Verse Lens · Context pointer
Genesis 46:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
Gad's seven sons open Zilpah's maternal branch. The verse contributes to the sixteen-person subtotal but supplies no independent actions, character evaluations, or meaning for the names.
Read It With
- Genesis 46:8–27
Read verses 16–18 together. Verse 18 identifies Zilpah and gives the subtotal that explains why Gad's names appear here.
Why It Needs Context
The verse functions as one part of a maternal household register and should not be inflated into unrelated doctrine or name symbolism.
Read Genesis 46:16–18 together
Why these verses belong together: Gad and Asher's descendants, including Serah, are attributed to Zilpah and totaled at sixteen.
Verse 16. 16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
Verse 17. 17 And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.
Verse 18. 18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 46:8–27 — Jacob's Household Is CountedSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? very strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed text, maternal family background, death notice, migration categories, settlement transition, later clan comparison, seventy tradition, and Acts seventy-five reception.
Exact location: Genesis 46:5–27 with Genesis 29:31–30:24; 35:22–26; 38:1–30; 46:28–47:12; 50:22–26; Exodus 1:1–7; Numbers 26; Deuteronomy 10:22; and Acts 7:14 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Exact Hebrew family, descent, person, exclusion, subtotal, and household language supporting the received-form categories.
Exact location: WLC Genesis 46:8–27, especially the names heading in v. 8; maternal formulas and subtotals in vv. 15, 18, 22, and 25; direct-descendant and wife-exclusion wording in v. 26; and house-of-Jacob total in v. 27
Open source ↗