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Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
Acts 7:14 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Joseph sent, and summoned Jacob, his father, and all his relatives, seventy-five souls.
  • BSB Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.
  • NKJV Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.
  • NASB Then Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five people in all.
  • NLT Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, seventy-five persons in all.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Joseph summons Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five souls, to Egypt. God gathers His covenant people under the care of the one He exalted.

Overview

The figure 'seventy-five' follows the Greek Septuagint reading, which Stephen, speaking in a Hellenistic setting, naturally uses. The whole family is preserved through Joseph, fulfilling God's promise to multiply Abraham's offspring. Their gathering into Egypt sets up the nation's growth and the later exodus.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Deut 10:22Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
  • Gen 46:26–27All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six;
  • Exod 1:5And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
  • 1 Chr 2:5–6The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul.
  • Gen 45:9–11Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
  • Ps 105:23Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
  • Gen 46:12And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 7:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 7:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.