Why does the Torah first count those that came to Egypt as numbering 66, and then (in 46:27) as 70?
Rashi: This Pasuk lists those who were coming to Egypt, excluding Yocheved, who was not yet born, and Yosef and his sons who were already there; whereas the following Pasuk lists those who finally came to Egypt, including them.
Moshav Zekenim citing R. Yehudah ha'Chasid: Surely 70 descended from Eretz Yisrael to Egypt. Four were married to Yaakov's sons. They were not counted, for a man and his wife count as one. Serach and Dinah were counted, for they were single.
Ibn Ezra, Rashbam, Riva (to 46:15): Yosef and his sons were already there. Yaakov is the 70th, 1 like it says, "b'Shiv'im Nefesh Yardu Avosecha Mitzraimah" (Devarim 10:22). 2
Refer to 46:4:2:2, and the note there.
Moshav Zekenim (to 43:9): Yosef, Binyamin, Efrayim and Menasheh were in Egypt (Binyamin never returned to Eretz Yisrael after coming to Egypt).
Ohr ha'Chayim: "Ha'Ba'ah l'Yaakov" excludes Yosef and his sons, and Yaakov himself. Also "Yotze'ei Yerecho" excludes Yaakov himself. Refer to 46:8:3:2. "Kol ha'Nefesh l'Beis Yaakov ha'Ba'ah Mitzraimah" includes all of them.
According to the opinion that a twin sister was born with each of the tribes, why does the Torah not mention them in this Parshah?
Rashi: They must have all died before they went down to Egypt. 1
Ramban: According to that opinion (Rebbi Yehudah), their brothers married them, 2 and none of the wives are listed. 3
Moshav Zekenim: Twins come from one drop of semen. They are not important to be counted as two. Peretz and Zerach are different, for they were born one after the other. 4
Moshav Zekenim: What forced this opinion to say that twin sisters were born? If it is due to "v'Chol Benosav" (37:35), it also says here "u'Venos Banav" (46:7), and it is only Serach! Rather, since it says v'Chol, we cannot say that it is only one.
Each brother married a sister from a different mother - which is permitted to the Bnei Noach.
Ramban: As the Torah specifically states (in this Pasuk), "besides the wives of Yaakov's sons." (As for why Rashi did not explain this way, refer to 46:26:2.1.) Moshav Zekenim - There is no Havah Amina to list wives who were not descendants of Yaakov! (The Ramban elaborates on Rebbi Yehudah's opinion, and explains why the Torah does not list the names of the wives.)
This implies that all the other twins were born together! (PF)
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "According to the opinion that twin sisters were born with the Shevatim (whom they later married - Rashi to 37:35) we must explain that the sisters died before the descent to Egypt -- for they are not counted here." Yet perhaps they had not died; and they are not mentioned due to the verse, "aside from the wives of Yaakov's sons"?
Gur Aryeh #1: The verse "aside from the wives of Yaakov's sons" excludes only those wives who were not of the offspring of Yaakov. 1 (The twin sisters would in fact have been counted, had they been alive.)
Gur Aryeh #2: The whole purpose of this section is to count Yaakov's offspring. If all the twin sisters were unilaterally excluded from the count, we would not know how many of them were still alive.
Gur Aryeh #3: In fact, we need not say that they had died. Just as the Torah did not mention their birth, they are not mentioned independently here either; for they are secondary to their twin brothers.
Gur Aryeh: Mizrachi asks, why would I think that foreign wives would be included in the count of Yaakov's offspring in the first place? Gur Aryeh answers - I might have thought that they are not mentioned because they had all died (even the foreign wives). The verse tells us that those wives did in fact descend to Egypt; they are merely not mentioned. Alternatively, this very verse comes to mention them here, if only generally.
