（创46）七十如一 Genesis 46: Seventy as one
(Chat GPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）
In Genesis 46, verse 27, it states: “…the total number of Jacob’s family coming to Egypt was seventy.”
There are several “issues” here:
First, among these 70 people, daughters and granddaughters are counted, but the number of daughters-in-law is not calculated. Why? Are daughters-in-law not considered part of Jacob’s family?
Second, if we count the number of people mentioned earlier, it should be 69, not 70. Why is there a difference? Note that Jacob himself should not be included because later in Exodus 1:5, it states, “All those descended from Jacob were seventy in number.” Jacob himself cannot be considered among those born from Jacob.
Third, the original text mentions 70 “individual,” and the term “individual” is singular (“nefesh”, meaning life). Why is there a singular “life” for 70 people?
In response to these, so-called modernized interpretations of scripture may argue that the Bible has temporal limitations (perhaps due to genealogy not counting daughters-in-law), accounting errors or approximations (hence calling 69 as 70), and laxity in grammar (thus using singular for plural).
However, according to traditional interpretations, Jews believe the Bible is without error, and every detail carries instructional meaning. Christian traditions should also see it this way, as the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”
Even if the human authors of the Bible made unintentional “mistakes,” it is allowed by the Creator with purposes. Moreover, seemingly “erroneous” aspects in the Bible can bring readers’ attention, and provide opportunities to discover hidden teachings. So, what instructional meanings do these “issues” in Genesis 46 have?
The answers to these questions have a common hint in Ephesians 5:23: “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” Examining this hint carefully, we find:
The answer to the first question is that after each daughter-in-law married into Jacob’s family, they became one entity (one life “nefesh”) with their husbands. The husband is the head, and together they bear and raise offspring, sharing a common destiny and mission in the Creator’s kingdom. Therefore, the Bible does not separately count the number of Jacob’s daughters-in-law.
Regarding the second question, it implies that Christ is the unmentioned member of Jacob’s family, making 1 + 69 = 70. Jacob’s family later all made a covenant with the Creator at Mount Sinai (see Exodus 19:3), symbolizing the church. Christ is the head of the church. This explanation is related to two seemingly contradictory Jewish interpretations: Some say the unmentioned member is the Creator (https://www.chabadspringfield.com/completing-the-count
), perhaps because, in Genesis 46:4, the Creator told Jacob, “I will go down to Egypt with you.” Some say the unmentioned member is Jacob’s mother, Jochebed, who was still in her mother’s womb. According to Rashi’s interpretation, Genesis 46:15 gave a count of 33 sons and daughters of Leah, with “daughters” in the plural, but only 32 names were mentioned earlier, with only one daughter, Dina. This suggests that there was another unnamed (the 33rd) female descendant of Leah who went down to Egypt. Comparing this with the later text in Numbers 26:69, it is inferred that this should be Leah’s granddaughter, Jochebed, who was in her mother’s womb at that time and later born in Egypt. Both interpretations are fascinating but seem contradictory. Especially the first interpretation, which suggests that the Creator is an additional member of Jacob’s family, is puzzling: How can it be also said that He is from Jacob (Exodus 1:5)? However, when Christians notice that Jochebed is from Jacob and that her name’s original meaning is related to the glory of the Creator (https://www.behindthename.com/name/jochebed
), they can combine these two intriguing Jewish interpretations. Both interpretations actually point to the same thing: Christ is the additional member of Jacob’s family because Christians believe that Christ is the glory of the Creator and will manifest in a fleshly descendant of Jacob. Using Jochebed in the womb as a foreshadowing of Christ has many reasons: firstly, she is from Jacob; secondly, she was not born at that time; thirdly, her name points to the glory of the Creator; fourthly, she is a woman, and Christ is the descendant of a woman conceived by the Holy Spirit.[1]
The answer to the third question is that the 70 people of Jacob’s family represent the Lord’s people together with Himself. The many followers of the Lord, with one Lord as their common head, are united in the Lord, although they are different parts of His body, they form one body. Therefore, 70 names do not represent 70 lives but one “life” (nefesh). This interpretation is also inspired by Rashi’s interpretation of Genesis 46:26. However, this corresponds well with Ephesians 5:23, which says, “…Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.”
In connection with this, I conclude this article with a prayer of Christ in John 17:22-23: “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me…”
Footnote:
[1] Jochebed later gave birth to three children, who are also all related to Christ. The eldest daughter, Miriam, is the Hebrew name for Mary, the mother of Jesus, who will conceive Christ’s flesh by the Holy Spirit. The eldest son, Aaron, is the high priest, who will atone for the sins of the Israelites, and Christ is the high priest who atones for the sins of all Gd’s people. The second son, Moses, is the deliverer who will save Israel from Egypt, and Christ is the Savior who delivers His people from the power of death.
（创46）七十人下埃及记
创世纪46章提到雅各家70子孙下埃及，第27节说：“…雅 各 家 来 到 埃 及 的 共 有 七 十 人 。”
这里有很多”问题”：
第一，这70人中算上了女儿孙女，却没有计算儿媳妇的人数。为什么？难道儿媳妇不算雅各家的吗？
第二，如果计算前面提到名字的人数，应该是69个，为什么差一个？注意，这70人里不应该加上雅各本人，因为后来出埃及记1:5又说，“凡 从 雅 各 而 生 的 ， 共 有 七 十 人 。…”。而雅各自己，不能算是从雅各所生的。
第三，原文说的70“人”的“人”，是单数的nefesh（性命的意思），为什么70个人有单数的“性命”？
针对这些，所谓的现代化解经法，就会认为圣经 有时代局限（也许因为血统论才不计算儿媳妇），有计算错误或近似（所以把69说成79），有语法上的不严格（所以复数写成了单数）。
但是，根据传统的解经法，犹太人认为圣经没有错误，任何细节都是有教导意义的。基督教传统解经也应该是这样，新约使徒保罗说（提摩太后书3:16）“圣 经 都 是 神 所 默 示 的（ 或 作 凡 神 所 默 示 的 圣 经 ） ， 于 教 训 ， 督 责 ， 使 人 归 正 ， 教 导 人 学 义 ， 都 是 有 益 的 … ”。即使写圣经的人有不自觉的“笔误”，也是造物主允许发生的，并通过这些教导功课。而且，圣经里越是看似“有误”的地方，越是能起到提醒人注意的作用，以努力发掘背后隐藏的教训。那么创世纪46章出现的这些“问题”，有什么教导意义吗？
原来，这些问题的答案有一个共同的提示，在新约以弗所书5:23: “因 为 丈 夫 是 妻 子 的 头 ， 如 同 基 督 是 教 会 的 头 。 他 又 是 教 会 全 体 的 救 主。” 仔细参考这一提示，我们发现：
第一个问题的答案就是，雅各家的每一个儿媳妇嫁过来之后，他们夫妻就是一个人（一条性命nefesh）了， 丈夫是妻子的头，二人生育抚养共同的后代，有了共同的命运，在造物主的国度里有了共同的使命。所以这里圣经没有另外计算雅各家儿媳妇们的人数。
第二个问题，则暗示基督是雅各家的那位未列出成员，1+69=70。雅各家是后来全体在西奈山与造物主立约的（参考出埃及记19:3），预表教会。而基督是教会的头。我这个解释是受到两个看似相互矛盾的犹太解经的启发。犹太人有的说，那位未列出成员是造物主，https://www.chabadspringfield.com/completing-the-count,
我猜测是因为祂在创世纪46:4曾对即将下埃及的雅各说过，“我 要 和 你 同 下 埃 及 去 …”。有的犹太人却说那位未列出的成员是尚在母腹中的摩西的母亲约基别。为此，Rashi创46:15解经如此推导：创46:15原文提到33位利亚儿女，其中“女”是复数，但是前面只数了32个人名，而且其中只有底拿一女，本该用单数。所以可以推出，应该存在另一位未提名的（第33位）利亚女性后代，下了埃及。对照后来民数记26:69经文的说法，这应该是利亚的孙女约基别，她当时已被怀在母腹之中，后来出生在埃及。这两个不同解释都很精彩，却看似相互矛盾。特别是第一个解释，说造物主是雅各家的额外成员或许可以，怎么又能说祂是从雅各而出的（出1:5）呢？然而，当基督徒们注意到，约基别是从雅各而出，而且她名字原文的意思与造物主的荣光有关https://www.behindthename.com/name/jochebed
，他们就可以把这两个精彩的犹太解经结合起来，认为这两个解释其实都指向同一个事情：基督就是那位雅各家的额外成员，因为基督教认为基督是造物主的荣光，而且将要显现在雅各所出的肉身后代。用母腹中的约基别预表基督，有很多原因，一是她从雅各而出，二是她当时还未出生，三是她的名字指向造物主的荣光，四是她是女人，而基督是被圣灵感孕的女人的后裔。[1]
第三个问题的答案是，雅各家70人预表有主同在的主的子民。主的众多子民们，因着同有一位主做头，就在主里合一，虽然是不同的肢体，却同是主的身体。所以，70个名字不是70条性命，而是同一条“性命”nefesh。这个解释，也是得到Rashi创46:26解经的启发。不过，这与上面新约以弗所书5:23所说的“…基 督 是 教 会 的 头 。他 又 是 教 会 全 体 的 救 主”，也遥相对应。
与此相关，我用基督在约翰福音17:22-23的一个祷告结束本文：“你 所 赐 给 我 的 荣 耀 ， 我 已 赐 给 他 们 ， 使 他 们 合 而 为 一 ， 像 我 们 合 而 为 一 。 我 在 他 们 里 面 ， 你 在 我 里 面 ， 使 他 们 完 完 全 全 的 合 而 为 一 。…”
附注：
[1] 约基别她自己后来要生出的三个儿女，也都与基督有关。长女米 利 暗，就是玛丽亚的希伯来名，而将来被圣灵感孕生出基督的肉身，就是童女玛丽亚。长子亚伦，是为以色列人行赎罪之礼的大祭司亚伦，而基督将为主的选民赎罪。次子摩西，是救以色列出埃及的拯救者，而基督是救主子民脱离死亡权势的拯救者。