These are the numbers of the heads of those who were armed for war, who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of Yahweh.
There are a number of historical references to the Jewish Passover, held every year in Jerusalem, indicating that in excess of 60,000 lambs were often slain at each celebration of the Passover; and there is one citation in which over 250,000 lambs were killed at the Passover.[8] Counting ten persons for each lamb, as prescribed in Exodus, indicates that crowds in Jerusalem were frequently in excess of half a million in number; and that in some instances, crowds of over a million came to the Holy City. In this light, there is every reason to hold the numbers given here as absolutely accurate, nor should any Christian allow some unbelieving enemy of God's Word to cast any doubt whatever upon them.