Large Numbers in the Exodus and Wilderness Journey

In the census following the exodus from Egypt (Num 1:46), the number of Israelite males older than 20 years of age is 603,550; at the second census (Num 26:51), there are 601,730. These figures imply that the total population of the fledgling nation of Israel was somewhere between 2 and 3 million. While these figures are difficult to reconcile with the geography of Canaan and the archaeological record, several solutions are possible.

The Problem Illustrated

Several passages present challenges to the large figures of the book of Numbers. Deuteronomy 7:1–7 presents Israel as the least numerous nation in Canaan at the time of the conquest—seven other nations were larger. This means that if the figures in Numbers are to be taken literally that the total population of these eight nations would have had to range from 16 to 24 million people, roughly the 2010 population of Florida or Texas, respectively. The size of Canaan, however, is closer to that of New Jersey than either of these states. Archaeological evidence does not indicate that enough cities and towns existed to support a population of this size.

Further considerations help put the problem into perspective. The Israelites left Egypt with “about six hundred thousand [men] on foot, besides dependents” (Exod 12:37). God did not provide the Israelites with manna until roughly 45 days later (Exod 16:1), meaning that 2–3 million people required a different food source for 45 days. If a family of five sacrificed one lamb (or some other animal) each day to feed themselves, the Israelites would have to slaughter 120,000 lambs each day, meaning the Israelites would have had to leave Egypt with 5.4 million animals. Even if they ate meat only one-third of the time (for 15 days), they still would have had to slaughter 40,000 animals per day and leave Egypt with 1.8 million animals.

The manna also compounds the issue. According to Exodus 16:13–21, there was enough manna on the ground to feed each Israelite every day. The Israelites gathered an average of one omer (roughly two quarts) of manna each day (Exod 16:16–17). This implies that 1–1.5 million gallons of manna appeared on the ground every day.

Finally, the Old Testament itself hints that the 2–3 million number is unlikely. In Numbers 33:49 it is noted that the Israelites “camped by the Jordan, from Beth-Jeshimoth up to Abel Shittim, on the desert-plateau of Moab.” Since Beth-jeshimoth and Abel-shittim were approximately seven miles from each other, the area of the Israelite encampment would have been about 49 square miles.1 By comparison, New York City (8.1 million population in 2010) covers 305 square miles. Taking the number 2–3 million at face value therefore requires that the Israelite camp had a slightly greater population density than New York City—without any multi-level living accommodations.

Since taking the numbers of the census figures at face value yields these issues, several solutions have been proposed.

Proposed Solutions

According to the most frequently cited proposal, the Hebrew word for “thousand” (eleph) may also mean “tribe” or “clan” (Num 10:4; Judg 6:5; 1 Sam 10:19). If so, the numbers may simply refer to military units, which corresponds to the aim of the censuses to determine the number of males eligible for Israel’s army. The chapters in Numbers that record the censuses, then, use eleph as both a number and a term for a military unit. However, the only examples where eleph might plausibly refer to something other than a number have nothing to do with counting. Moreover, in other passages that do involve counting (e.g., Exod 18:21; 1 Sam 8:12; 2 Sam 18:1), the term does not have any other meaning than mathematical tabulation.

Another proposal claims that the author of Numbers deliberately exaggerated the numbers associated with the exodus and the wilderness wanderings; in other words, they represent literary hyperbole. Comparisons with other ancient Semitic texts of similar genres validate this suggestion. Ancient Sumerian, Akkadian, and Assyrian literature, particularly royal inscriptional and historical annals, deliberately employed hyperbole regarding large numbers. The annals aimed to glorify the god of the king by exaggerating the king’s victories. In fact, the biblical accounts of the exodus and conquest bear striking similarities to contemporary annals in many ways. Given this, the hyperbolic use of numbers in the Old Testament anchors the biblical text to the writing conventions of the time—an argument that favors their authenticity as truly ancient documents. The writer of these accounts thus could have used a known literary device to draw attention to the might of Yahweh—the King of all kings, earthly or divine—in delivering His people, Israel.

Michael S. Heiser