The Meaning of Genesis 46:26 Explained

Genesis 46:26

KJV: 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;

YLT: All the persons who are coming to Jacob to Egypt, coming out of his thigh, apart from the wives of Jacob's sons, all the persons are sixty and six.

Darby: All the souls that came with Jacob to Egypt, that had come out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives: all the souls were sixty-six.

ASV: All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, that came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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; 

What does Genesis 46:26 Mean?

Study Notes

All the souls
(Cf) Genesis 46:27 . A discrepancy has been imagined. The "souls" that came with Jacob" were 66. The "souls of the house of Jacob" Genesis 46:27 i.e. the entire Jacobean family) were 70, viz. the 66 which came with Jacob, Joseph and his two sons, already in Egypt=69; Jacob himself=70.
kindred
Cf. (See Scofield " Genesis 46:26 ") . There is no real contradiction. The "house of Jacob" numbered seventy but the "kindred" would include the wives of Jacob's sons.

Context Summary

Genesis 46:1-27 - Jacob And His Family Go To Egypt
Evidently Joseph's invitation to his father to come to him in Egypt aroused very earnest questionings in Jacob's soul. Was it a wise step for him to take? Perhaps he remembered Genesis 15:13, and dreaded to take the risk. Under these circumstances he went to Beersheba, the well of the oath, so intimately associated with the lives of Abraham and Isaac, and from which he had gone forth on his life's pilgrimage. There he offered special sacrifices and received special directions and promises. He was not only to go down into Egypt, but to go there under the divine guidance and protection. When we visit Egypt at our own impulse we shall land ourselves, as Abraham and Isaac did, in temptation and failure; but when God bids us go, we may make the journey with absolute impunity. Though we walk through the dark valley, we need not fear, if He be with us.
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Chapter Summary: Genesis 46

1  Jacob is comforted by God at Beersheba
5  Thence he with his company goes into Egypt
8  The number of his family that went into Egypt
28  Joseph meets Jacob
31  He instructs his brothers how to answer Pharaoh

What do the individual words in Genesis 46:26 mean?

All the persons the [ones] going with Jacob to Egypt who came from his loins besides the wives of the sons of Jacob in all souls [were] sixty and six
כָּל־ הַ֠נֶּפֶשׁ הַבָּאָ֨ה לְיַעֲקֹ֤ב מִצְרַ֙יְמָה֙ יֹצְאֵ֣י יְרֵכ֔וֹ מִלְּבַ֖ד נְשֵׁ֣י בְנֵי־ יַעֲקֹ֑ב כָּל־ נֶ֖פֶשׁ שִׁשִּׁ֥ים וָשֵֽׁשׁ

הַ֠נֶּפֶשׁ  the  persons 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
הַבָּאָ֨ה  the  [ones]  going 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
לְיַעֲקֹ֤ב  with  Jacob 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
מִצְרַ֙יְמָה֙  to  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
יֹצְאֵ֣י  who  came  from 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
יְרֵכ֔וֹ  his  loins 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרֵךְ  
Sense: thigh, side, loin, base.
מִלְּבַ֖ד  besides 
Parse: Preposition-m, Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּד 
Sense: alone, by itself, besides, a part, separation, being alone.
נְשֵׁ֣י  the  wives 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
בְנֵי־  of  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יַעֲקֹ֑ב  of  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
כָּל־  in  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
נֶ֖פֶשׁ  souls  [were] 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
שִׁשִּׁ֥ים  sixty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: שִׁשִּׁים  
Sense: sixty, three score.
וָשֵֽׁשׁ  and  six 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, feminine singular
Root: שֵׁשׁ  
Sense: six.

What are the major concepts related to Genesis 46:26?

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