Bible Strands
Psalms 105:24
And the LORD made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the covenant community while recounting the moment Israel entered Egypt under Jacob’s leadership. The narrative marks the transition into the land of Ham as the stage for God’s historical intervention.
The words — The text highlights וַיֶּפֶר (va.yefer), meaning "he made fruitful," and וַיַּעֲצִמֵהוּ (va.ya'tzimehu), meaning "he made him strong." These verbs describe God’s direct action in multiplying and strengthening His people.
The thread — This motif of rapid multiplication appears in Deuteronomy 26:5, Acts 7:17, and Genesis 46:3, where God’s promise to Abraham is fulfilled through numerical increase in Egypt. The sequence connects patriarchal promise to historical reality.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that divine multiplication precedes human opposition. It requires the reader to acknowledge God’s sovereign control over population and history before interpreting subsequent conflict.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 26:5 and you are to declare before the LORD your God, “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt few in number and lived there and became a great nation, mighty and numerous.
- Acts 7:17 As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in number.
- Genesis 46:3 “I am God,” He said, “the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.
- Exodus 1:7 but the Israelites were fruitful and increased rapidly; they multiplied and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
- Exodus 12:37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.
- Hebrews 11:12 And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
- Genesis 13:16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.