How many israelites were held captive in Egypt pior to the exodus?
The mature men were about 600,000 (Exodus 12:37), plus the
23,000 Levites (Numbers 3:39). To this must be added the women and
children. Based on the ratio of firstborn to younger children
(Numbers ch.3), it can be seen that the children were numerous.
Estimates for the total number are usually given at two million or
more.