Genesis 46:15
These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three. These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
Genesis 37-50 has as its leading thought Joseph, his wonderful experiences and work, and the single word Joseph expresses the contents of that section and marks the whereabouts of this verse in Scripture, helping to grasp the scope of the whole book and to remember the subject dealt with in that section. The verse is part of the account of Israel's journey to Egypt and of the detailed count of Jacob's family who went down to Egypt, recording Leah's children borne to Jacob in Padan-aram, including his daughter Dinah, as thirty and three. In that complete list in Genesis 46:8-27 only his sons and grandsons and two women are named.
The word souls means people or persons, counting thirty-three whole persons, male or female and young or old, and not separate beings living apart from them or a separate part of them. The count of seventy refers to the listed family members, with wives and daughters additional to that number, and the men numbered sixty-eight. So understood, the seventy counted in Exodus 1:5 does not include every person who traveled with Jacob, such as his daughters, granddaughters, and some descendants' children.
The chapter shows that God sent His children into Egypt and by providence directed Israel in going, though no Scripture states it in those direct words. He had a twofold purpose in this, that His own people might be preserved from famine and tried and that Egypt might have constantly before them representatives of the truth of God. The family's migration and reception in Egypt show God's care in preserving the ancestors of the promised Seed. The verse belongs to the history of Joseph, which is an example of trusting God's guidance, showing that God may lead by a roundabout way but brings people safely to what He intends for them.