Les Feldick puts the total Israelite population at the exodus at an estimated three to seven million people.
The Bible records about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children, when Israel left Egypt (Exodus 12:37). Les notes these were young, military-age men, and when you include parents, grandparents, sisters, and other family members, the total population reaches a minimum of three million. He raises the estimate to as high as seven million when the mixed multitude that accompanied Israel is included.
Exodus 12:37 — This verse gives the specific count of 600,000 men on foot at the exodus, which is the foundation for Les Feldick's population estimate.
Numbers 26:2 — This verse defines the group that was numbered as men from twenty years old upward who were able to go to war, the group Les uses in his calculation.
The Bible does not give a single total headcount of every Israelite who left Egypt. In Exodus 12:37, it says, "And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children." The very next verse adds, "And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle" (Exodus 12:38). Scripture thus explicitly numbers the adult males, not the full population, and shows that non-Israelites also left with them. Later, after the wilderness wanderings, Moses took another census. Numbers 26:2 says, "Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers' house, all that are able to go to war in Israel." The total recorded in Numbers 26:51 is "six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty." These biblical counts are the starting point for any estimate of the total number of Israelites.
Les Feldick repeatedly teaches that the Israelite exodus population was an estimated three to seven million people. He bases this on the biblical figure of more than six hundred thousand men of war, explaining that these were young, unmarried men between about twenty and thirty years of age. Once you factor in their parents, grandparents, sisters, and other brothers, Les says the total population must have been at least three million. He often says that this number could go as high as seven million when the mixed multitude of Egyptians and other groups is included. Les emphasizes that the magnitude is easy to miss. Rather than picturing a few hundred or a few thousand people, he wants his hearers to grasp that there were millions of Israelites out in the wilderness. He also notes that a Jerusalem Post article independently used almost identical figures, three to five million, which he found reassuring. For Les, the sheer size of the multitude makes Israel's wilderness journey all the more remarkable.
Les starts with the biblical census of "six hundred and some thousand" men of war. He explains that these were young, unmarried men between the ages of twenty and thirty, probably twenty to twenty-six. Using pencil and paper, he says you have to ask how many parents, grandparents, sisters, and other brothers would be needed to produce that many military-age bachelors. The arithmetic quickly produces a minimum total population of three million. When the mixed multitude is added, Les says the number can reach three and a half, five, or even seven million.
Les explains that the mixed multitude was "probably a lot of the Egyptians and various other groups that were hanging on at that time." He includes this group in his upper estimates for the total number of people who left Egypt. In at least one statement, he says the nation itself was three to seven million people not counting the mixed multitude, which could push the overall number even higher.
Les says he has used the figure of three to seven million for years. On two separate occasions, he mentions reading an article in the Jerusalem Post where the writer used almost identical numbers, three to five million. Les says he was "tickled" by this and saw it as confirmation that his estimate was reasonable, even though the writer could not have heard him teach it.
Why Israel Rejected the Promised Land — Kadesh-Barnea Explained
in spies. But see, that was not His intention. So, verse 21, reading on then, Go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee, Fear not, neither be discouraged. But now read the next verse. What happened? And you came near unto me, every one of you, and said, We'll send men before us, that they shall search out the land, and bring us word again.
Arithmetic From Men of War
Les shows that the 600,000-plus men of war were just a small percentage of the total population and that simple arithmetic brings the full number to three to five million.
Family Multiplication and the Mixed Multitude
Les explains that 600,000 unmarried military-age young men require at least 3 million total people and that the mixed multitude pushes his estimate to as high as 7 million.
Exodus 12:37 and Jerusalem Post Confirmation
Les anchors his estimate in Exodus 12:37's 600,000 men on foot and says a Jerusalem Post article used almost the same figures, three to five million.
Growth From 72 Souls to Millions
Les traces Israel's growth from about seventy-two souls in Genesis to three to seven million people by the night of the Passover.
Numbers 26 Census of War-Able Men
Les reads Numbers 26:2 and explains that the 600,000-plus figure refers only to men from twenty years old upward who were able to go to war, not the whole population.
Millions Thirsty in the Desert
Les emphasizes the scale of the exodus by picturing three to seven million Jews out in the desert without water and their livestock suffering from thirst.
Israel in Moab Before Balaam
Les references his three-to-seven-million figure again while explaining that Israel camped in Moab before Balaam, showing how the number appears throughout the account.
Exodus 12:37: And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
This is the biblical record of the adult male count when Israel left Egypt, which is the basis for Les Feldick's population estimate.
Exodus 12:38: And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
This verse shows that non-Israelites also left Egypt, which Les says could push the total number of people toward seven million.
Numbers 26:2: Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers' house, all that are able to go to war in Israel.
This describes the category of people counted in the wilderness census: men aged twenty and older who were able to go to war.
Numbers 26:51: These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty.
This is the later wilderness census total, giving the number of men who were numbered for military service.
No, the Bible gives a count of about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children (Exodus 12:37). It also mentions a mixed multitude that went with them (Exodus 12:38). The total population is not stated directly.
Les starts with the 600,000-plus men of war and calculates how many family members would be needed to produce that many young, unmarried military-age men. His pencil-and-paper arithmetic gives a minimum of three million, and he raises it to seven million when including the mixed multitude.
Les teaches that the mixed multitude was probably a lot of Egyptians and various other groups who went out of Egypt with Israel. Scripture mentions this mixed multitude in Exodus 12:38.
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