The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 1 — Section 29

Ueehor'e dates, inserted into the margin of eo are expressly mentioned as not included among many of onr Bibles, a.re the private specu- them ( fb. ver. 26). If we add the wives of lations of o.n individual on the subject of 67 males, we shall have, for the actual fom.11y of Jacob, 137 persons. Further, it is to be mundo.no chronology, and must not be re- borne in mind that ea.eh Israelite family which garded ll8 in any way authoritative. Their went down into Egypt was accompanied by primary be.sis is profane history ; and, though its " household " (Ex. i. I), consisting of at taking into consideration all the Scriptural least some scores of dependants. If ea.eh son nurnbera, they do not consistently follow any of Jo.cob had even 50 such retainera, and if Ja.cob himself had a household like that of single rule with respect to them. Sometimes Abraham (Gen. xiv. 14), the entire number the authority of the Septnagint, sometimes which "went down into Egypt" would have that of the Hebrew text, is preferred ; and the amounted to at least 2000 persons. result arrived at is in o. high degree uncertain According to Malthus, population tends to and arbitrary double itself, if there be no artificial check restraining it, every twenty-five years. At Ver. 7 .-The multiplication of the Israelites this rate, 2000 persons would expand into in Egypt from "seventy souls" to "six hun- 2,048,000 in 250 yeara, 1000 would reach the dred thousand that were men " ( eh. xii. 37)-a same amount in 275 years, and 500 in 300 number which may fairly be said to imply a years; so that, even supposing the "seventy total of at least two millions-has been de- souls" with their " households" to have num- clared to be "impossible," and to stamp the bered no more than 500 persons when they whole ne.rro.tive of Exodus with the character went down into Egypt, the people would, of unreality and romance. Manifestly, the unless artificially checked, have exceeded two soundness of this criticism depends entirely on millions at the expiration of three centnries- two things-first, the length of time- dnring tbat is to say, 130 years before the Exodus! which the stay in Egypt continued; and No doubt, the artificial checks which keep second!y, the sense in which the original down the natural tendency of population to number of the children of Israel in Egypt is increase began to tell upon them considerably said to have been "seventy souls." Now, as before that time. The "land of Goshen." a. to the first point, there are two theories--one, broad tract of very fertile country, became basing itself on the Septuagint version of tolerably thickly peopled, and the rate of in- Ex. xii. 40, would make the duration of the crease gradnally subsided. Still, as the Delta Egyptian sojourn 215 years only; the other, was a space of from 7000 to 8000 sqWIJ'e miles, following the clear and repeated statement of and the land of Goshen was probably about the Hebrew text (Ex. xii. 40, 41 ), literally half of it, a population of two millions is very rendered in our version, would extend the time much what we should expect, being at the to 430 years, or exactly double it. Much may rate of from 500 to 600 persons to the sq=e be said on both sides of this question, and the mile. best critics are divided with respect to it. The It is an interesting question whether the longer period is supported by Kalisch, Kurtz, Egyptian remains do, or do not, contain any Knobel, Winer, Ewald, Delitzscb, and Canon mention of the Hebrew sojourn ; e.nd if they Cook among modems ; by Koppe, Frank, do, whether any light is thereby thrown ou Beer, Rosenmilller, Hofmann, Tiele, Reinke, these numbers. Now it is admitted on o.11 Jo.hn, Yater, and J. D. Michaelis among he.nds that, about the time of the Hebrew so- earlier critics ; the short period is approved journ, there was in Egypt a subject race, often by Calvin, Grotius, Buddeus, Morinus, Voss, employed in forced labours, called A peru or Houbigant, Baumgarten ; and among our own Aperiu, and it seems impossible to deny that countrymen, by Ussher, Marsham, Geddes, this word is a very fair Egyptian equivo.lent and Kennicott. The point cannot be properly for the Biblical Cl 11:lY, "Hebrews." We ure argued in an " exposition" like the present ; forced, therefore, either to suppose that there but it mn.y be remarked that both reason and were in Egypi, at one and the same time, two authority are in favour of the simple accept- subject races with no.mes almost identical, or ance of the words of the Hebrew text, which to admit the identification of the Aperu with assign 430 years as the interval between the descendants of Jacob. The exact numbers Jacob's descent into Egypt and the deliverance of the Aperu are nowhere mentioned; but it under Moses. is a calculation of Dr. Brugsch that under With respect to the number of those who Rameses II., a little before the Exodus, the accompanied Jacob into Egypt, and were foreign races in Egypt, of whom the Aperu assigned the land of Goshen for a habitation were beyond all doubt the chief, " amounted (Gen. xlvii. 6), it is important to bear in certainly to a third, and probably still more," mind, first of all, tho.t the " seventy souls '' of tho whole populo.tion (' History of Egypt,' enumerated in Gen. xlvi. 8-27 comprised onlf, vol. ii. p. 100, E. T.), which is uswilly two females, and that" Jacob's sons' wives ' reckoned at from 7,000,000 to 8,000,000  10 THE BOOK OF EXODUS. [CH, I, 7-14,