Genesis 46:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob 's sons ' wives, were sixty-six persons in all.

NIV: All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons.

NASB: All the people belonging to Jacob, who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six persons in all,

CSB: The total number of persons belonging to Jacob—his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons—who came to Egypt: sixty-six.

NLT: The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went with him to Egypt, not counting his sons’ wives, was sixty-six.

KJV: All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

NKJV: All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all.

The middle part of this chapter (Genesis 46:8–15) has listed all of Jacob's official descendants by each of his four wives. This and the following verse total up those numbers.

According to this count, 66 total persons came with Jacob into Egypt. This number adds in Dinah, Jacob's daughter by Leah, who was left out of the count of Leah's offspring. It removes Er and Onan, who died in Canaan (Genesis 38:7, 9–10), and does not include Joseph or his two sons. The following verse will add back in Joseph, his two sons, and Jacob himself to the total count.

As stated clearly here, the count does not include the wives of Jacob's sons and grandsons. It is possible the count is meant to total up to 70 in the following verse, a number often representing a completed or finished group in the Old Testament (Exodus 24:9; Jeremiah 29:10; Daniel 9:24).

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.

Accessed 9/7/2024 11:23:54 PM