The huge numbers of folk
leaving Egypt in the Exodus is a puzzle. In my research I find that the whole
population of Egypt was around 4 million at that time (1442 BCE*). Others before
me have added up the numbers given in Numbers 1 (of the men 20 years and upward) and added the probable number of women and children: they come up with a figure
of about 2 million.
Now, one would think that a
loss of half the population of a country (4 mill. less 2 mill.) would make a news story that would be recorded
in the country’s history, but it seems there is no record of such a thing
happening. And we are told that there is no archaeological evidence of that number of people
travelling for 40 years.
I consulted The Prophecy Society of Atlanta under the question: 'How
many Israelites left Egypt in the Exodus?'
The writer (Dan Bruce) points out that
in Numbers 2:32, the total enrolments (men, women and children) of the
Exodus were 603,550, and in Numbers 1:20-46 the number is exactly the same –
603,550, even though it is emphasised that the numbering included only the
males 20 years and older. The writer concludes that the numbers could be of
individual households rather than of individuals.
Next, the writer points out
that the numbers of each of the tribes all end in “0.” He reasons that this is
very unlikely that all the totals should be
divisible by 10. He offers the point that the
numbering goes back to Exodus 30:11-15 – the redemption value of the Children
of Israel. And he quotes Exodus, as I will here:
11 And the Lord spake to
Moses, saying,
12 When thou takest the sum
of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a
ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no
plague among them, when thou numberest them.
13 This they shall give,
every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the
shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be
the offering of the Lord.
14 Every one that passeth
among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an
offering unto the Lord.
15 The rich shall not give
more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an
offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls. (KJV)
I will also quote his explanation:
The first sentence shows
the process of numbering. Numbering involved taking a sum and assigning a
ransom value. A head count was taken, the ransom value for each individual was
half a shekel, and a shekel was defined as 10 gerahs, then every person would
have had a redemption value of 10 gerahs. The redemption value (or "number”) of
the Children of Israel was 603,550 gerahs, which indicates that there were
60,355 Israelites who came out of Egypt in the Exodus (noting that under the
Law the Levites were exempt from being numbered.)
He equates this reasonable number of 60,355 as being like a crowd
leaving a college football stadium in the U.S. after the game. The travel logistics still stun us!
So there is one explanation
for the puzzle of the numbers of people on the Exodus.
Joyce Voysey
Ed. HERE is an interesting 2012 report about the Exodus (from the American Broadcasting Corp). It gives a great idea of the type of countryside they had to deal with.
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