Now the famine was still severe in the land.
Parallel translations
- WEB The famine was severe in the land.
- KJV And the famine was sore in the land.
- NKJV Now the famine was severe in the land.
- NASB Now the famine was severe in the land.
- NLT But the famine continued to ravage the land of Canaan.
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 famine grows severe, forcing the family to act. The pressing need overrides Jacob's reluctance.
Overview
This brief note explains why Jacob must finally reconsider sending Benjamin: the grain is gone and starvation looms. God uses ordinary hardship to move the family toward Egypt and reunion. The severity of the famine underscores the wider providence that drew Joseph to Egypt to preserve life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Gen 12:10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
- 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.
- Eccl 9:1–2So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.
- Acts 7:11–13Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
- 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.
- Lam 5:10Our skin is as hot as an oven with fever from our hunger.
- Gen 18:13And the LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really bear a child when I am old?’
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 43:1 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.