1. Acts 7:14 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why does Stephen mention seventy-five people when Genesis 46:26 mentions only sixty-six?

Acts 7:14 (ESV)

14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.

According to Genesis 46:26, only sixty-six people emigrated from Canaan to Egypt. Stephen mentions seventy-five in keeping with Septuagint tradition which includes the nine sons of Joseph.1 In both cases, the total number of people going down to Egypt is seventy-five.