Genesis 46:8

Genesis 46:8 says, And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.  The next several verses are simply a genealogy of Jacob's children and grandchildren, starting here with Reuben.  Verse nine states, And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.  Verse ten says, And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.  Shaul evidently had a different mother, a Canaaninte woman.  Verse eleven states, And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.  Verse twelve says, And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.  We are told that Judah's oldest sons died and are given the names of two of Judah's grandsons.  Verse thirteen states, And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.  Verse fourteen says, And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.  Verse fifteen adds, These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.  These were Leah's sons, and also there was Dinah, her daughter.  Jacob had a total of thirty-three children and grandchildren with Leah.  Verse sixteen says, And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.  Verse seventeen declares, And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.  Then verse eighteen adds, These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.  Jacob had sixteen children and grandchildren with Zilpah, Leah's handmaiden.  Verse nineteen states, The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.  Then verse twenty adds, And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.  Though Joseph was in Egypt, and his sons were born to the daughter of a priest of On, they were still Jacob's descendants.  Verse twenty-one says, And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.  We may think of Benjamin as a young man, but he was grown with ten sons at this time.  Verse twenty-two states, These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.  Jacob had fourteen children and grandchildren with Rachel.  Verse twenty-three says, And the sons of Dan; Hushim.  Verse twenty-four says, And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.  Verse twenty-five adds, These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.  Jacob had a total of seven children and grandchildren with Bilhah, Rachel's handmaiden.  Verse twenty-six declares, All 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;  Then verse twenty-seven adds, And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.  Jacob had sixty-six descendants with him to travel to Egypt, and counting himself, Joseph and Joseph's two sons, who were already in Egypt, there were seventy total.  This was a large family, but still was no where near being an innumerable nation.  God's promise to Abraham was still in effect though.  We may feel at times that God is slow to fulfill His promises, but He will always fulfill them.  It will simply be on His timetable.