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Bible Dictionaries
Mixed Multitude

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

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MIXED MULTITUDE. A description given (1) to certain persons who joined Israel in the Exodus from Egypt ( Exodus 12:38 ), and who fell a lusting at Kibroth-hattaavah ( Numbers 11:4 ); (2) to those who were separated from the Israelites after the return from the Captivity ( Nehemiah 13:3 ).

In Exodus 12:38 those referred to are probably strangers of non-Israelitic or half-Israelitic origin. The Hebrew consonants (differently pointed) mean either ‘mixed’ or ‘Arabian,’ and some have suggested that we ought here to translate ‘Arabians.’ In Jeremiah 25:20; Jeremiah 50:37 , Ezekiel 30:5 , the same Hebrew word is translated by the expression ‘mingled people,’ where it has been supposed by some to refer to foreign mercenaries. In Ezekiel 30:5 at least ‘Arabians’ gives a better meaning. The Hebrew word in Numbers 11:4 is a different one, and is probably a contemptuous term signifying the mob, the rabble.

The context in Nehemiah 13:3 leaves no doubt as to the meaning. The reference is to the strangers with whom the Israelites had intermarried and the children of such alliances.

W. F. Boyd.

Bibliography Information
Hastings, James. Entry for 'Mixed Multitude'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​hdb/​m/mixed-multitude.html. 1909.
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