7:14

75 persons in all: Stephen may not be quoting a particular verse from the Hebrew Scriptures when he gives the total number of Jacob’s family in Egypt as 75. This figure is not found in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Scriptures. Ge 46:26 says: “All those who descended from Jacob and went into Egypt with him, aside from the wives of Jacob’s sons, were 66.” Verse 27 continues: “All the people of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were 70.” Here the people are counted in two different ways, the first figure apparently including only his natural descendants and the second figure giving the total of those who came into Egypt. The number of Jacob’s descendants is also mentioned at Ex 1:5 and De 10:22, where the figure “70” is given. Stephen apparently gives a third figure that includes more of Jacob’s extended family. Some suggest that it includes sons and grandsons of Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim, who are mentioned in the Septuagint translation of Ge 46:20. Others suggest that it includes the wives of Jacob’s sons, who are specifically excluded from the figure given at Ge 46:26. So the figure “75” may be a grand total. This figure, though, may have a basis in copies of the Hebrew Scriptures circulating in the first century C.E. For years, scholars have known that “75” was the figure given at Ge 46:27 and Ex 1:5 in the Greek Septuagint. Additionally, in the 20th century, two Dead Sea Scroll fragments of Ex 1:5 in Hebrew were discovered, and they also use the figure “75.” Stephen’s figure may be based on one of those ancient texts. Regardless of which idea is correct, Stephen’s figure simply reflects a different way of counting the total number of Jacob’s descendants.

persons: Or “souls.” The Greek word psy·kheʹ, traditionally rendered “soul,” here refers to a living person.​—See Glossary, “Soul,” and App. A2.