Genesis 46:26-27
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This verse is surprisingly specific about who is being counted: it explicitly excludes "Jacob's sons' wives." This detail highlights that the focus is on the direct bloodline of Jacob himself, emphasizing the generational continuation of God's covenant promises through his lineage.
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. 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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
As Jacob and his large family embark on their journey to Egypt, a census is taken of those who will migrate. This detailed accounting of Jacob's direct descendants, excluding the wives of his sons, serves to establish the precise number of Israelites who will enter Egypt, a number that will later be contrasted with their immense growth. This meticulous record-keeping highlights the foundational group from which the nation of Israel will eventually spring.
Ever wondered how Scripture keeps track of people? This verse gives us a specific number, but the context reveals it's more than just math.
This verse, Genesis 46:26, gives us a precise count: sixty-six people descended directly from Jacob who made the move to Egypt. This number, however, is carefully defined. It excludes Jacob himself (the patriarch), Joseph and his two sons (who were already in Egypt), and importantly, the wives of Jacob's sons.
Why this specific count? It highlights the core lineage God is establishing in Egypt. It's about the direct descendants, the seeds through which the covenant promises will unfold. The exclusion of the sons' wives points to a focus on Jacob's own bloodline, emphasizing the continuation of the Abrahamic covenant through his direct heirs.
The Bible mentions different numbers for Jacob's family entering Egypt. How do we reconcile these seemingly conflicting figures?
Genesis 46:26 states that sixty-six direct descendants came with Jacob. Verse 27 then clarifies that when Joseph and his two sons (already in Egypt) are included, the total house of Jacob in Egypt reaches seventy. This distinction is important:
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This careful accounting shows that God is building His people, a process that involves both the arrival of new members and the integration of those already present. It's a picture of a family expanding and consolidating in a new land, all under God's watchful eye.
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.
bayith · Hebrew Noun
A title for the head of a family, clan, or tribe. In a theological context, it refers to the extended family unit or the corporate entity of God's covenant people.
Yoseph · Hebrew Proper Noun
A prominent son of Jacob, used here as the primary figure representing the branch of the family established in Egypt. His life illustrates God's providence in using suffering for the ultimate salvation of his people.
This verse provides a specific headcount of Jacob's direct descendants who entered Egypt, totaling sixty-six. This precise number highlights the humble beginnings of the nation of Israel, emphasizing God's faithfulness in multiplying a small family into a great people, as promised to Abraham.
c. 1800 BC
Abraham Called to Canaan
God calls Abraham from Ur, promising him descendants and a land. This sets the stage for the covenant lineage that will eventually migrate to Egypt.
c. 1750 BC
Isaac and Jacob Born
Isaac, Abraham's son through whom the covenant is continued, is born. Jacob, Isaac's son, is later born, and through him the nation will grow.
c. 1720 BC
Famine Grips Canaan
A severe famine forces Jacob and his family to seek sustenance elsewhere, leading them to consider Egypt as a place to find food.
c. 1715 BC
Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dream
Joseph, sold into slavery years earlier, interprets Pharaoh's dreams, predicting a great famine and advising a strategic grain reserve.
c. 1715 BC
Joseph Appointed Governor of Egypt
Pharaoh elevates Joseph to a position of immense power, second only to himself, to oversee the implementation of the famine relief plan.
c. 1715 BC— this verse
Jacob's Family Migrates to Egypt
Jacob, guided by Joseph's message and Pharaoh's invitation, leads his family to the fertile land of Goshen in Egypt to escape the famine.
c. 1715 BC
Joseph Reunites with His Family
Joseph, after years of separation, joyfully reunites with his father Jacob and his brothers in the land of Goshen.
This passage directly follows Genesis and lists the same group of people, emphasizing their arrival in Egypt and their initial status as a distinct people, setting the stage for their later growth and enslavement.
Deuteronomy 10:22This verse echoes the number seventy, referring back to the 'seventy souls' of Jacob's family who went down to Egypt, highlighting it as a foundational number for the nation of Israel.
Acts 7:14Stephen's speech in Acts provides a New Testament perspective on the same event, quoting a slightly different number (seventy-five) found in the Septuagint, which prompts reflection on textual variations and the core message of God's people going to Egypt.
Genesis 46:27This verse immediately follows the one in question, providing the larger total of seventy souls by including Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph's two sons who were already in Egypt, offering a fuller picture of the family unit.
Genesis 12:2This earlier promise to Abraham, that God would make of him a great nation, provides the grand prophetic backdrop against which the seemingly small number of seventy souls arriving in Egypt is understood as the beginning of that fulfillment.
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 is surprisingly specific about who is being counted: it explicitly excludes "Jacob's sons' wives." This detail highlights that the focus is on the direct bloodline of Jacob himself, emphasizing the generational continuation of God's covenant promises through his lineage.
As Jacob and his large family embark on their journey to Egypt, a census is taken of those who will migrate. This detailed accounting of Jacob's direct descendants, excluding the wives of his sons, serves to establish the precise number of Israelites who will enter Egypt, a number that will later be contrasted with their immense growth. This meticulous record-keeping highlights the foundational group from which the nation of Israel will eventually spring.
As Jacob and his large family embark on their journey to Egypt, a census is taken of those who will migrate. This detailed accounting of Jacob's direct descendants, excluding the wives of his sons, serves to establish the precise number of Israelites who will enter Egypt, a number that will later be contrasted with their immense growth. This meticulous record-keeping highlights the foundational group from which the nation of Israel will eventually spring.
"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. And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the…" — This verse is surprisingly specific about who is being counted: it explicitly excludes "Jacob's sons' wives." This detail highlights that the focus is on the direct bloodline of Jacob himself, emph…
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Last reviewed October 2026
