There 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB There was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
- KJV And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
- NKJV Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.
- NASB Now there was no food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.
- NLT Meanwhile, the famine became so severe that all the food was used up, and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and 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 so severe that both Egypt and Canaan are exhausted for lack of bread. The crisis affects entire nations.
Overview
This verse sets the stage for Joseph's administration of the famine, underscoring its devastating reach. The scarcity reveals humanity's dependence on bread and ultimately on God's provision. Joseph's wise stewardship through this crisis displays the kind of provident care that points to God as the true sustainer of life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Acts 7:11Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
- Lam 4:9Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.
- Jer 9:12Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it?
- 1 Kgs 18:5Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”
- Gen 41:30–31but 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.
- Jer 14:1–6This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
- Joel 1:10–12The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails.
- Lam 2:19–20Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children who are fainting from hunger on the corner of every street.
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 47:13 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.