Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joseph sent, and summoned Jacob, his father, and all his relatives, seventy-five souls.
- KJV Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
- BSB Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.
- 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 10:22Your fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of the sky for multitude.
- Gen 46:26–27All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct offspring, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were sixty-six.
- Exod 1:5All the souls who came out of Jacob’s body were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt already.
- 1 Chr 2:5–6The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
- Gen 45:9–11Hurry, and go up to my father, and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says, “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me. Don’t wait.
- Ps 105:23Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob lived in the land of Ham.
- Gen 46:12The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.