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The Rapid Growth of the People
v. 1. Now these are the names of the children of Israel which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob:
v. 2. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
v. 3. Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
v. 4. Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
v. 5. And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls; for Joseph was in Egypt already. The order is: the sons of Leah, the son of Rachel, the sons of Rachel's handmaid, the sons of Leah's handmaid. As in Gen_46:27, seventy souls are mentioned as the forefathers of the children of Israel, it being expressly stated that the sons came, each with his family, with his wife and children. The small number serves as a fine contrast over against the immense multitude that is spoken of at the time of the Exodus.
v. 6. And Joseph died, and all his brethren and all that generation. Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years, Gen_50:26, apparently the first one of the brothers to be taken away; but he was soon followed by the other members of his own generation, Levy dying about twenty years after him, Exo_6:16.
v. 7. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. The heaping of the expressions, five different terms being used to emphasize this point, indicates the extraordinary growth of the people, a factor brought about not only by natural fertility and the eagerness for children, but above all by the fulfillment of God's promise to all the patriarchs. They filled the entire land, particularly Goshen, so that the country swarmed with their numbers. God's promises never fail, and it is a matter of wisdom to trust in them with firm confidence.