How many Israelites did Moses save from Egypt?

Answer 1

There are no precise records of the number of Jews at the time of the Exodus.

However Exodus 12:37, says 600,000 walking men plus children. In the census taken about a year after the Exodus, recorded at Numbers 1:2, 3, 45, 46, there were 603,550 males (20 years old and older) plus 22,000 male Levites over one month old (Numbers 2:32, 33; 3:39) So how many women would be with 600,000 men? How many children would there be in a typical Jewish family at that time? If all the men had one wife, that would make 1,200,000 adults. If each of the 600,000 families also had three young children with them, that would be 1,800,000 children. Of course, many Jewish families would have had more than three children. However, by the time of the Exodus, many of these children would be adults!

We can see that it gets very difficult to estimate how many Jews in total. If we take the arbitrary figure of 3 children accompanying each family, then, by adding all the children to all the adults we get 3,000,000 people, i.e. Jews that came out with Moses. In addition, though not asked in the question, there were many non-Jews who also came out of Egypt with the Jews, See Exodus 12:38.

Answer 2

The Holy Bible records that there were 600, 000 males aged between 20 and 60. You do the math, there must have been somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 million in total.

(Exodus 12:37)

"And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot who were men, besides children."

So you have 600,000 men and it's fair to assume an equal amount of women for a total of 1,200,000 adults.

There's no telling how many children each family had; so the number could be anywhere from 2 million people and up.

In addition, in the year following the Israelites' departure from the land of Egypt, G-d asked Moses to conduct a census, which concluded that there were 603,550 men over the age of 20 who were fit for military service. (Num. 1:1-46)

However, men in Israel were considered mature over the age of 13, so there were probably many more men than women. Also, it was Jewish tradition to have many children per family. Also, the amount of men did not include the multitudes who would have included foreign people, slaves from other nations, etc.

Answer 3

In Exodus 12, it says that there were 600,000 men not including children. If most men have parents, sisters, sons and daughters, then it is safe to conclude that there were at least 5 members in his family. Therefore, the number of Israelites that fled from Egypt is between 2.5 to 3 million.

And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. Exodus 12:37 1:46 Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. Numbers 1:46

Answer 4

Every Hebrew slave man, women and children went out of Egypt , the number could be 2 million.

The historical accuracy of the exodus is questionable. There seems to be no hard evidence that the flight ever took place. So, it may never have happened.

Actually, the accuracy of The Bible (the five books of Moses and the Prophets and Writings called the "Old Testament") has proven to be more accurate than most "histories" of that or most other periods.. The initial census in the desert was 603,550 males between the ages of twenty and sixty. This did notinclude the Levites. By the time they reached that age, they were probably married and had already started a family. Thus, there were at least that many women as well. Give the children under twenty and the elders, the number of people was probably closer to three million than two million. Additionally, a number of people called the "mixed multitude" took the opportunity to escape slavery as well.

Answer 5

The Bible says that 600,000 fighting men were among the Israelites who left Egypt during the biblical Exodus. Donald Redford (Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times)extrapolates from Numbers 1:46 to give the total number of Israelites who were said to have fled Egypt as 2.5 million, compared to the total estimated Egyptian population of only 3 to 4.5 million.

For more information, please see:
http://christianity.answers.com/theology/moses-in-history-and-tradition
http://christianity.answers.com/bible/the-book-of-exodus

Answer 6

The mature men were about 600,000 (Exodus 12:37), plus the 23,000 Levites (Numbers 3:39). To this must be added the converts (Exodus 12:38), and the women and children. Based on the ratio of firstborn to younger children (Numbers ch.3), it can be seen that the children were numerous. Estimates for the total number are usually given at two million or more.

Concerning the Exodus and Archaeology in general, see:

Did the Exodus happen

Evidence of the Exodus

And the wider picture. Archaeology in general:

Archaeology and the Hebrew Bible

Answer 7

Exodus 12:37 tells us that there were 600,000 men on foot, which would mean at least two and a half million including women and children. Elsewhere, we learn that this number does not include the Levites. The historical accuracy of this report must be questioned, as archaeologists say that the total population of Egypt was only around three and a half million people in the Late Bronze Age, when the Exodus from Egypt supposedly occurred.

The strong consensus of scholars is that there was no Exodus from Egypt as described in the Bible, meaning that no Hebrews, or Israelites, left Egypt with Moses.

For more information, please visit:

http://christianity.answers.com/theology/moses-in-history-and-tradition
http://christianity.answers.com/bible/the-book-of-exodus

Answer 8

According to the Bible, the Israelite host that left Egypt had 600,000 men of fighting age. If we add to that a compliment of women and men who were too old or too young to fight, we reach somewhere close to 2 million Israelites. Most Archaeologists argue that the Mosaic Exodus never took place, and, therefore, speculating on a number is unwarranted.

Answer 9

The mature men were about 600,000 (Exodus 12:37), plus the 23,000 Levites (Numbers 3:39). To this must be added the converts (Exodus 12:38), and the women and children. Based on the ratio of firstborn to younger children (Numbers ch.3), it can be seen that the children were numerous. Estimates for the total number are usually given at two million or more.

After the Israelites left, Egypt was in turmoil for decades. Though Israel was later harassed (Judges ch.3,6 and 10) by its smaller neighbors (Ammon, Moab, Midian), not a peep was heard from Egypt for four hundred years.

Egypt's turmoil is also borne out by the Ipuwer papyrus ("Pestilence is throughout the land....the river is blood") (Professor John van Seters, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology no. 50). The plagues were also described by ancient historians, including Herodotus and Diodorus. The Exodus is mentioned by Strabo, Berosus, Artapanus, Numenius, Justin, and Tacitus.

See also:

Timeline of Jewish history

Archaeology and the Hebrew Bible

Answer 10

Wilderness, not desert.

601,530 men, plus 23,000 Levite men (Numbers ch.26). To this, add an appropriate number of women and children.