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Deuteronomy 32 · a question people ask

"According to the number of the children of Israel" (32:8). What does that mean?

In the text

The verse reads, "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel" (32:8), and the next verse says, "For the LORD’s portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance" (32:9). What the verses say is plain: the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, he set their borders "according to the number of the children of Israel", and Israel is his own portion. Genesis uses the same Hebrew verb as separated when "The nations divided from these on the earth after the flood" (Genesis 10:32). Deuteronomy has already shown the LORD giving lands to other peoples: "I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession" (2:5), and "I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession" (2:9). Paul says God "made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons and the boundaries of their dwellings" (Acts 17:26). How Israel's number set the bounds, the verse doesn't say, and the song moves on without explaining it.

The verses

“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD’s portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.”
Deuteronomy 32:8-9 · World English Bible
“These are the families of the sons of Noah, by their generations, according to their nations. The nations divided from these on the earth after the flood.”
Genesis 10:32 · World English Bible
“Don’t contend with them; for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession.”
Deuteronomy 2:5 · World English Bible
“The LORD said to me, “Don’t bother Moab, neither contend with them in battle; for I will not give you any of his land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession.””
Deuteronomy 2:9 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Deuteronomy 32

Deuteronomy 32: The Rock

The song Moses taught Israel names God "The Rock" (32:4), and it is a song the New Testament keeps quoting. Its last call, "Rejoice, you nations, with his people" (32:43), is one of the scriptures Paul gives for why Christ became a servant: "that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy" (Romans 15:9).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions