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Remarks by the Rev. C. Graham on the Rev. Dr. Thornton's 
4 3 aper On the Numerical System of the Old Testament , read 
7th February, 1870. 
I had not the pleasure of being present at the reading of the Rev. Dr. 
Thornton’s paper. In Exod. xii. 37, it is stated, “And the children of 
Israel journeyed from ltameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on 
foot that were men, beside children.” In section 16 of his paper, Dr. 
Thornton says, “ The words translated six hundred thousand might, by a 
little straining, be rendered one thousand six hundred. This number of 
adult males would imply a total population of about 6,000, a manageable 
number. But I must frankly avow my belief that the word thousand, depth, 
is an insertion ; and that the subsequent numbers have been amplified by 
some similar misunderstanding ; that 600 armed warriors, witha retinue of 2,000 
or more, escaped from Goshen, crossed the Red Sea, and wandered and died 
in the desert.” In the discussion on the paper. Dr. Thornton’s “ belief” that 
depth, thousand, is an insertion, seems to have been somewhat shaken ; for, in 
his reply, he says, “ If Mr. Edwards thinks — if any member of the Institute 
thinks— that my removal of three ciphers from the 600,000 Israelites re- 
duced the number too much, let us say 6,000, or 60,000 ; but all I want is, 
that thinking believers should not hold it imperative for a wavering Christian 
to be compelled to admit that two millions of people passed through the 
Red Sea in a night.” 
With Dr. Thornton, I think that we must not comptel belief. At the same 
time, I think it highly desirable to lead the “ wavering Christian ” into the 
accurate knowledge of truth. I may say here, that I believe the difficulties 
attending the acceptance of Dr. Thornton’s view to be ten times greater than 
those which he tries to remove. I do not, indeed, admit that the acceptance 
of Exod. xii. 37 involves any real difficulty. 
If the view, that only a few thousand persons left Egypt under Moses be 
correct, the entire history of the .Exodus dwindles down into comparative 
insignificance ; and all those scriptures which magnify it as a deliverance on 
a grand and extensive scale must be regarded as exaggerations. 
In .section 12, Dr. Thornton shows that 600,000 men at the Exodus is an 
increase of the descendants of Jacob in Egypt not at all impossible. He 
justly remarks also, that “ we are given to understand, that the Israelites in 
Egypt were exceptionally blessed with issue.” If, then, they were excep- 
tionally blessed with issue, and the number 600,000 a “ possible ” increase, 
why reject the statement of Exod. xii. 37, that that was the number 
which came out of Egypt ? 
VOL. V. 
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