Are the numbers in the Bible accurate? In Numbers 1:45-46, how could Israel have an army this size?

108 Dr. C.'s computations are merely neglect of all the principles of scriptural genealogies. Besides, I repeat, the numbers given are such as prove they are not fabricated; and the paucity of Levites, and the numbers of Dan, prove that the statements are drawn from history and facts (as the whole tenor of the statements bears on the face of them), and are such as no man on earth would have invented. Dr. C. says, It is incredible the Levite should not have increased more during the sojourn in the wilderness. The fact that Eliezer did not die proves nothing as to the Levites not coming under the judgment which fell on Israel for their murmurings when the spies returned. God was pleased to keep Israel at the same level in the wilderness. As to numbers that is clear. The Levites were no exception. God may have used providential means for this, as the privations of the wilderness, which affected the Levites as well as the rest. But there is no motive for thinking they were exempt from the judgment. But the truth is, the great change in relative numbers in the tribes shews all the reasoning as to the small increase of the Levites utterly valueless. Population may increase or decrease at such a rate, but that says nothing whatever for particular families. One increases, another becomes extinct. Thus Manasseh rose from 32,200 to 52,700. Ephraim had sunk from 40,500 to 32,500. Benjamin increased from 35,410 to 45,600. Dan was stationary, Asher had increased from 41,500 to 53,400. Judah had remained pretty stationary. Issachar largely increased. Simeon had fallen from 59,000 to 22,000. Thus the particular degree of the increase of the Levites, on which Dr. C. has bestowed so much labour, is of no import whatever. All Dr. C.'s remarks indicate a singular inattention to facts.

As to the question of the increase of population during the sojourn of Israel in Egypt, it has been discussed and re-discussed a hundred times; and it must require overweening self-confidence in Dr. C. to bring it forward, as he does, as an argumentum crucis. He says the doubts he has "raised will be confirmed into a certain conviction, by its appearing plainly from the data of the Pentateuch that there could not have been any such population itself to come out of Egypt." (Page 148.) I suppose he must be ignorant of what has been said of it; if not, such language is simply overweening impertinence to men far better versed in such inquiries than himself. If the Israelites doubled in fifteen years, they would have been 1,146,880 in two hundred and fifteen years; in two hundred and thirty years, 2,293,760. But the statement of scripture is, that "the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty, and the land was filled with them"; and the new king said, "Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we" … and they persecuted them. Very probably they were all removed to Goshen, giving rise to Manetho's story of Avaris. "But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew"; so that their increase was not such as makes any difficulty. In England the increase in ten years was more than 23 per cent., where town and manufacturing habits largely impede; so that 35 per cent. in fifteen years is reached in the actual state of England. Thus doubling, in the circumstances of Israel, with extraordinary blessing in this respect was nothing incredible, though we have no proof of their numbers more than six hundred thousand males above twenty, and no proof that the majority of women were Egyptian or other strangers. If this fact be taken into account, the increase presents no kind of difficulty.

The conclusion that the sojourn in Egypt was really for two hundred and fifteen years creates another difficulty in some minds, namely, the great increase of the Israelites during that period. Ex. 12:37 speaks of there being 600,000 men, besides children, at the Exodus. Num. 1:46 gives the number more exactly as 603,550 from twenty years old and upwards that were able to go to war. This has been calculated to signify a total of about two million men, women, and children, without the descendants of Levi. Is this a greater number than could be the descendants of those who entered Egypt? This may be reckoned in two ways: if we deduct thirteen from the seventy (for the family of Levi and for those who could not be called heads of families at that time) Deut. 10:22, the result gives fifty-seven heads of families; and if each had 14 children,

The increase may be reckoned in another manner by the population. If the above fifty-seven are multiplied by 3.3 it gives as the population at the commencement (excluding Levi, and his descendants, etc., as above) 188 persons. Suppose the population doubled itself in fifteen years (as it has been known to do in some places), the number in two hundred and ten years would be over three millions. There is therefore no difficulty in the increase of the people.

103 THE NUMEROUS ISRAELITES COMPARED WITH THE EXTENT OF CANAAN

Dr. C. makes difficulties as to there being wild beasts in Canaan with so large a population. His objections are futile. What is the population of India? How dense is well known, yet tigers and wild beasts abound. Modern European populations are no rule at all, nor even Port Natal, because they settled more in Canaan in towns and villages. Counting in the Canaanites besides Israel is only another instance of Dr. C.'s carelessness, for the supposition made is their total immediate destruction. My own conviction is that the number of Israelites is greatly exaggerated. The six hundred thousand are all males, not children — all the grown men.

The total that were numbered amounted to 603,550, as we are told in verse 46. We were told in Exodus 12:37-38, that about 600,000 men beside children left Egypt, and also a "mixed multitude" went with them. In this census the mixed multitude were eliminated and we have more detailed and accurate figures. Since all males under twenty and all females were omitted, we are safe in assuming that the host must have numbered over two millions.

On the north side the tribe of Dan bore the standard that included also Asher and Naphtali (vs.25-30). Their armies together comprised a total of 157,600 men, and were last in order to travel. All the numbered men therefore totaled 603,550, as chapter 1:46 reported, and chapter 2:32 confirms. Again, we are reminded that this did not include the Levites (v.33), nor of course women and children. The total of the congregation must have been between two and three million. what a company for Moses to lead through the wilderness! But this illustrates the care of God in providing the best order possible. Certainly in the Church of God today He exercises no less wisdom in providing a spiritual order that will glorify His name, and He expects in the gatherings of the assembly a becoming recognition of His order, as 1 Corinthians 14:40 shows. "Let all things be done decently and in order."

When Moses and the children of Israel sang their song of triumph on the shores of the Red Sea, they said; "the peoples shall hear and be afraid … the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them … fear and dread shall fall upon them" (Ex. 15:14-16). This was fulfilled to the letter when the King of Moab and his people beheld Jehovah's pilgrim host encamped upon their frontiers forty years later. There were in the camp of Israel 601,730 men able to carry arms; with women and children there were probably at least three million souls, admittedly a vast company. Balak was alarmed; the more so because Israel had recently destroyed three military Powers which had ventured to oppose their march. The King of Arad had gone down; likewise Sihon, King of Heshbon, and Og, King of Bashan (Num. 21). Sihon had some time previously waged a successful war with Moab, and had annexed some of her territory; how then could Balak hope to stand up against a nation which had destroyed his powerful neighbour? When men are in trouble, the proper thing is to turn to God in prayer. He is as truly interested in the affairs of nations as in the difficulties and sorrows of individual men and women; but Balak knew nothing of God. If the rulers of our own time would humbly spread out their troubles before God, much grief and destruction would be spared. Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah are two fine examples of kings turning humbly to God in moments of national peril (2 Chron. 20; 2 Kings 19).

The increases or decreases in the twelve tribes of Israel have been seen in the first 50 verses of this chapter. Now as to the nation itself, verse 51 tells us that at the end of the wilderness journey its total population of men able for military service was 601,730. This was a decrease, for in Numbers 1:46 that number had been 603,550. What a lesson for us, that though the Church of God has been so greatly blessed by God, show has not as a whole responded in a practical and thankful way to such grace, for she has too sadly followed the example of Israel. Yet the failure of the testimony of the Church is no excuse for the failure of any individual believer, for as we have seen, some of the tribes increased greatly, others also in a lesser measure.

[1] To see this, compare Numbers 1 with Numbers 26. Some tribes had increased in number, others decreased, but the overall number of the people remained roughly the same.