Numbers - How did Israel get so large?

If you made it through the book of Numbers, you get a gold star. The census figures were likely derived through a literal translation of the text. It is understood that the population of men over twenty and men of military age, those between thirty to fifty years of age, would comprise one-fourth of the total population of Israel[1]. Based on the census figures in the book of Numbers 1:20 – 43, this would lead to a population between two to three million people. However, critics suggest various alternative theories such as “misplaced” census lists or due to creative “epic prose” in order to emphasize the wholeness and magnitude of Yahweh’s miraculous deliverance.[2] The most acceptable alternative approach is based on textual criticism, where translations of specified numbers or descriptions of groups of warriors could lead to larger figures. Interpretation of the census number in the book of Numbers can be a strong indicator of one’s overall all views of the biblical text; that of a literal interpretation, moderate openness to some alternative readings or having a skeptical view questioning much to the historicity and reliability of the bible. Regardless of the magnitude of the census, the overall purpose of the book is not lost as the scripture reveals an account of how God brought order and organization to a people whom He exiled after decades of captivity, in order to unify them into a community of God to prepare them for their covenant obligations.[3]

[1] Numbers 4:3 [2] John Walton and Andrew Hill, A Survey of the Old Testament, 3rd ed. (Zondervan, 2009), 153. [3] John Walton and Andrew Hill, A Survey of the Old Testament, 149.