What does "Sand" mean in the Bible?
The wastes of Palestine consist mainly of parched soil and gravel. Sand appears in 23 verses across 15 books of the Bible.
What does the Bible say about Sand?
SAND (from a root meaning to whirl). The wastes of Palestine consist mainly of parched soil and gravel. Sand occurs only along the shores of the seas and rivers. It is found in some parts of the desert of Sinai, and abundantly in Egypt. On the west especially the Nile valley is ever menaced by "the sands of the African desert - sands and sand-drifts which in purity, in brightness, in firmness, in destructiveness, are the snows and glaciers of the south." - Stanley. The pyramids and most of the ancient remains of Egypt stand upon the edge of the whirling sand-wastes, and therefore are liable to be covered up, as indeed many have been. Here all stirring of the surface is quickly and utterly obliterated. Ex 2:12. God has placed the sand for a bound of the sea by a perpetual decree. Jer 5:22. Sand is also figuratively used to denote an innumerable multitude or great abundance. Gen 32:12; Gen 41:49, and also that which is heavy. Job 6:3; Prov 27:3. Issachar was to "suck of the abundance of the seas and of treasures hid in the sand." Deut 33:19. Some authorities find here an allusion to the great value of the sand of the river Belus, near Acre, for the manufacture of glass. But in this sand the mollusk (Murex trunculus) used for the purple dye is abundant, and vast quantities of crushed shells attest the ancient productiveness of this industry at Acre. Lieut. Conder understands these to be the "treasures hid in the sand," and claims this to be the interpretation of the Jewish rabbis.
Definition text: Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible · 1898. Public domain.
Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.
What is the Hebrew word for Sand?
Where does Sand appear in the Bible?
Sand is referenced in 23 verses across 15 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.
- 1 Kings 4:20
- 1 Kings 4:29
- 1 Samuel 13:5
- 2 Samuel 17:11
- Deuteronomy 33:19
- Exodus 2:12
- Genesis 22:17
- Genesis 32:12
- Genesis 41:49
- Habakkuk 1:9
- Hosea 1:10
- Isaiah 10:22
- Isaiah 48:19
- Judges 7:12
- Jeremiah 5:22
- Jeremiah 15:8
- Jeremiah 33:22
- Job 6:3
- Job 29:18
- Joshua 11:4
- Proverbs 27:3
- Psalms 78:27
- Psalms 139:18
What else appears in these passages?
These turn up in the same passages as Sand.
Common questions
How many times does the Bible mention Sand?
Sand appears in 23 verses across 15 books, most often in Genesis, which accounts for 3 of them.
Which books of the Bible mention Sand?
Genesis, Jeremiah, 1 Kings, Isaiah, Job, Psalms, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, and 7 more.
Where can I read every verse about Sand?
This page lists 23 of them. Protos carries all 23, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.
