well actually the number who went INTO Egypt were probably about 5000. you are overlooking their 'households' (servants and slaves). Abraham had around 1500 in his household (318 fighting men). It is of course impossible to work out what number they would grow to. We do not know how long all the male children were killed. We do not know what illnesses they suffered. We do not know how many died doing the building work (undoubtedly a good number). So any calculation is pure guesswork.
When Pharaoh took his army to fight the Hittites around that time they consisted of 20,000 men. And the comparison here was only being made in the delta, and was probably an exaggeration. It need not have meant say more than 30,000 men if that.
have you got a nought wrong lol? but it could mean 600 sub-clans or military units (eleph). Eleph (thousand) has a number of meanings, including 'family', 'military unit' and so on..
true but it says 46 'lph and 500. That could mean 46 captains and 500 men or even 46 captains and 5 smaller military units (a 'hundred' being a military unit). As you say no one writes like the Holy Spirit.
OR 59 captains and 300 men? I will not go through them all. Hebrew numbers are notoriously tricky.
Of the people of Gad,... were 45,650. (0r 45 captains and 650 men)
Of the people of Judah,...were 74,600. (Or 74 captains and 600 men)
Of the people of Issachar,...were 54,400. (0r 54 captains and 400 men)
Of the people of Zebulun,...were 57,400. (or 57 captains and 400 men.)
Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim,...were 40,500. (or 40 captains and 500 men)
Of the people of Manasseh,...were 32,200. (or 32 captains and 200 men)
Of the people of Benjamin,...were 35,400. (or 35 captains and 400 men)
Of the people of Dan,...were 62,700. (or 62 captains and 700 men)
Of the people of Asher,...were 41,500 (or 41 captains and 500 men)
Of the people of Naphtali,...were 53,400. (or 53 captains and 400 men)
T
If we understood how Israel used numbers we could be more certain. But we don't. Notice how the 'hundreds' are all in round numbers. It may well be that 'a hundred' is a military unit.
The only problem with your theory is that in the Hebrew the numbers may not read as you cite them. It would only be true if eleph mean 1000, and not a sub-clan or a military unit.
have you got a nought wrong lol? but it could mean 600 sub-clans or military units (eleph). Eleph (thousand) has a number of meanings, including 'family', 'military unit' and so on..
true but it says 46 'lph and 500. That could mean 46 captains and 500 men or even 46 captains and 5 smaller military units (a 'hundred' being a military unit). As you say no one writes like the Holy Spirit.
OR 59 captains and 300 men? I will not go through them all. Hebrew numbers are notoriously tricky.
Of the people of Gad,... were 45,650. (0r 45 captains and 650 men)
Of the people of Judah,...were 74,600. (Or 74 captains and 600 men)
Of the people of Issachar,...were 54,400. (0r 54 captains and 400 men)
Of the people of Zebulun,...were 57,400. (or 57 captains and 400 men.)
Of the people of Joseph, namely, of the people of Ephraim,...were 40,500. (or 40 captains and 500 men)
Of the people of Manasseh,...were 32,200. (or 32 captains and 200 men)
Of the people of Benjamin,...were 35,400. (or 35 captains and 400 men)
Of the people of Dan,...were 62,700. (or 62 captains and 700 men)
Of the people of Asher,...were 41,500 (or 41 captains and 500 men)
Of the people of Naphtali,...were 53,400. (or 53 captains and 400 men)
T
If we understood how Israel used numbers we could be more certain. But we don't. Notice how the 'hundreds' are all in round numbers. It may well be that 'a hundred' is a military unit.
The only problem with your theory is that in the Hebrew the numbers may not read as you cite them. It would only be true if eleph mean 1000, and not a sub-clan or a military unit.