Genesis 46:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

NIV: These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, besides his daughter Dinah. These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.

NASB: These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah; all his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

CSB: These were Leah’s sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, as well as his daughter Dinah. The total number of persons: thirty-three.

NLT: These were the sons of Leah and Jacob who were born in Paddan-aram, in addition to their daughter, Dinah. The number of Jacob’s descendants (male and female) through Leah was thirty-three.

KJV: These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.

NKJV: These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three.

To escape a famine, Jacob's entire family is moving to Egypt (Genesis 45:9–11), under the care of his son, Joseph. This section lists all the sons and grandsons of Israel (Genesis 35:10) as they arrive. This verse summarizes and counts those listed so far: all sons and grandsons of Jacob's wife Leah.

Each of the six sons listed—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun—were born to Jacob outside of the Promised Land of Canaan in the region of Paddan-aram while he was working for his father-in-law. Dinah, the only of Jacob's daughters mentioned, was also born to Leah after all her sons were born (Genesis 30:21).

Dinah is not included in this count of Jacob's sons and grandsons with Leah, although Er and Onan are included in the tally of thirty-three. The final count given in Genesis 46:26–27, depicting those who actually entered Egypt, will include Dinah and exclude Er and Onan (Genesis 38:7, 9–10).

Genesis 46:8–27 pauses the story of Jacob's migration to Egypt to count his direct offspring around this time. The final tally of all Israelites, not counting the wives of the sons and grandsons, is 70. The text then resumes explaining Jacob's reunion with his son, Joseph.

Genesis 46 includes three basic sections. First, Jacob and his large family begin their journey with all their possessions towards their new home in Egypt. Jacob stops in Beersheba and offers sacrifices to God. God responds by assuring Jacob He will continue to be with him and multiply his people. The narrative pauses to count the current descendants of Jacob, then resumes with Jacob's arrival in the Goshen region of Egypt. Joseph meets him there for an emotional reunion. Then Joseph prepares the family to meet Pharaoh.

Joseph has just been dramatically reunited with his estranged brothers (Genesis 45). Following Joseph's revelation of his identity Genesis 46 describes the large family's move out of Canaan. Jacob stops in Beersheba to offer sacrifices to God and receive renewed promises from Him. Then the story pauses to provide a count of Joseph's descendants by each of his four wives. Jacob is reunited with Joseph, who prepares his family to meet with Pharaoh. Chapter 47 describes Jacob's meeting with Pharaoh and the family's settlement in Goshen.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.