The Number of People who left Egypt (12:37)

We are told that 600,000 Israelite men left Egypt on foot with their families. This suggests around 2 million people in total. They went from Rameses and Succoth. How could Israel go from a family of 70 to a nation of millions within the span of several generations and a few hundred years?

Answer 1 – Inflated Statistics

It is perhaps metaphorical? We use numbers with precision but in ancient times it could exaggerated.

Answer 2 – Literal

The idea of a people group growing from 70 to more than 2 million in 430 years is not implausible. It would require a population growth rate of 2.6 percent.  The Exodus would have been a national embarrassment to Egypt, and it would be hard to find evidence in the Sinai. It also matches the statistics given elsewhere in Exodus 38:26 and Numbers 1:46; 2:32 & 26:51). Scripture indicates Israel grew rapidly during their time in Egypt (Exodus 1:7). That growth was fast enough to make Egyptian leaders nervous (Exodus 1:8–10). By the time Moses returned to Pharaoh’s court, the Israelites’ value as slaves was such that Pharaoh refused to release them despite plagues sent by God (Exodus 6:6–7).

Answer 3 – Thousand Means “Clan”

The Hebrew word “eleph” can mean “thousand.” However, early in the Old Testament, it may also be used as an inexact term for a sizable cluster of people. Some scholars think it means something like “clan.” Or it may be a military term for a fighting unit, like a platoon. Exodus 12:37 could then be read as follows: “There were about six hundred clans” or “There were about six hundred military units.” On this reading, the total population of the Israelites would have numbered in the tens of thousands, not in the millions.

Identity and Mixture (12:38)

There are many non-Israelites who also left Egypt in the exodus who wanted to take part.  They may mostly have been slaves or of low social standing. There will be a problem throughout Exodus on identity and mixture. How are they going to balance the inside and the outside or the identity and the stranger. The Israelites are only those men that that have been circumcised and are therefore allowed to participate in this identity as they have removed their outer garments. They have purified themselves and are allowed to eat the unleavened bread and participate in the Passover meal. Any stranger who wants to participate must first be circumcised in order to be able to do that. There will be those that join the identity and those that die or leave it. The meat must be eaten inside the house and no meat taken outside the house.

Fleeing at a Moment’s Notice (12:31-33)

You may need to leave a tyranny at a moment’s notice. A broken-hearted Pharaoh has to admit that the true and living God was superior to his gods. The Hebrews have treasure but that is not going to feed all these people in the desert! It took one day to get Israel out of Egypt but 40 years and counting to get Egypt out of Israel! It’s about 3 generations in the desert. It’s a long time in a relatively small desert. There is room for the stranger (resident non-Jew). There is a mixed multitude who leave and includes those who had been impressed with God’s power and the religion of the Israelites and wished to leave Egypt behind.

The Exodus from Egypt (12:33-42)

The Egyptians feared God and sent the Israelites out of their land as quickly as possible. The moment we have all been waiting for!  The Exodus!  For over four hundred years, God’s people had been living in Egypt.  Now, after ten devastating plagues dealt by the very hand of God, Pharaoh finally lets them go. When God opens a door or presents the opportunity we have been praying for, he expects us to walk through it with promptness and purpose.

Circumcision (12:44-48)

The identity of becoming an Israelite is for any males in the family to be circumcised. It is a requirement to enter into the Covenant. It’s like a kind of Christian baptism. It makes you into a child of Abraham more than if you are a physical descendent of Abraham. This is shown in the confrontation in John 8:31-59 with the Pharisees. You join in through a ritual act. It may seem strange to us today, but it wasn’t to the ancient people of that time.

Plundering the Egyptians (12:35-36)

This is what God had said would happen in Exodus 3:21-22. The Hebrews are not stealing from the Egyptians. They ask and they are given treasure. Gold and silver and clothing are mentioned. The Egyptians are wanting the children of Israel to leave before they all die. This could be seen as payment for hundreds of years of unpaid forced labour and murdering the Hebrew babies but also needed to start the nation.

Rules Regarding the Passover Exodus (12:43-51)

These verses contain some rules for observing the Passover. The meal was to be observed annually, the lamb’s bones were not to be broken, and no uncircumcised person could participate in the observance. The foreigner or hired servant was not allowed to take the Passover. The foreigner could become an Israelite, but male circumcision was mandatory because the non-Israelite had to demonstrate his faith in the promises the LORD made to Abraham.

The other rules are:

• It was to be eaten in a single house. It was a family celebration, not one involving a gathering of families (community).
• The people were not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house. The meal was not to be shared with others outside the household.
• The people were not to break any bone of it. This is a foreshadowing of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who was prophesied to have no bones broken in His death (John 19:36).

Categories: Exodus