The commentaries of M. John Calvin upon the Acts of the Apostles, faithfully translated…The commentaries of M. Iohn Caluin vpon the Actes of the Apostles, faithfully translated…

14 Whereas he saith that Jacob came into Egypt with seventy five souls, it agreeth not with the words of Moses. For Moses maketh mention of seventy only. Hierome thinketh that Luke setteth not down word for word those things which Stephen had spoken, or that he took this number out of the Greek translation of Moses: either because he himself being a Proselyte had not the knowledge of the Hebrew tongue:¹ or because he would grant the Gentiles this, who used to read it thus. Furthermore it is uncertain whether the Greek interpreters set down this number of set purpose, or whether it crop in afterward through negligence. Which (I mean the latter) might well be, forasmuch as the Grecians use to set down their numbers in letters. August in his 26. book of city of God, thinketh that Josephs nephews & kinsmen are comprehended in this number: & so he thinketh that the word went down, doth signify all that time which Jacob lived. But that conjecture can by no means be received. For in the mean space the other patriarchs also had many children born to them. This seemeth to me a thing like to be true, that the seventy interpreters did translate that truly which was in Moses. And we cannot say that they were deceived: forasmuch as Deu. 10. where this number is repeated, they agree with Moses, at least as that place was read without all doubt in the time of Hierome. For those copies which are printed at this day, have it otherwise. Therefore I think that this difference came through the error of the writers which wrote out the ⟨p. 146⟩books. And it was a matter of no such weight, for which Luke ought to have troubled the Gentiles which were accustomed with the Greek reading. And it may be that he himself did put down the true number: & that some man did correct the same amiss out of that place of Moses. For we know that those which had the new testament in hand, were ignorant of the Hebrew tongue, yet skilful in the Greek. Therefore to the end e the words of Stephen might agree with the place of Moses, it is to be thought that that false number which was found in the Greek translation of Genesis was by them put in also in this place: concerning which if any man contend more stubbornly, let us suffer him to be wise without measure. Let us remember that it is not without cause that Paul doth forbid us to be too curious about genealogies.