Lexical Summary mispar: Number, count, enumeration Original Word: מִסְפָר Strong's Exhaustive Concordance abundance, account, all, infinite, tale, telling, time From caphar; a number, definite (arithmetical) or indefinite (large, innumerable; small, a few); also (abstractly) narration -- + abundance, account, X all, X few, (in-)finite, (certain) number(-ed), tale, telling, + time. see HEBREW caphar NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom the same as sepher Definition number, tally NASB Translation account (1), count (1), count* (1), counted (1), countless* (1), enumeration (1), few (7), infinite* (1), innumerable* (1), limit (1), list (2), many (2), measure (1), number (102), numbered (3), numbering (4), numbers (1), time* (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs I. מִסְפָר133 noun masculine1Chronicles 27:24 number, tale; — absolute ׳מ Genesis 34:30 +; construct מִסְפַר Exodus 16:16 +; suffix מִסְמַּרְכֶם Numbers 14:29, מִסְמָּרָם Judges 21:23 +; plural construct מִסְמְּרֵי 1 Chronicles 12:23; — 1. a. number, Judges 7:6 the number of those lapping, לַכּוֺכָבִים ׳מִס Psalm 147:4, + often (37 t. PH); ׳לֹא עָלָה הַמִּסְמָּר בְּמִסְמַּר דִּבְרֵי וגו 1 Chronicles 27:24 (read בְּסֵפֶר) the number did not come up into (was not recorded in) the book of the daily doings, etc.; redundant after number, 2 Samuel 21:20 twenty-four (in) number; ׳אֵין מ it was (they were) innumerable Genesis 41:49 (E), with לְ Judges 6:5; Judges 7:12; 1 Chronicles 22:16; 2Chronicles 12:3, ׳לִתְבוּנָתוֺ אֵין מ Psalm 147:5 (of ׳י); absolute Jeremiah 2:32; Job 21:33; Songs 6:8; ׳עַדאֵֿין מ = id. Job 5:9; Job 9:10; Psalm 40:13, ׳וְאֵין לָהֶם מ Jeremiah 46:23; ׳לְאֵין מ 1 Chronicles 22:4; ׳וְאֵין מ Psalm 104:25; Psalm 105:34; Joel 1:6; לִגְדוּדָיו ׳הֲיֵשׁ מ Job 25:3 can his bands be numbered ? without אֵין = numerable, i.e. few, ׳וִיהִי מְתָיו מ Deuteronomy 33:6 but let his men be few ׳יָמִים מ Numbers 9:20, ׳מ alone Isaiah 10:19, usually in combination, ׳מְתֵי מ = a few men Genesis 34:30 (J), Deuteronomy 4:27; Jeremiah 44:28; 1 Chronicles 16:19; Psalm 105:12, ׳אַנְשֵׁי מ Ezekiel 12:16; so ׳שְׁנוֺת מ Job 16:22; adverb phrase מִסְפַר יְמֵי חַיֵּיהֶם Ecclesiastes 2:3 = during all their lives, compare Ecclesiastes 5:17; Ecclesiastes 6:18 = appointed (normal) number, יָמֶיךָ מֲַלֵּא ׳מ Exodus 23:26 (E). b. with preposition ׃בְּ ׳מְעַט בְּמ Ezekiel 5:3 few in number; ׳בְּמ by (exact) count, tale 2 Samuel 2:15; Deuteronomy 25:2; 1 Chronicles 9:28 (twice in verse), so probably Ezekiel 20:37 read בְּמִסְמַּר ᵐ5 Toy for ᵑ0 מָסֹרֶת; in (prescribed) number Numbers 29:18 6t. Numbers 29 (P), Ezra 3:4; = acc. to (proportioned to) the number of Leviticus 25:15. 15 + often; ׳לְמִס according to number Judges 21:23; Joshua 4:5,8 (JE) Numbers 14:29 (P) Ezekiel 4:5; 1 Chronicles 27:1; ׳כְּמִס = id. 1 Kings 18:31; Numbers 15:12 (twice in verse) (P); so ׳מ alone (adverb accusative) Exodus 16:16 (P) Job 1:5; Jeremiah 2:28; Jeremiah 11:13. — Numbers 23:10b read סָפַר מִי, compare va, so ᵐ5 Di SoKau. 2 recounting, relation מִסְמַּר הַחֲלוֺם Judges 7:15 the recounting of the dream. Topical Lexicon Scope and Distribution מִסְפָר (mispar) appears about one-hundred-thirty-four times across the Hebrew canon, stretching from the Patriarchal narratives of Genesis to the post-exilic reforms of Nehemiah. The noun points to any quantified total—people, objects, years, offerings, stars—yet its theological weight lies in the God who both sets and surpasses every count. Foundational Promises to the Patriarchs When God pledges innumerable descendants to Abraham, mispar stands at the heart of the covenant (Genesis 13:16; 15:5; 16:10; 22:17). “Look now toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them” (Genesis 15:5). The immediate impossibility of the task underlines divine generosity: the promise is anchored not in human arithmetic but in God’s boundless capacity. The same vocabulary passes to Isaac (Genesis 26:4) and Jacob (Genesis 32:12), embedding mispar into Israel’s collective memory as a symbol of covenant continuity. Census, Order, and Nationhood Mispar frequently accompanies the censuses of Exodus and Numbers, establishing tribal organization for worship and warfare (Exodus 12:4; Numbers 1:2; 2:32; 3:16; 4:49). Far from mere bureaucracy, each tally affirms that “all the earth is the Lord’s” (Exodus 9:29) and every individual life is known to Him. The careful recording of names and numbers reminds contemporary ministry that administration itself can be an act of obedience and pastoral care. Worship and Sacrificial Precision In the Levitical offerings and later temple worship, specific quantities guard the purity of atonement (Numbers 28:14; 29:18-34; Ezra 8:34). Such precision does not restrict worship; it protects it. Like the precise measurements of the tabernacle, the counted sacrifices teach that approaching a holy God is never casual. Today’s church budgeting, communion preparation, or attendance records echo this principle: accuracy can be a form of reverence. Royal Inventories and Architectural Grandeur Mispar surfaces in the inventories of David and Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:4; 2 Chronicles 5:6). The Chronicler notes that Solomon “did not weigh the bronze because it was beyond measure” (2 Chronicles 4:18). Even when the material is too abundant to tally, the text preserves the language of counting to highlight the sheer magnitude of divine blessing. Ministry application: prosperity—material or numerical—must still be traced back to the Giver. Wisdom Literature: Numbering and Limitation Job and Psalms employ mispar to confess human finitude before the infinite God. “He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted” (Job 5:9). Psalm 147:4 celebrates the same contrast: “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” In Psalm 40:5 and 71:15, the psalmist admits that God’s deeds are “too numerous to proclaim.” The wisdom motif encourages believers to “number our days” (Psalm 90:12) so that humility births wisdom. Prophetic Assurance and Judgment Prophets recycle mispar to measure both devastation and hope. Isaiah warns that Assyria will leave Israel’s forests with “so few trees that a child could write them down” (Isaiah 10:19). Conversely, Jeremiah promises restoration “as the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and the sands of the sea cannot be measured” (Jeremiah 33:22). The same noun thus frames both the razor-thin remnant and the sprawling future revival, assuring readers that God supervises every swing of the pendulum. Post-Exilic Restoration In Ezra and Nehemiah, mispar catalogs vessels, singers, gatekeepers, and lay families returning from Babylon (Ezra 1:9-11; 2:64; Nehemiah 7:66). The meticulous lists assure a traumatized community that none of God’s people are mislaid in exile. Likewise, the modern church can trace membership rolls or baptism records not as cold statistics but as testimonies of preservation. Narrative “Telling” and Proclamation Though chiefly numerical, mispar also shades into the idea of “relating” or “recounting” (Psalm 9:14; 71:15). Counting the deeds of Yahweh becomes proclaiming them. The movement from arithmetic to testimony encourages believers to transform data into doxology: numbers find their ultimate purpose when they serve narrative praise. Theological Themes 1. Divine Sovereignty: God alone sets mispar and transcends it. Pastoral and Missional Insights • Stewardship: Budgets, attendance, and demographic studies can be leveraged for faithful planning, echoing Moses’ censuses. Christocentric Trajectory Though the noun itself is confined to the Old Testament, its theology ripples into the New. The feeding of the multitudes (John 6:10-13) presents counted loaves that multiply beyond calculation, and Revelation celebrates a company “which no one could count” (Revelation 7:9). Mispar thus foreshadows the eschatological harvest where God’s numbering culminates in a limitless assembly gathered around the Lamb. Summary Mispar threads arithmetic precision with theological depth. Each occurrence—whether listing silver bowls, tallying soldiers, or comparing descendants to the dust—points to the God who both numbers and nullifies numbers according to His covenant purposes. To count under His lordship is to confess that every digit belongs to Him, and to lose count is to stand in awe of grace that outruns human calculation. Forms and Transliterations בְּמִסְפַּ֣ר בְּמִסְפַּ֤ר בְּמִסְפַּ֥ר בְּמִסְפַּ֨ר בְּמִסְפַּר֙ בְּמִסְפָּ֑ר בְּמִסְפָּ֔ר בְּמִסְפָּ֥ר בְּמִסְפָּ֨ר בְּמִסְפָּֽר׃ בְּמִסְפָּרָ֖ם בְמִסְפָּ֑ר בְמִסְפָּ֖ר בְמִסְפָּ֣ר במספר במספר׃ במספרם הַמִּסְפָּ֔ר המספר וּבְמִסְפָּ֖ר וּמִסְפַּ֖ר וּמִסְפַּ֞ר וּמִסְפַּ֥ר וּמִסְפָּ֖ר ובמספר ומספר כְּמִסְפַּ֖ר כְּמִסְפָּרָֽם׃ כַּמִּסְפָּ֖ר כמספר כמספרם׃ לְֽמִסְפָּרָ֡ם לְמִסְפַּ֖ר לְמִסְפַּ֣ר לְמִסְפַּר֙ לְמִסְפָּרָ֔ם למספר למספרם מִ֭סְפָּר מִֽסְפַּר־ מִסְפְּרֵ֞י מִסְפַּ֕ר מִסְפַּ֖ר מִסְפַּ֛ר מִסְפַּ֞ר מִסְפַּ֣ר מִסְפַּ֤ר מִסְפַּ֥ר מִסְפַּ֧ר מִסְפַּ֨ר מִסְפַּר֙ מִסְפַּרְכֶ֔ם מִסְפַּר־ מִסְפָּ֑ר מִסְפָּ֔ר מִסְפָּ֖ר מִסְפָּ֗ר מִסְפָּ֣ר מִסְפָּֽר׃ מִסְפָּרָ֑ם מִסְפָּרָ֔ם מִסְפָּרָ֣ם מִסְפָּרָ֤ם מִסְפָּרָֽם׃ מִסְפָּרָם֙ מספר מספר־ מספר׃ מספרי מספרכם מספרם מספרם׃ bə·mis·pā·rām bə·mis·par bə·mis·pār ḇə·mis·pār bemisPar bəmispar bəmispār ḇəmispār bemispaRam bəmispārām ham·mis·pār hammisPar hammispār kam·mis·pār kammisPar kammispār kə·mis·pā·rām kə·mis·par kemisPar kəmispar kemispaRam kəmispārām lə·mis·pā·rām lə·mis·par lemisPar ləmispar lemispaRam ləmispārām mis·pā·rām mis·par mis·pār mis·par- mis·par·ḵem mis·pə·rê mispar mispār mispar- mispaRam mispārām misparChem misparḵem mispərê mispeRei Mispor ū·ḇə·mis·pār ū·mis·par ū·mis·pār ūḇəmispār umisPar ūmispar ūmispār uvemisPar vemisParLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 34:30 HEB: וַאֲנִי֙ מְתֵ֣י מִסְפָּ֔ר וְנֶאֶסְפ֤וּ עָלַי֙ NAS: and my men being few in number, they will gather KJV: and I [being] few in number, they shall gather themselves together INT: I men number will gather against Genesis 41:49 Exodus 16:16 Exodus 23:26 Leviticus 25:15 Leviticus 25:15 Leviticus 25:16 Leviticus 25:50 Numbers 1:2 Numbers 1:18 Numbers 1:20 Numbers 1:22 Numbers 1:24 Numbers 1:26 Numbers 1:28 Numbers 1:30 Numbers 1:32 Numbers 1:34 Numbers 1:36 Numbers 1:38 Numbers 1:40 Numbers 1:42 Numbers 3:22 Numbers 3:28 Numbers 3:34 134 Occurrences |
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