Though the text mentions only Jacob as having gone down to Egypt, quite naturally the implication is that Jacob and the whole family went to Egypt. In some languages it is necessary to specify this fact, for example, “Jacob and the rest went down to Egypt” or “they all went down to Egypt.”

Since, in certain languages, he and our ancestors might be understood to exclude Jacob from among the ancestors, one must translate as “he and our other ancestors.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .