Genesis 46:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.

NIV: With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob's family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.

NASB: and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two; all the people of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy.

CSB: And Joseph's sons who were born to him in Egypt: two persons. All those of Jacob's household who came to Egypt: seventy persons.

NLT: In addition, Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt.

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.

NKJV: And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.

The middle part of Genesis chapter 46 lists and counts the official descendants of Jacob at or around the time of the family settling in the land of Egypt (Genesis 45:9–11; 46:1–4). The previous verse counted those entering the land with Jacob at sixty-six sons, grandsons, and one daughter and granddaughter. This does not seem to include the wives of Jacob's sons or grandsons.

This verse adds in Jacob himself, along with Joseph and his two sons who already lived in the land of Egypt. That brings the total official count of the number of Jacob's large and extended household to seventy. This number may be a slight approximation. In the Old Testament, seventy is sometimes used to represent the completion of a group (Exodus 24:9; Jeremiah 29:10; Daniel 9:24).

From these seventy official descendants of Jacob in the land of Egypt, God will grow an uncountable nation, just as He had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12:2; 22:17).

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 5/7/2024 7:03:57 PM