Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
The Torah says that “all the people of Yaakov’s house that came to מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim, Egypt) were 70” (Bereishit 46:27).
But there’s a problem, as Ibn Ezra notices:
כִּי ס"ט הָיוּ.
There were actually 69!
In fact, the Torah lists 66 people that came to Mitzrayim, plus Yosef and his two children who were already there (Bereishit 46:8-27). So that’s 69. Where did the number 70 come from?
Ibn Ezra offers a few possibilities. Here are two:
וּבִדְרָשׁ: כִּי יוֹכֶבֶד נוֹלְדָה בֵּין הַחוֹמוֹת (בבלי סוטה דף י״ב עמוד א).
According to a midrash, Moshe’s mother, Yokheved, was born crossing the border on the way into Mitzrayim (Bavli Sotah 12a).
Maybe Yokheved was the 70th. But if she’s in the number, why isn’t her name listed? According to this midrash, it’s because she’s a little in-between. She was born as they crossed the border into Mitzrayim, so was she among the group that came down to Mitzrayim, or was she part of the people’s growth after they got there? Hard to say! So she’s not named in the list, but she is counted in the number.
- Going down to Mitzrayim may seem like the start of something bad. Yaakov is clearly worried about what might happen there (Bereishit 46:4), and we know Benei Yisrael will become slaves soon. But Yokheved is the mother of Moshe, who will be the leader God appoints to free them. Why is it nice to think that the very first thing that happens to Benei Yisrael in Mitzrayim is that Yokheved is born? What does Yokheved represent? What message is being taught to us?
2. This is Ibn Ezra’s preferred explanation:
כִּי יַעֲקֹב נִכְנַס בַּחֶשְׁבּוֹן… וְהוּא הָעִקָּר.
Or Yaakov is also counted in the number…this is the best explanation.
Ibn Ezra notices that 46:27 says, “All the people in the house of Yaakov who came to Mitzrayim were 70.” So even though Yaakov isn’t in the list of his own descendents that came before, why shouldn’t he be counted in “the house of Yaakov”?!
- When you think about your own “household,” who’s part of it and who’s not?
- Why might the Torah put extra emphasis right now on the fact that Yaakov is still part of this family coming down to Mitzrayim?
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