Ever Doubted the Credibility and the Accuracy of the Bible? Here’s a Study that Will Stir your Faith.
T
he Bible’s trustworthiness as the inspired word of God is a matter of considerable significance to Christians. It is not uncommon for even deeply committed Christians to find themselves dismayed by attacks on the Bible’s credibility.
The Bible book of Numbers is one target of such critical attacks. The large numbers cited in the Book of Numbers have caused many critics to dismiss those figures as highly improbable. An in-depth article in the Nelson Study Bible clearly presents the challenge.
“The most difficult issue in the Book of Numbers is its numbers. The figure of 603,550 given in Numbers 1:46 for the number of able-bodied Israelite men who were twenty years old and older seem much too large for a newly-freed slave population at this point in history. Such a number would suggest a total population of two or three million. In fact, this number is so large that some critics seize upon it as evidence that the Scriptures are not trustworthy…
What are the critics talking about? Numbers 1:1-4 sets the stage for us. On the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, God spoke to Moses:
“Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above—all who are able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their armies. And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each one the head of his father’s house. (Numbers 1:2-4 NKJV)
Moses, Aaron, and the 12 tribal leaders counted 603,550 men of war (Numbers 1:44-46). In some circles, there is considerable doubt that, at the time of the Exodus, Israel’s population could have been that robust.
“Commentators point to certain difficulties in the number here given:” (a) that number of people would have been too great for them to pass through the narrow valleys of the Sinai Peninsula without stretching out for hundreds of miles; (b) finding a camping place that would accommodate the entire host of 603,550 plus the families associated with them and the mixed multitude; (c) translators and expositors may have found numbers in the Hebrew original confusing; or (d) the figure could be correct through natural population increase (SDA Bible Commentary, Volume 1, p. 556).
Another source acknowledged that the number “has raised questions for archaeologists and historians of the period and does not seem to fit easily with Deuteronomy 7:7 or Exodus 23:30” (Andrews Study Bible, p.72-73).
Yet, the Bible offers its own clues, more than that, evidence that there were 603,550 Israelite men of war at the time of the Exodus.
God Promised They Would Blow Up!
As Jacob entered Egypt, God promised to go with him and that He would make Jacob into a great nation there (Genesis 46:3). That is exactly what happened. The promise to Jacob rested squarely on the original commitment to Father Abraham, a commitment that was underwritten by a divine oath (Genesis 22:15-17). (See Genesis 12:3; 13:16; 15:5; 17:2-6; 17:5-6; 22:17-18; 28:1-4, 13-15; 35:9-12; Genesis 46: Genesis 47:27; Exodus 1:6-7; and Exodus 32:13-14).
Pharoah Observed They Were Getting Too Numerous
In Egypt, after the death of Joseph, Israel’s burgeoning population excited fear in the Egyptians. A new king gave voice to those fears: “…he said to his people, ‘Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we…’” (Exodus 1:9 NKJV). The new king implemented a plan that was designed to do two things: subjugate the already numerous Israelite community; and stunt the population growth rate (Exodus 1:8-11). These harsh measures did not work. Exodus 1:12 reports that “the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew…” (NKJV).
Clues in the Census Procedures
Sometime after Israel had exited Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and moved about in the wilderness, they met with God at Mt. Sinai where He gave them the commandments. Shortly after that, God instructed Moses to have the people make a sanctuary for Him so that He could dwell among them (Exodus 25:8-9).
As we dig around the accuracy of whether there was actually 603,550 men of war, we start with God’s instructions regarding the building material and how the materials should be acquired. A close review of the protocol for census-taking and the inventory of materials used in the building of the sanctuary show that the tally of 603,550 men of war is literal!
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them,” Exodus 30:11-16 (NKJV).
Whenever this type of census was taken, every man counted was required to pay real money to the Lord as a ransom for his life. So, “follow the money.”
“This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the Lord. Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the Lord” (Exodus 30:13-14 NKJV).
The money given belonged to the Lord, and was a commitment taken very seriously. Therefore, there should be a half-shekel piece of silver for each man counted. That would mean that the number of half-shekel pieces collected should correspond with the number of men counted and entered into the registry. If there were 603,550 men counted and registered, there should be 603,550 silver half shekel pieces to match.
Every silver half shekel collected from the men counted was used in the construction of the Tent of Meeting. Exodus 38:21, 25-28 explains how much silver was collected and how it was used.
“The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel—one beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men. The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands” (NIV). [see also Exodus 26:15-25, 31-32 and Exodus 36:20-36]
When the half-shekel pieces given were weighed and accounted for, the total amount of silver given by the men was 100 talents, plus 1775 shekels of silver. Remember, every man counted paid the silver half-shekel ransom. Therefore, for every half-shekel tabulated, there was a corresponding real live person who gave it.
Clues in the Denominations
One talent equals 3,000 shekels (The Interpreters’ Dictionary of the Bible, V4, p 832). One talent of silver represented the contributions of 6,000 men. ( If one man gives one-half shekel, each shekel represents the offering of two men. Thus it would require 6,000 men to give 3,000 shekels, or, the equivalent of one talent of silver.) The Bible indicates that there were 100 talents of silver. Therefore, 100 talents of silver represent the ransom paid by 600,000 men. With this one calculation, the vast majority of the 603,550 men is accounted for!
The challenge remains to account for the remaining 3,550 men. Remember, the total amount given by the men of war was 100 talents, plus 1,775 shekels of silver (Exodus 38:25). Again, since each man gave a half-shekel (Numbers 1:44), each shekel represents the offering of two men. Therefore, 1,775 shekels multiplied by 2 results in a total of 3,550 men. The 3,550 added to the 600,000 give a total of 603,550 men.
The records of the sanctuary treasury certify that 603,550 half-shekel pieces of silver (equaling 100 talents of silver, plus 1775 shekels of silver) were collected from those counted in this census. At the rate of a half-shekel per donor, the half shekel count and the census count are exactly the same – 603,550 half shekels and 603,550 men of war.
And just like that – the Bible defends itself! Friends, read it. Prayerfully study it. Let it enrich your life and mind.
Just imagine, 70 people went into Egypt and 215 years later, 603,550 men of war came out! The silver is there to prove it! Even these clouds of doubt had “A Silver Lining!”
