It’s one thing for Moses to free the people from Egypt. It’s quite another to physically get them oriented enough to where they’re actually able to leave.
After Pharaoh calls Moses and tells him to leave, to leave quickly, and to bless him on the way out the door, the Text gives us the scope of the Exodus itself.
According to Exodus 12:37, there were “about 600,000 men” that made the journey from Egypt. It’s a round number, given for brevity’s sake instead of accuracy; the first census from Numbers 1:46 gives the actual number at 603,550.
But even that number is dwarfed by the real number of people that left Egypt. As stated in that verse, that number only includes men—most likely men of normal fighting age, not boys or elderly men. It also doesn’t include women and children, which is impossible to know.
Most scholars have estimated the actual number of people that left Egypt at close to two million people in all. Truthfully, that number could even be higher considering a “mixed multitude” went up with them (Exodus 12:38), along with a sizable number of animals.
When you zoom out and get a sense for the literal size of the Exodus, it’s mind-boggling to think that just 400 years earlier—another stat mentioned in this verse—that only 70 came down to Egypt to begin with. Truly, God has blessed these people.
And He’s going to continue to bless these people. Just as God commanded them earlier, they asked for silver and gold from their neighbors, “plundering” Egypt in the process. Some of this will most likely be used in the building of the tabernacle, but a lot of it will reside amongst the people to start them off on their new life.
Their movements are quick, too. The Exodus happens with such speed that they take their dough before it’s leavened and strap their kneading bowls to their shoulders (Exodus 12:34), fulfilling the intent behind the Feast of the Unleavened Bread.
In a few days’ time (possibly more considering the size of the group), they’ll be at the city of Succoth, which is no small feat for a group this size. The Exodus is only starting to begin, but already, they’ve shown impressive discipline and devotion to God’s Word.
