The Torah tells us that seventy members of Jacob’s household entered Egypt, yet the Torah itself counts the names with a total of just sixty-nine.
There are different opinions on how we reach a total of seventy. One is to simply say that the Torah rounded up the number, as we have seen done throughout the Torah. There are three other possibilities: We can count either G-d, Jacob, or Yocheved, who was born as they entered Egypt.
Generally speaking, the explanations are not mutually exclusive, but in this case, it cannot be all three, because then the number would be seventy-two! So how do we reconcile these opposing opinions?
In this case we must find a deeper understanding of what is going on here.
In order for the Jews to leave Egypt down the road, they have to have strong faith in G-d. However the question is how the faith will be provided to them. Here is where we have three approaches.
1 - G-d. G-d provides us with faith. But the way G-d does this for us is in a very external way, to the extent that we don’t feel G-d providing it to us. If we did, then we would not have faith per se, but knowledge. G-d enters into the exile with us so that we are able to tap into our faith and stand strong in the face of such a difficult time. (This is on the level of Aggadah.)
2 - Jacob. Jacob also provides us with faith. He brings along the commitment to G-d that he inherited from his parents and grandparents. This kind of faith is real and tangible to the Jewish people. This reason is more esoteric yet practical. (It is hard to include G-d as one of the seventy since G-d is not felt on a physical level, and Yocheved never left Israel, so she could not be the inspiration or the bedrock of our faith to return to Israel.)
3 - Yocheved. Yocheved may not be connected so strongly to Israel, but she is the only survivor of that era that experienced the hardship of the exile. Yocheved was a woman who had a very deep-rooted faith in G-d. We read in the Torah in numerous portions how women have a deep natural belief in G-d, and here Yocheved was able to bring this faith to the Jewish people. We see that Yocheved ends up mothering Moshe, the eventual leader and redeemer of the Jewish people. That is why we count her as the seventieth. This reason is more befitting for the literal explanation of the verses, since it clearly says the children of Jacob equal seventy (which means not including Jacob).
We can now understand that the three opinions are not mutually exclusive, but are rather three levels in harnessing our faith.