Episode 209 digs into Numbers 1–4 to examine the famous census that lists roughly 603,550 fighting men and implies a population of 2–2.5 million. Lance Smith surveys the logistical, archaeological, and textual challenges that raise doubts about a literal headcount.

The episode surveys three main responses: appeal to ongoing miracles, symbolic or theological exaggeration, and a linguistic solution reading Hebrew "’eleph" as clan or unit (which reduces the population to roughly 20–30,000). Smith weighs the evidence and emphasizes the census's theological purpose over raw statistics.

References to items discussed and/or used on this podcast may be found at the following:

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Email Address: bibledifficultiesandanswers@gmail.com

1. Geisler, Norman L., and Thomas Howe. The Big Book of Bible Difficulties. Baker Books, 1992. Available at: https://a.co/d/7shn4hI
2. Katz, Ben-Zion. “Recounting the Census: A Military Force of 5,500 (not 603,550) Men.” TheTorah.com, May 15, 2015. https://www.thetorah.com/article/recounting-the-census-a-military-force-of-5500
3. Wood, Bryant. “The Number of Israelites in the Exodus.” BibleArchaeology.org. https://biblearchaeology.org/research/exodus-from-egypt/3943-the-number-of-israelites-in-the-exodus
4. Adair, Aaron. “Counting on the Census Numbers: Mathematical Approaches to the elep in Numbers.” HIPHIL Novum, 2025. https://tidsskrift.dk/hiphilnovum/article/view/152021
5. GotQuestions.org articles: “Are the numbers in the Bible accurate?” and “How many Israelites left Egypt in the exodus?” https://www.gotquestions.org/numbers-Bible-accurate.html and https://www.gotquestions.org/Israelites-exodus.html
6. “The Exodus: Fact or Fiction?” Biblical Archaeology Society. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/exodus/exodus-fact-or-fiction/