And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
Exodus 1:5 belongs to the history of Israel in Egypt. It records that those who came from Jacob numbered seventy persons in all, with Joseph already in Egypt. That number means only a few families descended from Jacob went down into Egypt.
From that small beginning they became very numerous and spread rapidly under Joseph's care and the favor of the king who ruled before the new king. After many years of servitude to the Egyptians they had grown into a large multitude. Israel's descent into Egypt thus began with only a few families who later became a great multitude.
This history of Israel in Egypt, including the account of the seventy, stands as a lesson for God's people in the last days.
Exodus 1:5 belongs to the history of Israel in Egypt. It records that those who came from Jacob numbered seventy persons in all, with Joseph already in Egypt. That number means only a few families descended from Jacob went down into Egypt.
From that small beginning they became very numerous and spread rapidly under Joseph's care and the favor of the king who ruled before the new king. After many years of servitude to the Egyptians they had grown into a large multitude. Israel's descent into Egypt thus began with only a few families who later became a great multitude.
This history of Israel in Egypt, including the account of the seventy, stands as a lesson for God's people in the last days.