Have you ever had someone get upset with you because you asked a question about a Biblical text? Maybe the verse or chapter you questioned wasn’t black and white or a “thus sayeth the Lord” moment, but the person responds anyway with something like, “that’s what the text says and if you don’t believe it, your faith isn’t strong.” Then, with further emphasis they add, “with YHWH all things are possible.”
Of course, this type of response doesn’t always sit well, especially if you happen to be a student of Scripture. It can be troubling because you aren’t questioning God. Instead, you might be questioning the context of the Biblical depiction. So rather than being offended when challenged, consider something else. Maybe we should ask ourselves what is being missed or misunderstood. This can take courage, especially if you are being confronted by a non-believer and yes, even a believer.
The Book of Numbers starts with a census to number Israel’s warriors. In and of itself, this is a rather important beginning. The singers, teachers, pastors, and healers were not the first ones counted. Instead, the ones willing to stand up and fight for YHWH were the ones. Think about that for a moment.
Though as we read further, the totals of the people being counted seem to be unreasonable in relationship to Israel’s fledging status. Over the years, I am still amazed at how this bothers me. I didn’t understand how millions of people could encamp around a tiny little “tent of meeting.” Nor did I understand how the army seems rather large for the region, how people were fed, and why they would even need YHWH to fight for them if they were so large. It appeared to me that the description of Israel’s size failed to coincide with YHWH’s intention.
“The Lord did not make you His beloved nor choose you because you were greater in number than any of the peoples since you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Deuteronomy 7:7-9
The context of YHWH’s plan for those who follow him is pictured for us in other areas of Scripture. For instance, Gideon’s three hundred men went against an army of 20,000. David stood and fought the largest giant of his time. Abraham took on the forces of 5 kings with just a few hundred men. In the New Testament, Paul told the Corinthians, “…God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”
The word “confound” is kataishuno, which means to put to shame, to embarrass, to confuse, to frustrate, or to baffle. The word “mighty” is the word dunatoi, describing people who have political power. Consequently, shouldn’t we consider the idea that Yah does not need large numbers to change the world?
Here are some comparisons to the size of Israel’s army as we try to make sense of the numbers quoted in B’midbar:
- The Egyptian army is estimated to have had approximately 100,000 soldiers at the time ofRamesses II 1300 BC. Out of this standing number they had 4,000 soldiers that were organized into 20 companies between 200 and 250 men each.
- The Persian army when it invaded Greece was approximately 200,000
- In 200 BC, the size of Roman field armies for Roman was approximately 50,000 with their total army numbering roughly 200,000.
The amount of army units for Israel being over 600,000 would of course look devastating to these armies. We can also look at estimations in another way by comparing Israel’s wilderness population to large cities. Here are the population numbers for three rather large cities in 2023.
Seattle, Washington has a population of 725,487. It is the 17th largest city in the U.S
San Francisco, California has a population of 715,717. It is the 18th largest city in the U.S.
Portland, Oregon has a population of 673,122. It is the 25th largest city in the U.S
Due to the size of Israel’s army in the wilderness, it’s easy to estimate that Israel’s population would be around 2.2 to 2.5 million once everyone under 20, the women, and the elderly are counted. Consequently, the size of Israel at this time would be larger than the above 3 cities combined. Yes, some scholars have achieved mental gymnastics to give validity to these numbers, but I’m just thinking it sounds a bit ludicrous. This statement may offend you unless of course, we dig a bit deeper for another explanation.
I believe our defense can be found in the first part of Numbers One, “Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names. . .” Notice the emphasis on family and household and then consider the possibility of how census numbers may have been transcribed.
In Numbers 1:21, the men of fighting age in Reuben’s tribe are “six and forty thousand and five hundred” (Young’s Literal Translation), rendered as “46,500” in almost every other translation. However, two words in this phrase are subject to variations. The Hebrew term translated “thousand” is used elsewhere in Scripture as a general reference to groups, not as a specific number. For example, the word is applied to tribes (Numbers 10:4), clans (Joshua 22:14), families (Joshua 22:21), and divisions (Numbers 1:16).
So, if the word for “thousands” is a reference to family groups, and the second instance of the word for “and” is understood to mean “or,” then Numbers 1:21 would be translated as “six and forty clans, or five hundred.” The tribe of Reuben, then, would have had 500 fighting men from 46 family groups.
Belief in the Bible’s accuracy in numbers allows for the possibility of scribal error. Numbers 1:46 gives the final tally of the troops from all the tribes of Israel: “The total number was 603,550.” That number, implying a total population of 2.4 million, is debated. But, if we assume a scribal error in the copying of this verse, the total military count would be “598 families with 5,550 men.” This number would be in keeping with the lower census numbers: the total population of Israelites would be about 22,200.
Such a typographical error is entirely plausible. While the Hebrew language itself represents numbers using words, ancient people often used a type of shorthand, employing lines or dots similar to modern-day tally marks. Such marks would have been relatively easy to misread, and most potential scribal errors in Old Testament manuscripts involve exactly that type of discrepancy (2 Samuel 10:18; 1 Chronicles 19:18; 1 Kings 4:26; 2 Kings 24:8; 2 Chronicles 9:25; 36:9).
Whether the size of the Israelite army was over 600,000 or closer to 5,500, the accuracy of the Bible, in its original autographs, is not in question. What is debatable is our translation of certain Hebrew words and the accuracy of a scribe’s recording of a numerical phrase.
This is my takeaway. The lower number for Israel and their army seems to fall in line more with the context of Yah’s intention as displayed in other parts of Scripture. This of course gives a bit more validity when speaking to a non-believer. Secondly, this gives me personal motivation to be willing to stand up as a warrior for YHWH. In that small is mighty for “Yah is greater when I am weak.” I don’t need numbers to be on my side, I just need to be strong and courageous while I witness the Mighty Hand of YHWH.
Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come, and let’s cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men; perhaps the LORD will work for us because the LORD is not limited to saving by many or by few!” 1 Samuel 14:6
Be Blessed this Sabbath,
Rollyn