The term "populate" refers to the act of filling or inhabiting a place with people. In the biblical context, this concept is closely tied to God's command to humanity to be fruitful and multiply, as well as His sovereign plan for the nations and peoples of the earth.

Creation and the Mandate to Populate

The idea of populating the earth is first introduced in the Book of Genesis. After creating Adam and Eve, God gives them a clear directive: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28). This command establishes the divine intention for humanity to spread across the earth, stewarding creation and establishing communities.

Post-Flood Reaffirmation

Following the Great Flood, God reaffirms His command to Noah and his sons: "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth" (Genesis 9:1). This reiteration underscores the continuity of God's plan for human proliferation and the repopulation of the earth after the judgment of the flood.

The Tower of Babel

The narrative of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 illustrates a deviation from God's command to populate the earth. Instead of spreading out, humanity sought to centralize and make a name for themselves by building a city and a tower. In response, God confused their language and scattered them across the earth, ensuring the fulfillment of His original mandate to populate the earth (Genesis 11:8-9).

Israel and the Promised Land

The concept of populating is also significant in the context of Israel's history. God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17). This promise is a testament to God's plan to populate the Promised Land with His chosen people, establishing a nation through which He would reveal Himself to the world.

The Expansion of the Early Church

In the New Testament, the idea of populating takes on a spiritual dimension with the Great Commission. Jesus commands His disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19), effectively calling for the spiritual populating of the earth with followers of Christ. The early church's rapid growth and spread throughout the Roman Empire exemplify this divine mandate.

Eschatological Fulfillment

The ultimate fulfillment of God's plan to populate the earth is seen in the eschatological vision of a new heaven and a new earth. Revelation 7:9 describes a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne of God. This vision reflects the culmination of God's redemptive plan to gather a diverse and populous community of believers in His eternal kingdom.

Throughout Scripture, the theme of populating the earth is intricately linked to God's sovereign purposes, human obedience, and the unfolding of His redemptive plan for humanity.1. (a.) Populous.

2. (v. t.) To furnish with inhabitants, either by natural increase or by immigration or colonization; to cause to be inhabited; to people.

3. (v. i.) To propagate.

8317. sharats -- to swarm, teem
... root Definition to swarm, teem NASB Word Usage breed abundantly (1), increased greatly
(1), populate the abundantly (1), swarm (3), swarmed (2), swarms (5 ...
/hebrew/8317.htm - 6k

Connecticut at the Close of the Revolution
... Even in the dark days of the Revolution, Connecticut's energetic people had continued
to populate her waste places, and had carved out new towns from old ...
/.../chapter xii connecticut at the.htm

No one ever Afterwards Quite Knew How the Crowd in the Church ...
... "Yes!" went on the unabashed Miraudin, "If it were on the stage it would be taken
as a matter of course. An actor's follies help to populate the world. ...
/.../corelli/the master-christian/xiv no one ever afterwards.htm

Leadership for Service
... Is such an object satisfying to a young man of business capacity, or does he want
to build a million dollar house and populate it with one child? ...
/.../the social principles of jesus/chapter vii leadership for service.htm

Conformity to Type
... And this is our life"to pursue the Type, to populate the world with it.
Our religion is not all a mistake. We are not visionaries. ...
/.../drummond/natural law in the spiritual world/conformity to type.htm

Populate (1 Occurrence)
... people. 3. (vi) To propagate. Multi-Version Concordance Populate (1 Occurrence).
Genesis 9:7 Be fruitful and multiply. Bring forth ...
/p/populate.htm - 6k

Popular (1 Occurrence)

/p/popular.htm - 7k

People (13047 Occurrences)
... 5. (n.) One's subjects; fellow citizens; companions; followers. 6. (vt) To stock
with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to populate. Int. ...
/p/people.htm - 14k

Populated (2 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) of Populate. Multi-Version Concordance
Populated (2 Occurrences). Genesis 9:19 These three ...
/p/populated.htm - 7k

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