דברים, פרק י׳, פסוק כ״ב

A dramatic transformation lies at the heart of the Israelite journey, taking them from a small, vulnerable family seeking refuge in Egypt to a massive, thriving nation. This sharp contrast highlights the sheer magnitude of divine providence. The primary approach among commentators is that this miraculous population growth serves as a powerful expression of God's special care and love for His people. By recognizing the enormous gap between the tiny group that originally descended into Egypt and the sprawling nation that eventually emerged, the Israelites are meant to awaken within themselves a deep sense of commitment and love toward God [רבנו בחיי, רש ר הירש, ביאור שטיינזלץ, בכור שור].

The historical memory records that exactly seventy individuals made that initial journey. One perspective suggests that while many more people actually traveled to Egypt, the number seventy highlights only the greatest leaders of that generation, those distinguished by their exceptional character [העמק דבר]. Furthermore, a tradition notes that a careful count of the names listed in the biblical record yields only sixty-nine individuals. To account for the missing person, some identify the seventieth soul as either Yocheved, who was born just as the family entered the city walls, or Serach the daughter of Asher. A deeper conceptual approach offers a different resolution, proposing that God Himself completes the count to seventy. This acts as the fulfillment of His promise to descend into Egypt alongside Jacob, much like the way God completed the count of the Israelites leaving Egypt to reach six hundred thousand [רבנו בחיי].

The nation's eventual size is famously compared to the stars of heaven, an image that commentators interpret in varying ways. One approach views this comparison through a spiritual and qualitative lens. Just as the original seventy individuals were people of high moral stature, the nation's later closeness to God at Mount Sinai elevated them, producing wise and knowledgeable leaders who illuminate the path for others, much like shining stars [העמק דבר]. On the other hand, a different perspective focuses purely on the quantitative aspect. From this viewpoint, the comparison to stars is not meant to be a literal mathematical equivalent, but rather a rhetorical exaggeration. Similar to descriptions of fortified cities with walls reaching into the sky, this poetic language is simply used to emphasize the immense and awe-inspiring growth of the population, rather than to claim their numbers literally match the stars above [פענח רזא, בכור שור].