Genesis 46:27
in Genesis 46And with the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt were seventy in all.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, that came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
KJV
And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
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This verse in Genesis 46
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Chapter XLVI, Verse 26 and following) Therefore all the souls that entered Egypt with Jacob, and those that came out of his thighs, apart from the wives of Jacob's sons, were sixty-six souls; and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were nine souls. Therefore all the souls that entered Egypt with Jacob were seventy-five. It is without doubt that except for Joseph and his sons, sixty-six souls that came out of Jacob's thighs entered Egypt. For thus also, gradually through each calculated number, it is proven, and it is found in the Hebrew volumes.
This site's exposition
All those belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt
on Genesis 46:26-27
The count is given twice, sixty-six who came from his body and seventy for the house once Joseph and his two sons are added. Acts 7:14 says seventy-five, following the Greek, which counts in grandsons of Ephraim and Manasseh born in Egypt. Jerome works the arithmetic through against the Hebrew.
This site's exposition
seventy in all
Seventy is also the number of the nations listed in Genesis 10. Deuteronomy 10:22 looks back on the seventy who went to Egypt, and says the LORD made them as numerous as the stars in the sky. The promise of 15:5 is measured from Jacob's small family.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
QuodvultdeusBOOK OF PROMISES AND PREDICTIONS OF GOD 1.32.44 · Written before 450.
proposed
Therefore Jacob went down to Egypt together with seventy-five people, and his son Joseph came to meet him. After seeing him Jacob said, "I see you, son, now I can die willingly."
Why did sacred Scripture indicate the number to us precisely? So that we might be in a position to know how God's prediction took effect that said, "I will make you into a great nation there." You see, from those seventy-five persons the people of Israel grew into six hundred thousand. You notice how it was not idly or to no purpose that it taught us the number of those that went down to Egypt, but for us to know from how few that great number came and not to lose confidence in God's promises. I mean, when you consider that after the death of Jacob and Joseph the king of the Egyptians went to such lengths to reduce their numbers and prevent them from growing, be amazed and overcome at God's providence and the fact that his wishes can never fail, no matter how many people try their utmost.
Therefore seventy-five souls go down into Egypt, just as it is written, and this in the mystical sense is the number of forgiveness. For after such great hardness, after such great sins, they would be considered unworthy unless there were granted them the forgiveness of sins. Judah—that is, the confession of sin—goes to meet Joseph. The people of the Jews that is to come sends him ahead as a forerunner of itself.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When Jacob himself removed to a land of plenty, he would not leave any of his children behind him to starve in a barren land. [2.] Though the accomplishment of promises is always sure, yet it is often slow. It was now 215 years since God had promised Abraham to make of him a great nation ( ch. xii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the sons of Joseph, which were born in Egypt, were two souls,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In the speech of Stephen (Ac 7:14) the number is stated to be seventy-five; but as that estimate includes five sons of Ephraim and Manasseh (1Ch 7:14-20), born in Egypt, the two accounts coincide.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְנֵ֥י | uvenei | and [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יוֹסֵ֛ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֻלַּד־ | yulad- | it was born | H3205 → | 496 times |
| ל֥וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| בְמִצְרַ֖יִם | vemitzrayim | in Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| נֶ֣פֶשׁ | nefesh | [were] person[s] | H5315 → | 754 times |
| שְׁנָ֑יִם | shenayim | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַנֶּ֧פֶשׁ | hanefesh | <the> person | H5315 → | 754 times |
| לְבֵֽית־ | leveit- | of [the] household of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֛ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| הַבָּ֥אָה | habaah | that it went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יְמָה | mitzraymah | Egypt towards | H4714 → | 641 times |
| שִׁבְעִֽים׃ פ | shivim | [was] seventy | H7657 → | 91 times |
וּבְנֵ֥יand [the] sons of
uveneiH1121 →4930 times
יוֹסֵ֛ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יֻלַּד־it was born
yulad-H3205 →496 times
ל֥וֹto him
lo
בְמִצְרַ֖יִםin Egypt
vemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
נֶ֣פֶשׁ[were] person[s]
nefeshH5315 →754 times
שְׁנָ֑יִםtwo
shenayimH8147 →768 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַנֶּ֧פֶשׁ<the> person
hanefeshH5315 →754 times
לְבֵֽית־of [the] household of
leveit-H1004 →2046 times
יַעֲקֹ֛בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
הַבָּ֥אָהthat it went
habaahH935 →2568 times
מִצְרַ֖יְמָהEgypt towards
mitzraymahH4714 →641 times
שִׁבְעִֽים׃ פ[was] seventy
shivimH7657 →91 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 1:5The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:22
Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 10:22
Through
Deuteronomy 10:22Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
it leads to
- Exodus 1:5
The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 15:5
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
- Deuteronomy 1:10
The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
- Nehemiah 9:23
You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven and brought them to the land You had told their fathers to enter and possess.
- Exodus 1:5
Through
Acts 7:14Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.
it leads to
- Genesis 46:26–27
All those belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt—his direct descendants, besides the wives of Jacob’s sons—numbered sixty-six persons.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 46:26–27
Through
Exodus 24:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance.
it leads to
- Numbers 11:16
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them…
- Exodus 6:23
And Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
- Numbers 11:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, ON JOSEPH 14.84-85; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 65.7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Quodvultdeus, BOOK OF PROMISES AND PREDICTIONS OF GOD 1.32.44.