Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction. Our fathers found no food.
- KJV Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
- NKJV Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance.
- NASB “Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers could find no food.
- NLT “But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A famine strikes Egypt and Canaan, leaving the patriarchs without food. Hardship drives God's people toward the deliverance He has prepared.
Overview
The famine sets in motion the events that bring Israel to Egypt and to Joseph. Stephen shows God ordering even disaster to fulfill His larger purpose. The need of the fathers prepares for the reconciliation and rescue that Joseph, God's instrument, will provide.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Gen 41:54–57the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt.
- Gen 45:11And there I will provide for you, because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you and your household and everything you own will come to destitution.’
- Gen 43:1Now the famine was still severe in the land.
- Ps 105:16He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
- Gen 45:5–6And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.
- Gen 47:13–15There was no food, however, in all that region, because the famine was so severe; the lands of Egypt and Canaan had been exhausted by the famine.
- Gen 42:5So the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 7:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.