46:26 All the direct descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt with him were sixty-six in number. (This number does not include the wives of Jacob’s sons.) 6
46:1 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had. 7 When he came to Beer Sheba 8 he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
1 tn Or “the priesthood.”
2 tn Grk “from their brothers.” See BDAG 18-19 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.b.
3 tn Grk “have come from the loins of Abraham.”
4 tn The name אֵל שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king of the world who grants, blesses, and judges. In the Book of Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness. The patriarchs knew God primarily as El Shaddai (Exod 6:3). While the origin and meaning of this name are uncertain its significance is clear. The name is used in contexts where God appears as the source of fertility and life. For a fuller discussion see the note on “sovereign God” in Gen 17:1.
5 tn Heb “A nation and a company of nations will be from you and kings from your loins will come out.”
6 tn Heb “All the people who went with Jacob to Egypt, the ones who came out of his body, apart from the wives of the sons of Jacob, all the people were sixty-six.”
7 tn Heb “and Israel journeyed, and all that was his.”
8 sn Beer Sheba. See Gen 21:31; 28:10.