the 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB The seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
- KJV And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
- NKJV and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
- NASB and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
- NLT Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. The famine also struck all the surrounding countries, but throughout Egypt there was plenty 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
The seven years of famine begin as Joseph predicted, with famine everywhere but bread in Egypt.
Overview
The famine arrives just as God revealed, striking all lands while Egypt has stored bread. Joseph's God-given foresight now preserves life amid widespread scarcity. God's provision through His servant becomes a refuge for many nations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Acts 7:11Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
- Ps 105:16He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
- 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 41:30but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will devastate the land.
- Gen 42:5–6So the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.
- Gen 43:1Now the famine was still severe in the land.
- Gen 47:13There 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 41:6–7After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind.
- Gen 41:3–4After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river.
- Gen 41:27Moreover, the seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind—they are seven years of famine.
- Gen 42:2“Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 41:54 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 Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.