20, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 73.

καὶ ποιήσω τό σπέρμα σου: and I shall make the seed of you.

The kai (and) again draws a parallel, this time between the gift of the land and the extent of Abraham’s descendants.

ὡς τὴν ἄμμον τῆς γῆς εἰ δύναταί τις ἐξαριθμῆσαι τὴν ἄμμον τὴς γῆς: as the dust fo the earth – if you would be able anyone to number the dust of the earth.

ὡς τὴν ἄμμον: modifies “your seed” and thus matches the case (accusative).

Ammos, sand/dust is used idiomatically in the LXX fo something which cannot be numbered:

Gen 13:16

καὶ ποιήσω τὸ σπέρμα σου ὡς τὴν ἄμμον τῆς γῆς, εἰ δύναταί τις ἐξαριθμῆσαι τὴν ἄμμον τῆς γῆς, καὶ τὸ σπέρμα σου ἐξαριθμηθήσεται.

I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.

Gen 22:17

ἦ μὴν εὐλογῶν εὐλογήσω σε καὶ πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὸ σπέρμα σου ὡς τοὺς ἀστέρας τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὡς τὴν ἄμμον τὴν παρὰ τὸ χεῖλος τῆς θαλάσσης, καὶ κληρονομήσει τὸ σπέρμα σου τὰς πόλεις τῶν ὑπεναντίων,

I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,

Gen 28:14

καὶ ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς γῆς καὶ πλατυνθήσεται ἐπὶ θάλασσαν καὶ ἐπὶ λίβα καὶ ἐπὶ βορρᾶν καὶ ἐπʼ ἀνατολάς, καὶ ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοὶ πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐν τῷ σπέρματί σου.

Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Gen 32:13

σὺ δὲ εἶπας Καλῶς εὖ σε ποιήσω καὶ θήσω τὸ σπέρμα σου ὡς τὴν ἄμμον τῆς θαλάσσης, ἣ οὐκ ἀριθμηθήσεται ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους.

But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

Gen 41:49

καὶ συνήγαγεν Ιωσηφ σῖτον ὡσεὶ τὴν ἄμμον τῆς θαλάσσης πολὺν σφόδρα, ἕως οὐκ ἠδύναντο ἀριθμῆσαι, οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἀριθμός.

And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.

Exod 2:12

περιβλεψάμενος δὲ ὧδε καὶ ὧδε οὐχ ὁρᾷ οὐδένα καὶ πατάξας τὸν Αἰγύπτιον ἔκρυψεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἄμμῳ.

He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

Josh 11:4

καὶ ἐξῆλθον αὐτοὶ καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς αὐτῶν μετʼ αὐτῶν ὥσπερ ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης τῷ πλήθει καὶ ἵπποι καὶ ἅρματα πολλὰ σφόδρα.

And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.

Judg 7:12

καὶ Μαδιαμ καὶ Αμαληκ καὶ πάντες οἱ υἱοὶ ἀνατολῶν παρεμβεβλήκεισαν ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι ὡς ἀκρὶς εἰς πλῆθος, καὶ ταῖς καμήλοις αὐτῶν οὐκ ἦν ἀριθμός, ἀλλʼ ἦσαν ὥσπερ ἡ ἄμμος ἡ ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖλος τῆς θαλάσσης εἰς πλῆθος.

And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance.

1 Kgdms 13:5

καὶ οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι συνάγονται εἰς πόλεμον ἐπὶ Ισραηλ, καὶ ἀναβαίνουσιν ἐπὶ Ισραηλ τριάκοντα χιλιάδες ἁρμάτων καὶ ἓξ χιλιάδες ἱππέων καὶ λαὸς ὡς ἡ ἄμμος ἡ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῷ πλήθει, καὶ ἀναβαίνουσιν καὶ παρεμβάλλουσιν ἐν Μαχεμας ἐξ ἐναντίας Βαιθων κατὰ νότου.

And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven.

2 Kgdms 17:11

ὅτι οὕτως συμβουλεύων ἐγὼ συνεβούλευσα, καὶ συναγόμενος συναχθήσεται ἐπὶ σὲ πᾶς Ισραηλ ἀπὸ Δαν καὶ ἕως Βηρσαβεε ὡς ἡ ἄμμος ἡ ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης εἰς πλῆθος, καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου πορευόμενον ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν,

But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.

3 Kgdms 2:35a

Καὶ ἔδωκεν κύριος φρόνησιν τῷ Σαλωμων καὶ σοφίαν πολλὴν σφόδρα καὶ πλάτος καρδίας ὡς ἡ ἄμμος ἡ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν,

3 Kgdms 2:46a

Καὶ ἦν ὁ βασιλεὺς Σαλωμων φρόνιμος σφόδρα καὶ σοφός, καὶ Ιουδα καὶ Ισραηλ πολλοὶ σφόδρα ὡς ἡ ἄμμος ἡ ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης εἰς πλῆθος, ἐσθίοντες καὶ πίνοντες καὶ χαίροντες,

3 Kgdms 5:9

Καὶ ἔδωκεν κύριος φρόνησιν τῷ Σαλωμων καὶ σοφίαν πολλὴν σφόδρα καὶ χύμα καρδίας ὡς ἡ ἄμμος ἡ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν,

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore,

Jdth 2:20

καὶ πολὺς ὁ ἐπίμικτος ὡς ἀκρὶς συνεξῆλθον αὐτοῖς καὶ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς γῆς, οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἀριθμὸς ἀπὸ πλήθους αὐτῶν.

1 Macc 11:1

Καὶ βασιλεὺς Αἰγύπτου ἤθροισεν δυνάμεις πολλὰς ὡς ἡ ἄμμος ἡ παρὰ τὸ χεῖλος τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ πλοῖα πολλὰ καὶ ἐζήτησε κατακρατῆσαι τῆς βασιλείας Ἀλεξάνδρου δόλῳ καὶ προσθεῖναι αὐτὴν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ.

Ps 77:27

καὶ ἔβρεξεν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ὡσεὶ χοῦν σάρκας καὶ ὡσεὶ ἄμμον θαλασσῶν πετεινὰ πτερωτά,

he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;

Ps 138:18

ἐξαριθμήσομαι αὐτούς, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἄμμον πληθυνθήσονται, ἐξηγέρθην καὶ ἔτι εἰμὶ μετὰ σοῦ.

If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

Odes 7:36

οἷς ἐλάλησας πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγων πληθῦναι τὸ σπέρμα αὐτῶν ὡς τὰ ἄστρα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὡς τὴν ἄμμον τὴν παρὰ τὸ χεῖλος τῆς θαλάσσης.

Prov 27:3

βαρὺ λίθος καὶ δυσβάστακτον ἄμμος, ὀργὴ δὲ ἄφρονος βαρυτέρα ἀμφοτέρων.

A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

Job 6:3

καὶ δὴ ἄμμου παραλίας βαρυτέρα ἔσται, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἔοικεν, τὰ ῥήματά μού ἐστιν φαῦλα.

For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash.

Sirach 1:2

ἄμμον θαλασσῶν καὶ σταγόνας ὑετοῦ καὶ ἡμέρας αἰῶνος τίς ἐξαριθμήσει;

Sirach 18:10

ὡς σταγὼν ὕδατος ἀπὸ θαλάσσης καὶ ψῆφος ἄμμου, οὕτως ὀλίγα ἔτη ἐν ἡμέρᾳ αἰῶνος.

Sirach 22:15

ἄμμον καὶ ἅλα καὶ βῶλον σιδήρου εὔκοπον ὑπενεγκεῖν ἢ ἄνθρωπον ἀσύνετον.

Hos 2:1

Καὶ ἦν ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης, ἣ οὐκ ἐκμετρηθήσεται οὐδὲ ἐξαριθμηθήσεται, καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῷ τόπῳ, οὗ ἐρρέθη αὐτοῖς Οὐ λαός μου ὑμεῖς, ἐκεῖ κληθήσονται υἱοὶ θεοῦ ζῶντος.

Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”

Hab 1:9

συντέλεια εἰς ἀσεβεῖς ἥξει ἀνθεστηκότας προσώποις αὐτῶν ἐξ ἐναντίας καὶ συνάξει ὡς ἄμμον αἰχμαλωσίαν.

They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand.

Isa 10:22

καὶ ἐὰν γένηται ὁ λαὸς Ισραηλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸ κατάλειμμα αὐτῶν σωθήσεται, λόγον γὰρ συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ,

For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

Isa 48:19

καὶ ἐγένετο ἂν ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τὸ σπέρμα σου καὶ τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας σου ὡς ὁ χοῦς τῆς γῆς, οὐδὲ νῦν οὐ μὴ ἐξολεθρευθῇς, οὐδὲ ἀπολεῖται τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐνώπιόν μου.

your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.”

Jer 5:22

μὴ ἐμὲ οὐ φοβηθήσεσθε; λέγει κύριος, ἢ ἀπὸ προσώπου μου οὐκ εὐλαβηθήσεσθε; τὸν τάξαντα ἄμμον ὅριον τῇ θαλάσσῃ, πρόσταγμα αἰώνιον, καὶ οὐχ ὑπερβήσεται αὐτό, καὶ ταραχθήσεται καὶ οὐ δυνήσεται, καὶ ἠχήσουσιν τὰ κύματα αὐτῆς καὶ οὐχ ὑπερβήσεται αὐτό.

Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.

Jer 15:8

ἐπληθύνθησαν χῆραι αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ τὴν ἄμμον τῆς θαλάσσης, ἐπήγαγον ἐπὶ μητέρα νεανίσκου ταλαιπωρίαν ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ, ἐπέρριψα ἐπʼ αὐτὴν ἐξαίφνης τρόμον καὶ σπουδήν.

I have made their widows more in number than the sand of the seas; I have brought against the mothers of young men a destroyer at noonday; I have made anguish and terror fall upon them suddenly.

Jer 26:22

φωνὴ ὡς ὄφεως συρίζοντος, ὅτι ἐν ἄμμῳ πορεύσονται, ἐν ἀξίναις ἥξουσιν ἐπʼ αὐτὴν ὡς κόπτοντες ξύλα.

“She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away; for her enemies march in force and come against her with axes like those who fell trees.

Dan 3:36

εἰ δύναταί τις ἐξαριθμῆσαι: if one (anyone, tis) to number.

To number is a complementary infinitive (Wallace 598-599); it gives content to “to be able” which requires an additional action to make a complete thought. The preposition on “to count” does not seem to add any intensive force to the base verb “to count”. Perhaps it means something like “thoroughly count”, but such a sense seems to be limited. There are instances of it being used with very large numbers, (Herodotus, 2.143.2, “counting them out to the very large number”; 4.87.1, counting out 700,000 calvary; 7.59.2, Xeres counting his troops). The verb is used only in this sentence in the entire addition of the apostolic fathers.

καὶ τὸ σπέρμα σου ἐξαριθμηθήσεται: and (then) the seed of you (your descendants) shall be counted (future passive).