And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
The silver of them that were numbered. 603,550 men, at half a shekel each, would contribute 301,775 shekels, which, at 2 shillings 4d. each, amount to 35,207 pound sterling. It may seem difficult to imagine how the Israelites should be possessed of so much wealth in the desert; but it should be remembered that they were enriched first by the spoils of the Egyptians, and afterward by those of the Amalekites. Besides, it is highly probable that during their sojourn they traded with the neighbouring nations who bordered on the wilderness.