Numbers 26:42

These are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan after their families.

These are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham - or Hushim (Genesis 46:23). Dr. Colenso seizes upon the details of these two verses to show that, on comparing the increase of the Danites with the fact of Dan having only one son, the account is incredible-that, in fact, the numbers of this tribe, springing from so small a source, are larger than those of Benjamin, who had numerous sons. But there is really nothing beyond the bounds of credibility-nothing at all marvelous-in the rapid growth and numerical amount of the Danite tribe. Hushim is particularly mentioned, because he was one of those who, yet in his youth or infancy, removed with Jacob to sojourn in Egypt; and hence, though Dan might have had other sons born to him in Egypt, they would be all reckoned in the family of Hushim. But granting that Dan had no more than one son, Hushim might have had many sons, and these again might have multiplied still more in the next generation; because we must remember that, by a special blessing which was promised, Israel had prospered abundantly (Exodus 1:7).

Dr. Colenso, who disregards the promised blessing, dwells on the circumstance of Hushim being the only offspring of Dan; and allowing him and his sons to have had families of three members each, the whole amount of the Danite warriors would be 27 in the fourth generation, instead of the large number mentioned in this passage and in Numbers 2:26. But this is an unwarranted assumption; and we have formerly shown (see the note at Exodus 12:41) that in one recorded instance, between the migration to Egypt and the exodus, there were 10 full generations of thirty or forty years. Let us take the mean standard of seven generations; and supposing each family in succession to have had seven sons-then 1 x 7 = 7 x 7 = 49 x 7 = 343 x 7 = 2,401 x 7 = 16,807 x 7 = 117,649-64,400, leaving an excess of 53,249 above the number stated in the record. He says that Hushim must have had 40 sons, which he pronounces incredible. But in polygamous families an equal, and even larger number was often found (cf. Judges 10:4; Judges 12:9; 2 Kings 10:1).

Colenso further expresses himself incredulous as to the statement that Dan, with one son, would become a more populous tribe than that of Benjamin, who had three sons. But there is no marvel here either; for we have only to suppose that the blessing operated fully upon the tribe of Dan, so that his sons had larger families in Egypt than the Benjamites, many of whom died chidless-in fact, only five of his sons are mentioned in this census (Numbers 26:38) - or that among the descendants of Dan there was a preponderance of males, while the Benjamites may to a large extent have had families of daughters, and that the tribe of Dan was reinforced by the incorporation of servants and strangers, while that of Benjamin received no accessions of that kind, in order to obtain an easy and a natural solution of the difficulties which Colenso has raised on this subject.