Page 31 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

Never again would Egypt
dominate the Jewish people.
And neither the Egyptians
nor the Hebrews would ever
forget the miracle. Each year,
when Jewish families
celebrate their Passover
meal, they retell this story!

After they were safely across
the sea, Moses led 600,000
men, together with their
families (perhaps as many as
2-3 million), out of Egypt and
directed them toward the
Red Sea as they journeyed to
the Promised Land. God led
the people with a pillar of
clouds during the day and by
a pillar of fire by night.

Early in the journey, Moses
received the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law on Mt. Sinai.
Unfortunately, the people rebelled before Moses could even come down the mountain with the stone
tablets. When Moses found them, they were worshiping a golden calf.

The rebellion continued. The people came to the edge of the land they’d been promised and sent 12
spies into what was known as “Canaan.” Ten of the spies said the land would be too difficult to take.
Only Joshua and Caleb begged the people to trust the Lord. The people did not trust the Lord, and as a
result, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 more years.

Only after the entire generation of those who’d faltered had died did the people prepare to enter the
land. Under the leadership of Joshua (Caleb also survived), the Hebrew people finally crossed the
Jordan River near Jericho, finally ending their period of wandering. As the people camped on the
western side of the Jordan, they were within sight of Mt. Nebo, where Moses had taken his view of the
land before dying.

Conquest of the Land

Between 2 and 2.4 million people arrived on the eastern side of the Jordan River, anticipating entering
their promised land. Just five miles to the west was the city of Jericho, and what they saw must have
been terrifying! If each family in Israel occupied 16 square feet of space, the minimum space that that
many people occupied would be 3 miles wide and 1.75 miles deep. To get a better perspective on the
number of people coming to destroy you, consider this map:

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