THEOSISVissarion (Nechaev)
The names of Jacob's sons who settled in Egypt serve as the lineage for the distinct tribes that emerged from each of them. This list of Israel's sons is arranged not by their birth order but rather by their mothers. First, we encounter the names of Jacob's sons through Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Following them is Benjamin, the youngest son by Rachel, and subsequently, the sons born to Leah's and Rachel's maidservants: Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Joseph, the son of Rachel, is not grouped with his brothers; it is noted only that he resided in Egypt prior to their settlement, thus facilitating their journey to a land where their descendants would grow into a nation.
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The term "house" is understood to encompass the entirety of Jacob's family—wives, children, grandchildren, and all possessions, including servants, livestock, and property. This comprehensive definition of "house" aligns with the account in Genesis, which explicitly states that "his sons and his sons' sons, and all his seed, his daughters and his daughters' daughters, came into Egypt with Jacob, and they took their cattle and all their goods with them" (Gen. XLVI:6-7).
The book of Genesis also provides a detailed enumeration of Jacob's family members who accompanied him into Egypt. A question arises, however, regarding the meaning of the phrase that indicates they "came" or "traveled" with Jacob. Does this imply that they all physically accompanied him into Egypt? The answer is no, for it is known that Joseph had already established himself in Egypt long before Jacob's arrival. Additionally, several of those listed in Genesis, including Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. XLVI:27), and his grandsons, as well as the grandsons of Judah and Benjamin, were born while in Egypt. Therefore, when stating that all those listed among those who entered Egypt came with Jacob, it is to be understood that some traveled with him personally, while others were born from his lineage during or after Joseph's life.
The count of souls that emerged from Jacob—specifically, seventy-five from his descendants—is mentioned. According to the Hebrew texts found in Exodus, Genesis (XLVI:27), and Deuteronomy (X:22), the number recorded is seventy rather than seventy-five, as is presented in the Greek and Slavonic versions of the Bible. This discrepancy arose because the Greek translators, when compiling the genealogical list in Genesis, included five additional descendants of Joseph, as referenced in the Book of Numbers (XXVI:3) and 1 Chronicles (VII:14). This inclusion reflects the significance of Joseph's role in the narrative of the migration to Egypt. Furthermore, the number seventy-five appears in Stephen’s discourse to the Hellenistic Jews, who were familiar with the Greek text of the Scriptures (Acts VII:14).
However, it is essential to recognize that this figure of seventy-five refers primarily to the key ancestors of Jacob's lineage. If we consider that this number does not encompass the wives, daughters, servants, and maidservants of Jacob and his sons, as well as the grandsons and great-grandsons of Jacob’s other sons apart from Judah, Joseph, and Benjamin, we can surmise that the total number of individuals who settled in Egypt alongside Jacob, including those born during his and Joseph's lifetimes, is far more substantial.