According to the book of B'midbar ("In the Wilderness") (aka. Numbers), there were 603,550 Jewish men in the wilderness. We can double that number if we want to include women. Now we're looking at a sum of ~1,200,000 people. To include children, I think we can safely add 800,000 to the total, bringing us to 2 million people. Of course, the census did not include the Levites (the Levites had been tithed to God so to speak). If we include the Levites, we can add in another 100,000 people (men/woman/children). But we're not done yet. Now we've got to account for the great mixed multitude. Back in Genesis 41:57, we read that the entire world underwent a severe famine. In response, people from all over the earth went to Egypt to get food. (Joseph literally saved the world.) Naturally, many of them stayed there, and had families. Suffice to say, when it came time to leave Egypt with the Israelites, the mixed multitude that joined them included people from all over the world. I believe that every language and people group was represented in that group.
Accounting for the great mixed multitude, we can safely add another 500,000 people to our count, leaving us with a total of at least 2.6 million people.
Consider it! 2.6 million people walked through the Red Sea. The manna from Heaven fed 2.6 million people. Water from the rock nourished 2.6 million people. The cloud above them during the day shaded 2.6 million people. The pillar of fire by night warmed 2.6 million people. 5.2 million sandals never wore out.
According to the 2013 census, the population of Houston Texas was 2.2 million people. So, to imagine this scene in the wilderness, we have to go bigger than Houston Texas. We have to go so far as to imagine Chicago Illinois (coming in with a population of 2.72 million people). God brought Chicago out of the land of Egypt! Or, we could say that He brought both Phoenix Arizona and Dallas Texas out of the land of Egypt. I mean the Jewish men alone numbered as many as Las Vegas.
Praise God! "I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate on all Your work and muse on Your deeds. Your way, O God, is holy; What god is great like our God?"
