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NASB | Acts 7:14 "Then Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 7:14 "Then Joseph sent and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all. [Gen 45:9, 10] |
Bible Question: In Gen.46:27, the number is 70, why? |
Bible Answer: This is a great question. After verifying that 70 is the number in Genesis 46:27, and that 75 is the number in Acts 7:14, I started to think about the author of Acts, Dr. Luke. He was a very careful historian, so how could he make a mistake like this. My best guess is that Luke was not always a witness to the events he wrote about. And because he was not Jewish, perhaps he didn't know the small details of the Old Testament. Perhaps someone gave him that reference and didn't know the correct number was 70. The number 70 is the base of 10 multiplied by 7, a number expressing completeness. It reiterates the point made in Gen.46:1 and Gen.46:6-7 which emphasize the comprehensive nature of the descent to Egypt - because this event is seen as the fulfillment of Gen.15:13. It may be interesting to note that the Greek Septuagint, as well as the Exodus Qumran text, has a tradition of 75, which is not a stock number. |