Presuming the Bible text to be correct, the three millions led by Moses into the wilderness would require daily for food 3,000 oxen and 30,000 sheep, that is allowing half-a-pound of food per head. Of course meat might be replaced by bread, but it would not decrease the difficulty to have corn to carry across the Red Sea.{26a} As it was 45 days before manna was supplied, the fugitives must have driven before them 1,135,000 sheep, and 135,000 oxen. Hence there were three million of men, women, and children, a mixed multitude of camp followers, more than a million sheep, and 135,000 head of oxen to lead in flight across the Red Sea, with the horsemen and chariots of Pharaoh in pursuit. Of course, on the reduced scale of 6,000 instead of 600,000, all this would be divided by 100; and although there would still remain above a thousand oxen and eleven thousand sheep, the numbers would be much more manageable; but the writer of the Book of Exodus is responsible for the larger numbers, and with them only are we concerned. {26b} (3.) _The armies of the Jews_, _and the numbers slain in war irreconcilable with experience and history_. Akin to the above is the extravagant numbers given in Scripture of the fighting men mustered on several occasions by the petty kingdom of Israel before it was divided, and of the still more petty states of Judah and Israel after the revolt of the ten tribes. The whole undivided kingdom was nominally 60 miles broad, and 140 miles long, less than the county of Yorkshire. Much of this never came into the power of the Hebrews, and more than three-fourths was desert. After the division each kingdom was about the size of Norfolk and Suffolk. {27a} Let us first take two examples of the undivided kingdom. At the close of David’s reign, the number of fighting men is given (2 Samuel, xxiv., 9) as 1,300,000; and, after the revolt, Abijah, grandson of Solomon, is said to have headed an army of 400,000 chosen men against Jeroboam, who had 800,000 men under him. This gives 1,200,000 fighting men in two petty kingdoms, the aggregate of which was less than the principality of Wales. But what will be said of the sequel? the 400,000 men under Abijah slew 500,000 of the enemy! with swords and bows!! {27b} The late unhappy, but gigantic contest between Germany and France, makes us pretty familiar with war, the size of armies, and the number slain by the most murderous instruments ever used by man. Suppose Gambetta had said 400,000 Frenchmen had slain 500,000 Prussians, should we believe it? Suppose he had said that 500,000 out of 800,000 had fallen by the sword, should we believe it? It is wholly irreconcilable with experience, and most incredible. Come we now to an example or two of the divided kingdom. The kingdom of Judah was about equal in area to the two counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, but what are we told of its army?