Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Genesis 46:8-27
Those Who Went Down Into Egypt (Genesis 46:8).
There now follows a catalogue of ‘all the souls who came into Egypt.' At first sight this is rather an understatement. It excludes his sons' wives (Genesis 46:26) and ignores retainers and camp followers. The number who actually went down into Egypt may well have numbered a few thousand for we have the households of each of the sons as well as Jacob's household. (And we must remember that from his household Abraham was able to raise three hundred and eighteen fighting men (Genesis 14:14)). The numbers may have diminished because of the effect of the famine making them surplus to requirements, and some may have been left in Canaan for other reasons, but there would still be a goodly number.
But this passage is a good example of the early use of numbers. The ‘seventy', which is the divine number seven intensified, included everyone by implication and indicated the divine completeness of the number who went down to Egypt. It said in effect that not one was missing. They were ‘seventy'. They were God's divinely complete band. No early reader would take the number literally. They would know exactly what it indicated.
However, in accordance with ancient practise this number is now applied, and it is done by manipulation of what is known, including or excluding as necessary. This is immediately apparent from the names given. It is very questionable whether the sons of Perez, Hezron and Hamul, could yet have been born (see on Genesis 38:6), or even more so that at this stage the young man Benjamin would have ten sons (Genesis 46:21). These were rather seen as going down ‘in the loins' of their fathers. And the number is made up by including Dinah, but excluding his sons' daughters, and including the sons of Joseph who were born in Egypt but had ‘gone down to Egypt' in the loins of their father.
This table of names therefore was written by the writer in Egypt at a later date. He looks at the extended family as it was then and names them in his list. By then these sons had been born and were acknowledged as being part of ‘the seventy', the divinely complete band. We do not think like this but it is quite in accord with ancient thinking. It is probable that he had a genealogical list and amended it to suit his purpose. This would explain why he mentions Er and Onan, and then excludes them, and brought Jacob and Dinah in to replace them. Also why he introduced Zilpah's daughter Serah (Genesis 46:17).
The original list had thirty three ‘sons' of Leah. He specifically excluded Er and Onan and brought in Dinah and Jacob to make up the thirty three, the thirty three signifying a complete number (intensified three, compare Genesis 4:24). The second part of the list included Joseph and his two sons, but he excludes them in making up his sixty six, although retaining them in the text. He also now excludes Jacob and introduces Serah. This was necessary to make up the sixty and six (twice thirty and three) and finally the seventy.
Thus for the purpose of the record the number is split into two main groups, one of thirty and three, (intensified three - compare the contrast of seven with seventy and seven in Genesis 4:24), depicting completeness, and one to make up the number sixty six (but see below). Both these groups are therefore ‘complete' in themselves, being made up, by inference in the second case, of intensified three. And there were ‘three' in Egypt, Joseph and his two sons. Together with Jacob they make up seventy. Thus the divine completeness of the whole group is made apparent and emphasised to the ancient mind.
‘And these are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch and Pallu and Hezron and Carmi.'
We know from Genesis 42:37 that Reuben had two sons at that stage (he would be about 46). Therefore two of these must be recent births, possibly twins, or else they may have ‘gone down to Egypt' in the loins of their father.
‘And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. And the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. And the sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah and Perez and Zerah. But Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.'
Joseph was about eighteen when he was sold into slavery (Genesis 37:2) making Judah about twenty two when he married Shua. He was possibly twenty three when he bore Er and Er grew up and married. If Er married at eighteen that would make Judah forty one. Shelah was too young to marry when Er died. Thus when Shelah came of age Judah was at least forty three. So unless Er married very young Judah must have been at the very least forty four when he bore Perez. Thus Perez could not have two children before he moved to Egypt (when Judah was about forty four - Genesis 41:46 plus seven good years plus two bad years plus say five years older than Joseph).
It is clear therefore that Hezron and Hamul were seen as ‘in the loins of Perez'.
‘And the sons of Issachar: Tola and Puvah and Iob and Shimron. And the sons of Zebulun: Sered and Elon and Jahleel. These are the sons of Leah whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty three.'
A count of ‘the sons and daughters' produces thirty three if we include Er and Onan, who died in Canaan, and exclude Dinah, but they are clearly intended to be excluded. If we exclude them and include Dinah there are only thirty two. Note that the plural is used for ‘daughters', but we can compare Genesis 46:23 where ‘sons' is followed by only one son. They were technical descriptions. To make the thirty third Jacob was counted in. But the important thing for the writer was to reach thirty three to demonstrate completeness. He did not mind too much of what it consisted.
This ‘artificiality' is confirmed by the fact that the final sixty six includes thirty four names in the second part, making sixty six including Dinah but excluding Jacob. This is to indicate double thirty three. Jacob then comes in with Joseph and his sons to make the seventy.
‘And the sons of Gad: Ziphion and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi and Areli. And the sons of Asher: Imnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls.'
Serah is added in to make the ‘sixteen souls' although she is not a son.
‘The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife, Joseph and Benjamin. And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, daughter of the priest of On bore to him. And the sons of Benjamin: Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob. All the souls were fourteen. And the sons of Dan: Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel and Guni and Jezer and Shillem. These are the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob. All the souls were seven.
Benjamin has ten sons, but we must question whether he has had all ten by this stage. Certainly the impression we have of him as a ‘young man' does not tie in with this. They are probably seen as going down to Egypt ‘in his loins', but by the time of the writer they are there to be seen walking about. The writer is careful to number all the groups. In all there are sixteen plus fourteen plus seven making thirty seven. This with the previous thirty three makes seventy.
‘All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were sixty and six. And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.
The writer is careful with his wording. Having made up thirty and three for the first group by including Jacob, he then says all who came ‘with Jacob' were sixty and six, because there were thirty four in the second group excluding Joseph and his two sons. But he carefully points out that he has not included the sons' wives. These would have taken the number above seventy and therefore had to be excluded. Reaching the number seventy was the important thing, not because of some attempt to fit in with other writings but because the number seventy was so significant. It signified that the group was divinely complete. But the group as a whole was actually composed of a much larger number because of their households. And they were included in the divine completeness.