Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Steve Miller" <smille10 AT sbcglobal.net>]

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From: Revdpickrel AT wmconnect.com  Wednesday, October 18, 2006 12:27 PM



The MT does not say who the missing 4 were in the 66 total, but I figure 
they are Joseph, Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, because they were already in 
Egypt before Jacob came.



Thank you, Steve.  I have been looking for this answer, I knew it was
something reasonable but I couldn't put my finger  on it.  Joseph, his wife,
and their two children would bring it to seventy.  Didn't realize Simeon was
there with his family.  Good solution.  Where did you find that Simeon was
in already in Egypt? 

Doug. 
Rev. Doug Pickrel, Litt.D. 
Tejas Valley 
San Antonio, Texas

[Steve Miller] Thanks, Red. Simeon was kept by Joseph in Egypt to ensure
that his brothers would come back. (Gen 42:24). Simeon's family was not
already in Egypt, just Simeon. Joseph's wife wouldn't work as one of the
missing persons because Gen 46:26 explicitly says that Jacob's sons' wives
were not included in the total. I found the answer of Simeon in "The
Complete Bible Commentary" by Charles L. Feinberg and others. The commentary
gives 2 possibilities for the missing 4th person in the 66 total.  The other
possibility it gives is Jacob himself, but I find that doubtful given the
wording of the verse.

 

26  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.