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Rev. Reginald Edwards— Perhaps, as a stranger, I may be permitted to 
make a few observations on this paper. In the 16th paragraph, Dr. Thornton 
mentions the number of Israelites who went out of Egypt as being only 600. 
Jfow the rest of the paper impresses one so much with his knowledge of the sub- 
ject, that I am very anxious to know on what ground he arrives at such a calcu- 
lation. It seems to me that there is a certain amount of contradiction in the 
matter. Take two simple statements. In the first place we are told that Pharaoh 
pursued the Israelites with 600 chariots,— the Scriptural account implies that 
he took an army of horsemen and infantry with him. Now it is impossible 
that he should have taken such a force, translated into modern language, of 
ordinary cavalry and infantry in pursuit of a mere body of 600 men. Then 
again, Dr. Thornton takes -^yth as the yearly increase of the people ; and 
that rather increases my difficulty. That estimate is taken from the ordinary 
annual rate of increase of the population of France ; but is it not notorious that 
the rate of increase in France is almost absolutely stationary — that it would 
not represent the increase even in England ? Why increase the difficulty by 
taking France rather than the increase of our own population ? I quite agree 
myself with Dr. Thornton’s view, that the number is in all probability won- 
derfully exaggerated, and how that exaggeration arose I am not Hebrew 
scholar enough to attempt to explain ; but I quite accept the view of Dr. 
Thornton and of most biblical scholars, that we cannot hold to the numbers 
of the Old Testament. But why should Dr. Thornton give the weight of his 
authority to so extraordinary a departure from all the received numbers as 
that reduction of 600,000 men to 600 ? If you diminished them by one-half, 
or by one-tenth, it would be a great diminution ; but why go so far as to 
suppose that the number was so contemptible? I have no doubt Dr. 
Thornton has some reason for his calculation, and, as a matter of curiosity, 
I should like to know what it is 
Dr. Thornton. — The reason I have made my calculation as I have is 
because I suspect the word “ thousand,” but I have said “ with a retinue of 
2,000 or more,” leaving the 600 for the armed warriors. As to the yyyth, I 
got that from a statement by M. Faa de Bruns, in the preface to Dr. Pusey’s 
Daniel. In a note he says, “ Take yyyth as the rate of yearly increase.” 
He founds upon that this argument, that counting Noah and his family, and 
calculating the increase at y^yth per annum up to the present time, you get 
about the present population of the earth. I adopt that number — it is very 
simple ; but still I wish to show that the Hebrews must have been propa- 
gated rather more rapidly than according to the rate of yearly increase in 
France 
Mr. Reddie.— But perhaps that is not the present rate of increase. I 
believe the population of France is almost stationary now. 
Dr. Thornton. — The estimate was taken some years ago, I dare say from 
authentic information, and it was given by Dr. Pusey 
Mr. Row. — In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses says the Hebrews were 
the fewest of all people. 
Dr. Rigg. — T here is one point that ought to be remembered, that Dr. 
