Jacob's missing descendant

Another interesting genealogical logic puzzle was posted to the rec.puzzles newsgroup. This one is found in the Bible, specifically Genesis chapter 46, and was identified by John Pratt.

Here is the puzzle:

Jacob's extended family at the time he moved to Egypt is listed in the Bible, but some information about one descendant may have been purposely hidden. If there is no mistake in the following summary and interpretation of the Biblical account, what can you logically deduce about the identity of Jacob's missing descendant?

  1. All seventy living souls of the house of Jacob, including all of his living male and female descendants, were in Egypt when he arrived there with those who accompanied him. (Gen. 46:6, 27).
  2. Sixty-six of Jacob's descendants came to Egypt with him. This count includes only Jacob's literal offspring; none of his sons' wives is included (Gen. 46:26).
  3. Except for Joseph and his two sons, who already resided in Egypt (Gen. 46:27), Jacob took with him all of his son(s), his sons' son(s), his daughter(s), his sons' daughter(s) (Gen. 46:7), and all of his great-grandchildren ("little ones," Gen. 46:5).
  4. These are the names of Jacob's descendants when they had all arrived in Egypt, along with subtotals for each of his four wives (Leah, Zilpah, Rachel, and Bilhah):

Source: Hidden Treasures in the Scriptures

The answer to the puzzle is revealed in Pratt's article entitled "Jacob's Seventieth Descendant," which also discusses historical reasons the author of Genesis may have had for obscuring this information.


—Michael A. Cleverly

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