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Huge Exodus Numbers Create Logistical Problems
- Exodus 12:37 lists about 600,000 men on foot, implying 2–3 million total when women, children, and animals are included.
- Mark Meiser argues that such numbers create real logistical and archaeological problems for a literal reading.
Literal Population Figures Clash With Geography
- Literal population totals of 2–3 million clash with Canaan's geography and archaeology and strain food and encampment logistics.
- Meiser quantifies implausibilities like required animals, daily slaughter, and manna volumes to show the problem.
Hyperbole Explains Inflated Biblical Numbers
- Dave Fouts defends a hyperbolic interpretation: large numbers in ancient Near Eastern historiography often exaggerate for rhetorical effect.
- Meiser endorses this as a valid literary convention that doesn't nullify historicity.