In what sense was Israel the biggest nation in the known world at the exodus?
At the exodus, Israel was the largest nation in the then-known world by population. After about 215 years in Egypt, Moses led out a company of roughly five to seven million people, the greatest number of any single nation in that part of the world. This was not by modern standards, but by the standards of that era.
Les explains that God had told Abraham and Isaac not to go into Egypt, and when they tried it they got in trouble until they returned to Canaan. But God told Jacob not to be afraid to go down into Egypt, because there He would make of him a great nation, and that is what happened. After some 215 years of the children of Israel in Egypt, Moses led them out as a company of anywhere from five to seven million people. For that period in time, Les says, it was the biggest nation in the then-known world. Not by our standards, but for those standards they were. They were the greatest number of any one nation in that part of the world. The Abrahamic covenant is then repeated to Isaac and Jacob, followed by the covenant of the Law, when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and the Law to Israel. Les then moves to Deuteronomy 30 and the Palestinian covenant, a covenant originating with God that no one can break. He contrasts this with the Arab world today, which outnumbers the little nation of Israel about 40 to 50 to 1.
More Questions
Was Israel the biggest nation in the then-known world at that time?
For that period, Israel was the biggest nation in the then-known world, though not by modern standards.
Was Israel the largest nation in the world at the time of the exodus?
For that period in time, Israel was the biggest nation in the then-known world — the greatest number of any one nation in that part of the world, even though not by our standards.