Did Any Israelite Die on the Way to Sinai?

In his book Destined to Reign, Joseph Prince claims that God spoke to him:

I was sitting in my living room, just spending time in the Word, when He spoke to me and said, “Son, study the journey of the children of Israel from Egypt to Mount Sinai for this is a picture of pure grace. Not a single Israelite died during this period although they murmured and complained.”

I had never heard anyone preach that before and neither had I read it in any book. So, feverishly, I turned to that portion of the Scriptures, trying to find someone who had died, so that I could prove God wrong! Have you been there before, trying to prove God wrong? Well, you can never succeed, and indeed, I could not find any Israelite who died even though the people murmured and complained.

— Joseph Prince, Destined to Reign, p. 221

Joseph Prince claims that God spoke to him, giving him a new insight that no Israelite died on the journey to Mount Sinai. Well, let us test that claim according to what is actually in the Bible.

A Deadly Battle

Exodus 17:8–13 recounts the Battle of Rephidim, which was fought between the Israelites and the Amalekites:

Exodus 17:8–13 ESV Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ₉ So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” ₁₀ So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ₁₁ Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ₁₂ But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ₁₃ And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

Note that this battle happened during the period when the Israelites were still on the journey to Mount Sinai. Remember that according to Joseph Prince, no Israelite died during this period.

During the battle, it is recorded that “Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.” (v. 11) Whenever “Amalek prevailed,” Israelite soldiers were being killed, dying in the battle against the Amalekites.

A Desperate Argument

One might argue that since the text does not explicitly say that any Israelite died in the battle, then it is possible that every Israelite casualty was simply knocked out, but not killed. However, this is an argument from silence; the text likewise does not say that no Israelite died in the battle. Instead than drawing conclusions from what the text does not say, we should instead focus on what the text does say.

According to the biblical text, the only miraculous thing that is recorded about the battle is that “Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.” Since the biblical record is silent about other miraculous happenings during this battle, then it is more reasonable to think that in all other aspects, this battle was very much like any other battle: people died on both sides.

Of course, God could have kept every single Israelite casualty alive if he wanted to. However, there is simply no evidence at all that he did. Therefore, there is really no reason why anyone would insist that no Israelites died during this battle—unless he is desperate to defend Joseph Prince!

A Deadly Attack

Furthermore, Deuteronomy 25:17–19 gives us more details about this battle:

Deuteronomy 25:17–19 ESV “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, ₁₈ how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. ₁₉ Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

The Hebrew word for “cut off your tail” here is the verb zinnēḇ (זִנֵּב), which means to strike from behind. The Amalekites had attacked the Israelites at the back of their column, killing off “those who were lagging behind”. This same word is used in Joshua 10:19, where Joshua commanded his soldiers: “Pursue your enemies; attack their rear guard [zinnēḇ].” The next verse tells us that Joshua and the Israelites then went on to kill many of their enemies, “striking them with a great blow until they were wiped out.” (v. 20)

Conclusion

Did any of the Israelites die during the period during their journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai? Of course some did, at least as casualties during this conflict with Amalek. So, did God really speak to Joseph Prince and give him this new insight? Absolutely not, since God would not contradict the Scriptures!