For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.
Parallel translations
- WEB For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are yet five years, in which there will be no plowing and no harvest.
- KJV For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
- NKJV For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
- NASB For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
- NLT This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
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
Joseph explains that two years of famine have passed with five more to come. The ongoing crisis underscores why their relocation is urgent.
Overview
Joseph informs his brothers that the famine is only partway through its seven-year course. The continuing scarcity makes clear the family's need for refuge in Egypt. His foreknowledge, granted by God through Pharaoh's dreams, shows the providence that positioned him to preserve them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 47:23Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land.
- Gen 41:56When the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.
- Gen 41:54the 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 41:29–31Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,
- Exod 34:21Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.
- Gen 47:18When that year was over, they came to him the second year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord that our money is gone and all our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.
- Deut 21:4bring the heifer to a valley with running water that has not been plowed or sown, and break its neck there by the stream.
- 1 Sam 8:12He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, to make his weapons of war, and to equip his chariots.
- Isa 30:24The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.
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 45:6 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.