Search Tools


 
These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

2:32 all those that were numbered. See also Numbers 1:46. The large number of men (603,550) is thus repeated, and is checked by adding the numbers given for the four hosts (Numbers 2:9,16,24,31) and these in turn with the numbers for the individual tribes. Furthermore, this number correlates well with the round number of 600,000 men leaving Egypt (Exodus 12:37). Critics have frequently alleged that such a large number of Israelites at this time is unrealistic, but Moses seems to have guarded against such cavils by this repeated and detailed accounting. In fact, this number did not even include the Levites (Numbers 2:33).


About the New Defender's Study Bible