What happened to the Hebrew slaves who left Egypt?

Answer 1

The Book of Exodus says that they wandered in the desert for forty years, until their descendants invaded the land of the Canaanites and settled there. However, over 90 per cent of scholars are reported as believing that there was no Exodus from Egypt as described in The Bible.

That does not mean that there never was a group of slaves that escaped from Egypt. One theory is that after the Hebrew people, who were actually dissident Canaanites, settled in the Palestinian hinterland, they were joined by a small group of escaped slaves who brought the story of a new god, YHWH (pronounced and now written as Yahweh). It is believed that after leaving Egypt the treked through the desert until, more dead than alive, they reached the land of the Midianites, to the south of the Dead Sea. The Midianites nursed the former slaves back to health with the help of their god, YHW (not YHWH). Afterwards, the slaves continued north until they reached Judah and joined the Hebrew people, bringing stories of their miraculous survival and of their new God, who gradually became YHWH, the God of the Jews.

Answer 2

Only two of the original over 2 million Hebrews who left Egypt during the Exodus made it to the promised land of Caanan. Because of fear, rebellion and impatience, all but Caleb and Joshua perished in the wilderness. The Hebrews walked around in circles for forty years - yet The LORD sustained them. They were never hungry or thirsty, their clothes and shoes did not wear out. And He never left the children and grandchildren who crossed over the River Jordan. So the answer to your question: all those who did not cross Jordan, died in the wilderness or on a mountain (that would be Aaron and Moses) in the Sinai region.