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AETHUE W. SUTTON, J. P., F.L.S., ON 



Egijpt and Israel^ in 1911. The Expository Times, a monthly organ 

 which takes account of all such matters, has from time to time made 

 explicit reference to the views propounded, and so far no serious or 

 considered answer seems to have been published. Dr. Hoskins, 

 again, has written a singularly instructive work, entitled From the 

 Nile to JVeho, wherein he describes a journey, taken in 1909, with the 

 express design of following the route of the Exodus from Egypt 

 into the Promised Land. His large acquaintance with Eastern life 

 and thought invests his volume with profound interest. 



In brief, it is suggested that the Hebrew word alf or alaf had, 

 in ancient times, the meaning of " clan " or " family," though later 

 (as in the Massoretic text,eleph) it more generally signifies "thousand." 

 There are, indeed, traces of the former sense of the word in the Old 

 Testament as we have it. For instance, in the first census chapter 

 (Nimi. i), where we read of the "thousands of Israel" {v. 16), the 

 Revised Version gives the marginal rendering " families." Again, 

 in Judges vi, 15, we find Gicleon speaking of his "thousand" or 

 " FAMILY " ; the possessive pronoun makes it clear that a mere 

 number cannot have been meant. Further, observe that in I Sam. x 

 the words "tribes and thousands" in v. 19, find explanatory 

 response in "tribes and families" in v. 21. In like manner, in 

 I Sam. xxiii, 23, and Micah v. 2, where we read of the " thousands 

 of Judah," the Revised Version in the margin gives " families of 

 Judah " as the alternative. From these passages the observant 

 English reader sees how one word may be used to represent two 

 ideas. It is suggested by Professor Petrie and Dr. Hoskins that in 

 other places also the word alf was intended to convey the meaning 

 of " clan " or " family," and among these the census chapters which 

 now concern us. Possibly at one time the two meanings were dis- 

 tinguished by diflference of pronunciation ; but no clue to this has 

 come down to us. The so-called " pointed " Hebrew text, as we 

 have it, gives one word for both senses. 



In a word, it is argued that, in each census, there was more than 

 a numbering of heads : the reckonings gave totals of tents, families, 

 or clans as well. The two-fold calculation shows — at the first census, 

 598 families or clans, consisting of 5,550 men of twenty years of age 

 and upward ; and at the second census, 596 families or clans, con- 

 sisting of 5,730 able-bodied men. These totals are presented 

 instead of the large single numbers with which we are familiar — 

 603,550 and 601,730 respectively. See the Tables on p. 268 for 

 details in full. 



Professor Petrie, in his statement of the case, presents the reduced 

 figures, 5,550 and 5,730, as the probable numbers of the Hebrews at 

 the beginning and end of their wanderings. He seems to have 

 overlooked the fact that the censuses were confined to the males of 

 twenty years old and upward. Dr. Hoskins, however, makes a 

 point of the fact that the numberings were designed to show how 



