Descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt

If you are like me then you enjoy reading through the occasional genealogy. You might even fancy spending long hours of your day trying to find out what time period specific people lived in. Charts and numbers may be your greatest ally if you are a visual person, but sometimes you find things that really mess you up. Numbers that just don't add up.

One such instance is found in Genesis 46:8-27.

I read this passage at least thirty times. I went over it and under it. I made charts, blogs, underlined and circled every name in this passage of Scripture, but I still couldn't figure it out. What was I missing? What was I forgetting? Why were the numbers not adding up?


Verse twenty-six says...

"All the persons belonging to Jacob, who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob's sons, were sixty-six persons in all."

The problem that I was facing, however, is that when you add up the four numbers given for his descendants through each of his wives the number does not equal sixty-six.

Verse fifteen says... "all his sons and his daughters numbered 33." (Leah)

Verse eighteen says... "and she bore to Jacob these 16 persons." (Zilpah)

Verse twenty-two says... "there were 14 persons..." (Rachel)

Verse twenty-five says... "there were 7 persons..." (Bilhah)

 

A Little Bit of Math

33 + 16 + 14 + 7 = 70

Then we subtract three because Joseph and his two sons (Manasseh and Ephraim) were already in Egypt.

70 - 3 = 67

All Done With Math

Verse twenty-six says there were 66 descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt, yet when we add the four numbers up we end with 67. Thus, we have a problem...or do we?

Verses 8-15 are Jacob's descendants through Leah. In these few verses we find that 33 sons are named and two daughters. One daughter is Dinah and the other is unknown. Her name is not found in Scripture. If you would like to know how 33 sons + 2 daughters = 33 persons total, then click here to read a previous blog post outlining the specific details of this.

Somewhere in the genealogy of Jacob and Leah's descendants was born another girl. Both daughters are numbered in the first number (33) given in verse fifteen, but only one is numbered in the overall number (66) given in verse twenty-six.

It is likely that the other daughter was born to them in Paddan-aram, yet died sometime before their journey to Egypt. Hence, she is not named in Scripture, like David's first son by Bathsheba, who died in infancy, is not named.

This makes the most sense because verse fifteen is only telling us the number of Jacob and Leah's descendants before entering into Egypt, while verse twenty-six is telling us the specific grand total of all Jacob's descendants going into Egypt. Thus, Jacob and Leah had a total of 33 descendants before Egypt, yet only 32 entered into Egypt.

Some More Math

33 + 16 + 14 + 7 = 70

Then we subtract four: the unnamed daughter who died and the three descendants (Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim) who were already in Egypt.

70 - 4 = 66

Verse twenty-seven then gives us a grand total of 70 because it adds the three who were already in Egypt and their father Jacob. Thus, all the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were 70.

Conclusion

I was struggling for a while trying to figure this out. Thankfully, I had amazing teachers at Bible School that I could email and they were all quick to help me in my time of need. If any of you are looking for a Bible School I highly recommend New Tribes Bible Institute. Click here for information.