Genesis 46:26

(Chapter XLVI, Verse 26 and following) Therefore all the souls that entered Egypt with Jacob, and those that came out of his thighs, apart from the wives of Jacob's sons, were sixty-six souls; and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were nine souls. Therefore all the souls that entered Egypt with Jacob were seventy-five. It is without doubt that except for Joseph and his sons, sixty-six souls that came out of Jacob's thighs entered Egypt. For thus also, gradually through each calculated number, it is proven, and it is found in the Hebrew volumes. But what we read in the Septuagint: And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were nine souls: let us know that in Hebrew, instead of nine, there are two. For Ephraim and Manasseh were born to him before Jacob entered Egypt, and before the time of famine. They were born of Aseneth, the daughter of Potiphera, in Egypt. But also that which we read above: And the sons of Manasseh became, whom the Syrian concubine gave birth to him, Machir, and Machir gave birth to Gilead; and the sons of Ephraim, the brother of Manasseh, Suthalaam, and Thaam; and the sons of Suthalaam, Edem, it is added: indeed, what we read afterwards is described as if it had happened by anticipation. For at that time when Jacob entered Egypt, Ephraim and Manasseh were not old enough to be able to have children. From this it is evident that all the souls who entered Egypt from the loins of Jacob were seventy, but afterwards sixty-six entered, and they found (Al. gave birth to) three souls in Egypt, namely Joseph with his two sons, and the seventieth was Jacob himself. In order that we do not seem to speak against the authority of Scripture, even the Seventy Interpreters translated in Deuteronomy (X, 22) that Jacob (also called Israel) entered Egypt with seventy souls. Therefore, if anyone opposes our opinion, they will make Scripture contradict itself. For the Seventy Interpreters themselves, who said that seventy-five souls, including Joseph and his descendants, entered Egypt through πρόληψις, only mentioned in Deuteronomy that seventy entered (some say 'entered'). But if the opposite is opposed to us, how is it said in the Acts of the Apostles (VII) , in the sermon of Stephen to the people, that seventy-five souls entered Egypt; the explanation is easy. For Saint Luke, who is the author of the history itself, should not…

ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ACCOMPANIED JACOB TO EGYPT. —What the Scripture says about sixty-six persons entering with Jacob in Egypt, excepting of course the sons of Joseph, and what he then adds, counting already to the sons of Joseph, who were seventy-five persons who entered with Jacob in Egypt , we must interpret it as follows: these are the individuals who were in the house of Jacob when he entered Egypt. Because it is clear that those he met there did not take them with him. But if we diligently inquire into the truth, we find that two, Ephraim and Manasseh, were already born when he entered, which, it is said, not only have the Hebrew codices in this passage, but the Septuagint itself in the Exodus (1:5), and the Septuagint's version do not seem to me wrong in this, for this, by some mystical meaning and, using a certain prophetic freedom, wanted to complete this number, if still living Jacob, spread from the two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, those individuals whom the Septuagint version believed should be added to the number of the people of the house of Jacob. Now if, on the one hand, it is known that Jacob lived seventeen years in Egypt (Cf. Gen. 47:28), on the other hand, it is not known how the sons of Joseph could have grandchildren, while Jacob still lived. Jacob, in fact, entered Egypt the second year of the famine. Joseph's children, on the other hand, were born in the years of abundance (Cf. Gen. 46:21), although they do not know the years of the abundance in which they were born. From the first year of the abundance to the second year of the famine, when Jacob entered Egypt, there are nine years. If we add to these the seventeen years that Jacob lived there, he was twenty-six years old. How could young people under the age of twenty-six have grandchildren? This question cannot be resolved by any Hebrew text. For how could Jacob have so many grandchildren before entering Egypt, even of his son Benjamin, who at that time came to his brother Joseph? For the Scripture not only speaks of Jacob having children, but also grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all of whom must be added to those sixty-six persons with whom Jacob entered into Egypt, as it says even the Hebrew text itself. It is also necessary to consider the fact that while Joseph and his children are only eight, Benjamin and his children are eleven in all, not nineteen among all, as…