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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse clarifies that the count of sixty-six excludes Jacob himself and Joseph's two sons who were already in Egypt. It's a precise delineation of who came with Jacob, focusing on his direct descendants and grandchildren who made the journey.
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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jacob and his entire household are making their momentous move into Egypt due to a severe famine in Canaan. God has personally reassured Jacob in a vision, promising to make him a great nation there and to bring them back, with Joseph's hand closing his eyes at death. This verse provides a specific count of Jacob's direct descendants who journeyed with him, excluding the wives of his sons.
Genesis 46:26 gives us a specific number for Jacob's descendants entering Egypt. It's much smaller than you might expect for a future nation!
Jacob's family, the future nation of Israel, begins with a surprisingly small number: sixty-six direct descendants, excluding Jacob himself, Joseph, and Joseph's sons already in Egypt. This isn't just a historical headcount; it's a powerful reminder of God's faithfulness.
A Seed of Promise
The number 'seventy' appears frequently in relation to Jacob's family in Egypt. But how do we get there from the sixty-six?
The sixty-six mentioned in verse 26 are not the total count of Jacob's household in Egypt. That total is revealed in verse 27: seventy souls.
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Counting the Household
Understand the original words
Ya‘aqov · Hebrew Proper Noun
A personal name meaning 'he grasps the heel' or 'supplanter,' later changed by God to Israel. It refers to the patriarch himself and, by extension, the covenant people descended from him.
This verse is a precise genealogical accounting, highlighting the formation of a specific, named group of 66 individuals who descended directly from Jacob and migrated to Egypt. It serves as a foundational number for the subsequent miraculous multiplication of the Israelites in Egypt, demonstrating God's faithfulness to His covenant promises even within a small, defined family unit.
c. 1800 BC
Abraham called to Canaan
God calls Abraham from Ur to a new land, establishing a covenant with him and promising to make his descendants a great nation.
c. 1700 BC
Isaac's covenant promises
The promises of a great nation and land are reaffirmed to Isaac, Jacob's father, despite ongoing challenges and periods of famine.
c. 1650 BC
Jacob flees to Haran
Jacob flees from his brother Esau to Paddan-aram, where he works for Laban and marries Leah and Rachel.
c. 1640 BC
Jacob's sons born
Over several years, Jacob fathers twelve sons and at least one daughter (Dinah) with Leah, Zilpah, Rachel, and Bilhah.
c. 1630 BC
Jacob returns to Canaan
Jacob and his growing family return to Canaan, re-encountering Esau and settling near Shechem.
c. 1630-1615 BC
Joseph's early life and sale
Joseph, Jacob's favored son, is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and eventually ends up in Egypt.
c. 1615 BC
Joseph's rise in Egypt
Through divine favor and his own wisdom, Joseph rises to become second-in-command to Pharaoh, interpreting dreams and managing Egypt's resources.
This passage directly follows Genesis and lists the descendants of Jacob who came into Egypt, echoing the count and purpose of this family's migration.
Deuteronomy 10:22This verse references the number of Jacob's descendants who went down to Egypt, confirming the 'seventy souls' total and highlighting God's multiplication of that small seed.
Acts 7:14Stephen's speech in Acts quotes the number of Jacob's family in Egypt as seventy-five, offering a different but related count that emphasizes the growth and significance of this lineage.
Genesis 46:27This verse immediately follows the one provided and gives the total of seventy souls, clarifying the calculation by including Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph's two sons born in Egypt.
calvinGenesis 46:1-34: "And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac."
- Et dixit Deus ad Israel in visi onibus noctis, dixit inquam, Jahacob Jahacob. Ille respondit, Ecce, adsum.
3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
- Et dixit, Ego sum Deus, Deus patris tui: ne timeas descendere in Aegyptum: quia in gentem magnam ponam to ibi…
pooleGenesis 46:26: "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;"
Loins, Heb. thigh, which is here put for the secret parts between the thighs, which are called sometimes the feet, as Genesis 49:10 Deu 28:57 Ezekiel 16:25 , for the like reason, because they are between the feet. From this eastern manner of speech came that passage in the Greek fables, concerning Bacchus being born out of Jupiter’s thi…
This verse clarifies that the count of sixty-six excludes Jacob himself and Joseph's two sons who were already in Egypt. It's a precise delineation of who came with Jacob, focusing on his direct descendants and grandchildren who made the journey.
Jacob and his entire household are making their momentous move into Egypt due to a severe famine in Canaan. God has personally reassured Jacob in a vision, promising to make him a great nation there and to bring them back, with Joseph's hand closing his eyes at death. This verse provides a specific count of Jacob's direct descendants who journeyed with him, excluding the wives of his sons.
Jacob and his entire household are making their momentous move into Egypt due to a severe famine in Canaan. God has personally reassured Jacob in a vision, promising to make him a great nation there and to bring them back, with Joseph's hand closing his eyes at death. This verse provides a specific count of Jacob's direct descendants who journeyed with him, excluding the wives of his sons.
"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." — This verse clarifies that the count of sixty-six excludes Jacob himself and Joseph's two sons who were already in Egypt. It's a precise delineation of who came with Jacob, focusing on his direct…
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Last reviewed October 2026