Genesis 46:26,27

GENESIS—NOTE ON Genesis 46:26 The relationship between the numbers sixty-six and seventy presents a difficulty. The four totals linked to Jacob’s wives in vv. Genesis 46:8 add up to 70, which is the figure recorded in v. Genesis 46:27 (compare Deuteronomy 10:22). Yet Genesis 1:1 46:26 mentions 66 persons as belonging to Jacob, excluding his sons’ wives. The numbers should be treated with caution. The Septuagint adjusts the number of Joseph’s sons from two to nine and totals the number of Jacob’s descendants in Egypt as 75, not 70 (see Acts 7:14 and note). Perhaps 70 is a round number, expressing the idea that all Israel went down to Egypt.