Genesis 46:18
New International Version
These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.

New Living Translation
These were the sons of Zilpah, the servant given to Leah by her father, Laban. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Zilpah was sixteen.

English Standard Version
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons.

Berean Standard Bible
These are the sons of Jacob born to Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.

King James Bible
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.

New King James Version
These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.

New American Standard Bible
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons.

NASB 1995
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons.

NASB 1977
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons.

Legacy Standard Bible
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons.

Amplified Bible
These are the sons of Zilpah, [the maid] whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter [when she married Jacob]; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons [two sons and fourteen grandchildren].

Christian Standard Bible
These were the sons of Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—that she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
These were the sons of Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—that she bore to Jacob: 16 persons.

American Standard Version
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.

English Revised Version
These are the sons of Zilpah, which Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She gave birth to these children for Jacob. The total was 16.

Good News Translation
These sixteen are the descendants of Jacob by Zilpah, the slave woman whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah.

International Standard Version
These were all sons from Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah. She bore these sixteen children for Jacob.

Majority Standard Bible
These are the sons of Jacob born to Zilpah?whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah?sixteen in all.

NET Bible
These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, sixteen in all.

New Heart English Bible
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah, and these she bore to Jacob, sixteen persons.

Webster's Bible Translation
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter: and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls.

World English Bible
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
These [are] sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah, and she bears these to Jacob—sixteen persons.

Young's Literal Translation
These are sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she beareth these to Jacob -- sixteen persons.

Smith's Literal Translation
These the sons of Zilpah whom Laban gave to Leah Iris daughter. And she will bear these to Jacob, sixteen souls.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
These are the sons of Zelpha, whom Laban gave to Lia his daughter. And these she bore to Jacob, sixteen souls.

Catholic Public Domain Version
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. And these she bore to Jacob: sixteen souls.

New American Bible
These are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah; these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons in all.

New Revised Standard Version
(these are the children of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons).
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, sixteen persons.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
These are the children of Zelpha whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she bore these sixteen souls to Yaquuv.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bore unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
These are the sons of Zelpha, which Laban gave to his daughter Lea, who bore these to Jacob, sixteen souls.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Children of Zilpah
17The children of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. 18These are the sons of Jacob born to Zilpah— whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah— sixteen in all.

Cross References
Exodus 1:1-5
These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: / Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; / Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; ...

Numbers 26:12-14
These were the descendants of Simeon by their clans: The Nemuelite clan from Nemuel, the Jaminite clan from Jamin, the Jachinite clan from Jachin, / the Zerahite clan from Zerah, and the Shaulite clan from Shaul. / These were the clans of Simeon, and there were 22,200 men.

1 Chronicles 7:30-31
The children of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. / The sons of Beriah: Heber, as well as Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith.

Deuteronomy 10:22
Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Exodus 6:15
The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.

Numbers 1:23
those registered to the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

1 Chronicles 5:1-2
These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So he is not reckoned according to birthright. / And though Judah prevailed over his brothers and a ruler came from him, the birthright belonged to Joseph.

Acts 7:14
Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.

Genesis 35:23-26
The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. / The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. / The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. ...

Genesis 29:24
And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maidservant.

Genesis 30:9-13
When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. / And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. / Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad. ...

Genesis 35:25-26
The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. / And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

Genesis 37:2
This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Genesis 41:50-52
Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. / Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” / And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Genesis 42:13
But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”


Treasury of Scripture

These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls.

Zilpah.

Genesis 29:24
And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.

Genesis 30:9-13
When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife…

Genesis 35:26
And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.

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Bare Beareth Bore Born Children Daughter Jacob Laban Persons Sixteen Souls Zilpah
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Bare Beareth Bore Born Children Daughter Jacob Laban Persons Sixteen Souls Zilpah
Genesis 46
1. Jacob is comforted by God at Beersheba.
5. Thence he with his company goes into Egypt.
8. The number of his family that went into Egypt.
28. Joseph meets Jacob.
31. He instructs his brothers how to answer Pharaoh.














These are the sons of Zilpah
Zilpah was a maidservant given to Leah by her father, Laban. In the Hebrew context, maidservants often played significant roles in the family dynamics of the patriarchs. Zilpah's sons were considered part of the tribes of Israel, highlighting God's inclusive plan and the importance of every individual in His divine narrative. The mention of Zilpah underscores the theme of God's providence and the unexpected ways He fulfills His promises.

whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah
Laban, Leah's father, was a key figure in the ancestral narratives of Genesis. His actions, often driven by self-interest, were used by God to fulfill His covenant promises. The giving of Zilpah to Leah reflects the customs of the time, where maidservants were often given as part of a dowry. This practice, while foreign to modern readers, was a means by which God worked within the cultural norms to bring about His purposes.

and these she bore to Jacob
Jacob, the patriarch, was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. The phrase emphasizes the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that his descendants would be numerous. Each child born to Jacob, including those through Zilpah, was a step toward the realization of this promise. It also reflects the complex family dynamics and the sovereignty of God in using human relationships to achieve His divine will.

sixteen in all
The number sixteen here refers to the total number of descendants from Zilpah, including her sons and grandsons. Numbers in the Bible often carry symbolic meaning, and while sixteen does not have a specific symbolic significance, it represents the completeness of Zilpah's contribution to the family of Israel. This completeness is a testament to God's faithfulness in multiplying Jacob's descendants, as He had promised.

(18) Sixteen souls.--That is, Gad and his seven sons, Asher and his four sons, the two grandsons and Serach.

Verse 18. - These arc the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
These
אֵ֚לֶּה (’êl·leh)
Pronoun - common plural
Strong's 428: These, those

are the sons
בְּנֵ֣י (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Jacob
לְיַעֲקֹ֔ב (lə·ya·‘ă·qōḇ)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3290: Jacob -- a son of Isaac, also his desc

born
וַתֵּ֤לֶד (wat·tê·leḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

to Zilpah—
זִלְפָּ֔ה (zil·pāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2153: Zilpah -- one of Jacob's wives

whom
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

Laban
לָבָ֖ן (lā·ḇān)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3837: Laban -- father-in-law of Jacob

gave
נָתַ֥ן (nā·ṯan)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

to his daughter
בִתּ֑וֹ (ḇit·tōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1323: A daughter

Leah—
לְלֵאָ֣ה (lə·lê·’āh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3812: Leah -- 'weary', a wife of Jacob

sixteen
שֵׁ֥שׁ (šêš)
Number - feminine singular construct
Strong's 8337: Six (a cardinal number)

in all.
נָֽפֶשׁ׃ (nā·p̄eš)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion


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OT Law: Genesis 46:18 These are the sons of Zilpah whom (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 46:17
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