All the persons belonging to Jacob … who were his own offspring: that is, “The members of Jacob’s family who were his direct descendants and who came with him to Egypt.” “Direct descendants” may also be expressed as “his sons and those born to his sons and to his grandsons” or “all those who were of his own blood.”

Not including Jacob’s sons’ wives: these women would be excluded by the previous statement, as they were not “his own offspring.” Rather than omit this statement, some may find it clearer to say, for example, “In addition to these there were also his sons’ wives,” or “This does not include the wives of Jacob’s sons,” or “The wives of Jacob’s sons are not counted….”

Were sixty-six persons in all: for possible explanations of this number, see the introduction to this subdivision.

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 .