How many Jews did moses lead out of Egypt to the promised land?

Answer 1

The Bible says that there were 600,000 fighting men, a figure that excluded the tribe of Levi who, as priests, were not permitted to fight. Scholars have reckoned that if the story of Exodus really happened, this would conservatively equate to at least two and a half million people all told. Since we know that the total population of Egypt was 3.5 million people at the time attributed to the Exodus, this would have left Egypt with a depleted economy and only 1 million people remaining, although the extensive Egyptian documents of the time show no signs of this.

Answer 2

Is this a trick question?

The "Jews" [the tribe of Judah] were but a portion of all of the people who came out of Egypt; considering that there were "twelve tribes" that made up the nation of Israel -- of whom the tribe of Judah [the Jews] would only have been "one-twelfth" of that total.

Plus, a great number of Gentiles joined the Israelite's exodus from Egypt. A rough guess, however, puts the total number of people who hastily left Egypt that day at two to three million.

"That night the people of Israel [all of them; not just the Jews] left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men, plus all the women and children... Many people who were not Israelites went with them, along with the many flocks and herds." (Ex.12:37-38 NLT New Living Translation)

Even the Bible "approximates" the number of Israelite "men" that marched out of Egypt that day, saying, '...about600,000 men...'.

And if we allow for an equal number of men per tribe... the approximate number of men from the tribe of Judah, alone, would be "about" 50,000, which is one-twelfth of 600,000. If we further allow a ratio of one-to-one, or one Jew male per each Jew woman... there would be a total of "about" 100,000 men and women from the tribe of Judah.

Allowing for, say, "one male and one female child" for each of these approximated Jew couples would increase our estimation to "about" 200,000 "Jews" [descendants from the tribe of Judah], alone, that Moses [who wasn't a "Jew," by the way... but was a "Levite," descended from the tribe of Levi - see Ex.2:1-] led out of Egypt.

And if that answer to this trick question isn't enough... it gets even trickier when we consider that "Moses didn't lead the Israelites into the Promised Land" -- "Joshua" [or as his name translates into English; "Jesus"] finally led the Israelites into the Promised Land after enduring 40 years of God's "withholding punishment"... withholding the Promised Land from the entire entourage.

It was a punishment leveled against the elder generation of those Israelites who originally came out of Egypt who displayed fear and faithlessness before the LORD their God; and He let them perish in the wilderness over the course of 40 years, as all of the liberated marching army wandered; with the younger generations learning the lesson as well. And none of them were allowed to enter into the Promised Land, which was generally about a two-week's march away until God's allotted time of punishment expired.

"...your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness. And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness for forty years. In this way, they will pay for your Faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness. Because the men who explored the land were forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years - a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins [disobedience]. You will discover what it is like to have Me for an enemy." (Num.14:32-34 NLT)

"I, the LORD [Jesus Christ, the Almighty Creator God of the Old Testament - John 1:1-3], have spoken! I will do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against Me. They will all die here in this wilderness! Then the ten scouts who had incited the rebellion against the LORD by spreading discouraging reports about the land were struck dead with a plague before the LORD. Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive." (verses 35-38)

Technically, Moses did lead them in the direction of the Promised Land. And they were "this close" to entering therein. But Moses was not to be the one to lead them in.

"...the LORD said to Moses, 'This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I told them I would give it to their descendants. I have allowed you to see it, but you will not enter the land." (Deut.34:4 NLT)

Jesus [Joshua] led the people into the Promised Land.

Answer 3

The mature Israelite men were about 600,000 (Exodus 12:37, Exodus 38:26, Numbers ch.26), plus the 23,000 Levites (Numbers 3:39). To this must be added the women and children; and there were also converts (Exodus 12:38). 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.See also:

Timeline of Jewish history

Archaeology and the Hebrew Bible

Answers which differentiate between Jews and Israelites, are disingenuous. The question is clearly referring to the total who left Egypt (minus converts); otherwise it would have specified "Judah." The words Jew and Israelite are often used interchangeably, albeit not always in strict accuracy.

Answer 4

It is estimated that 2.5 million Israelites (Jews) were freed by Moses.