Genesis 46:26

26 All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt {who were his descendants}, not including the wives of the sons of Jacob [were] sixty-six persons in all.

Genesis 46:26 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 46:26

All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt
These are in parcels before mentioned, but here they are brought to a sum total; and by this phrase are excluded those that died before, as Er and Onan, and those that were in Egypt before, as Joseph and his two sons; and I should think also all that were born in Egypt afterwards, even while Jacob was living: those reckoned are only such, which came out of his loins:
such as were his seed and offspring. This is observed for the sake of what follows, and to exclude them: besides Jacob's sons' wives;
these do not come into the account, because they did not spring from him: all the souls [were] threescore and six;
thirty two of Leah's, leaving out Er and Onan, sixteen of Zilpah's, fourteen of Rachel's, and seven of Bilhah's, make sixty nine; take out of them Joseph and his two sons, who were in Egypt before, and you have the exact number of sixty six.

Genesis 46:26 In-Context

24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

25 These [are] the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob--seven persons in all.

26 All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt {who were his descendants}, not including the wives of the sons of Jacob [were] sixty-six persons in all.

27 And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt [were] two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt [were] seventy.

28 He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to appear before him in Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "those going out of his loins"