Exodus 32:13

13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You took an oath, swearing on yourself. You told them, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all the land I spoke of. It will be their permanent possession.'"

Exodus 32:13 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 32:13

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants
The covenant he made with them, the promise he had made unto them, with an oath annexed to it:

to whom thou swarest by thine own self;
which he did, because he could swear by no greater; and for the confirmation of his covenant and promise, see ( Genesis 22:16 )

and saidst unto them;
for what was said to Abraham was repeated and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob:

I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven;
multitudes of which are out of sight, and cannot be seen with the naked eye, nor numbered:

and all this land that I have spoken of;
the land of Canaan, then inhabited by several nations:

will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever;
as long as they are a people, a body politic, and especially while obedient to the divine will; but should they be now cut off, this promise would become of no effect: this is the great argument Moses makes use of, and the most forcible one.

Exodus 32:13 In-Context

11 But Moses pleaded with the LORD his God. "LORD," he said, "why are you so angry with your people whom you brought out of Egypt using your great power and mighty hand?

12 Don't let the Egyptians say, 'He was planning all along to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth. That's why he brought them out [of our land].' Don't be so angry. Reconsider your decision to bring this disaster on your people.

13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You took an oath, swearing on yourself. You told them, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all the land I spoke of. It will be their permanent possession.'"

14 So the LORD reconsidered his threat to destroy his people.

15 Moses turned and went down the mountain carrying the two tablets with God's words. They were written on both sides, front and back.