And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two; all the persons … were seventy: it is not possible to arrive at the number seventy by adding Joseph’s two sons to the sixty-six in verse 26. It appears that two more would also have to be added (perhaps Jacob and Joseph or Jacob and Dinah). Since we cannot say with any certainty how the numbers in verses 26 and 27 have been arrived at, we can only translate them as they are, and Good News Translation is as good a model as any. However, some translations give a possible explanation in a footnote to satisfy the curiosity of readers; for example, “ This number 70 … also counts Jacob and Joseph and the two sons of Joseph.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .