ContradictionsReading order 167Bible context 2 min read
How many descendants of Jacob and Leah went to Egypt with Jacob?
Counting the named surviving descendants gives thirty two, while the repeated subtotal states thirty three.
- Textual conflict
- Direct contradiction
- The quoted passages make incompatible claims about the same subject under the same conditions. Little additional inference is needed.
- Importance
- Minor
- A local detail in a story, chronology, or inventory.
The surviving named descendants of Leah total thirty-two while the stated sons-and-daughters subtotal is thirty-three.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
The listed surviving descendants of Leah total thirty two
And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. 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 46:9-15
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:Genesis 46
The passage states a total of thirty three
These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan–aram, with his daughter Dinah: