Genesis 46:25
These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven. These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.
This verse belongs to the account in Genesis 44 to 47 of the testing of the brothers, Joseph revealing himself to them, the joy of Jacob, and the settlement in Goshen. It is part of Genesis 46 to 50, which tell of Israel's journey to Egypt and reception by Joseph and Pharaoh, followed by Jacob's prophetic blessing on Joseph's sons and on his own sons and by Jacob's death and burial. It is part of the Genesis record of the origin of the twelve tribes and their stay in Egypt, which stands as history within one continuing record. It gives the count of Bilhah's line as seven souls within the migration list of those who went with Jacob to Egypt with all that he had, were presented to Pharaoh, and were settled in Goshen.
The chapter gives the seventy who went down to Egypt in detail by listing heads of tribes rather than every family member. Sixty-eight of those counted were men, with wives and daughters additional to the number, and counting only the men along with the practice of men having more than one wife helps explain the later great increase of Israel. The list of Jacob's descendants who went to Egypt includes his sons and grandsons and two women, but it is not the whole company, which also included daughters, granddaughters, and some children of his grandsons. The verse belongs to the chapter's family list of Jacob and is useful for identifying a grandson of Jacob.
The word souls in the verse means persons, showing that Bilhah's descendants were counted as people within Jacob's family and not as separate beings living apart from them, and that soul can refer to men and women rather than to an immortal entity. The reckoning shows God's care for preserving the forefathers of the promised Seed. The verse is included among the accounts showing that God's providence directed Israel's journey into Egypt, where His people would be kept alive through famine, be tested, and serve as witnesses to Egypt. The preservation worked through Joseph to save many people alive by making human anger serve God's praise and by turning evil plotting to work for the good of His cause.
As part of Joseph's history, the verse shows that God can lead a person by a difficult or indirect path and still bring that person where He intends. All the blessings given through Israel upon his sons center in the Shiloh of the tribe of Judah to whom the gathering of the people shall be. God's blessing makes His children into blessings. God uses people in spite of their imperfections. Birthright or age does not guarantee favor with God.