Genesis 41:30
in Genesis 41but 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
KJV
And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
It is just as I said to Pharaoh
on Genesis 41:28-31
The famine will be heavy enough to wipe out the memory of the good years. Gill notes that abundance on this scale rested on the Nile rising high year after year, and seven such years running are credited here to God. The language of forgetting comes back at verse 51, over Manasseh.
This site's exposition
the famine will devastate the land
Genesis has told of famines before, in Abram's day at 12:10 and Isaac's at 26:1. This one will devastate, a verb meaning to use up. Abram and Isaac escaped hunger by moving, and this time the whole region will share it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
36 And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine. 37 And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The great increase of the years of plenty was quite lost and swallowed up in the years of famine; and the overplus of it, which seemed very much, yet did but just serve to keep men alive.
And there shall arise after them seven years of famine,....
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֠קָמוּ | vekamu | and they will arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| שֶׁ֜בַע | sheva' | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| שְׁנֵ֤י | shenei | years of | H8141 → | 877 times |
| רָעָב֙ | raav | famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| אַחֲרֵיהֶ֔ן | ʾachareihen | after them | H310 → | 715 times |
| וְנִשְׁכַּ֥ח | venishkach | and it will be forgotten | H7911 → | 102 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַשָּׂבָ֖ע | hasava' | the plenty | H7647 → | 8 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְכִלָּ֥ה | vekhilah | and it will destroy | H3615 → | 208 times |
| הָרָעָ֖ב | haraav | the famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וְ֠קָמוּand they will arise
vekamuH6965 →628 times
שֶׁ֜בַעseven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
שְׁנֵ֤יyears of
sheneiH8141 →877 times
רָעָב֙famine
raavH7458 →101 times
אַחֲרֵיהֶ֔ןafter them
ʾachareihenH310 →715 times
וְנִשְׁכַּ֥חand it will be forgotten
venishkachH7911 →102 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַשָּׂבָ֖עthe plenty
hasava'H7647 →8 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְכִלָּ֥הand it will destroy
vekhilahH3615 →208 times
הָרָעָ֖בthe famine
haraavH7458 →101 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 5:17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 17:1
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in…
- Luke 4:25
But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all…
- Revelation 11:6
These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with…
- 1 Kings 18:1
After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of…
- Acts 14:15
“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made…
- 1 Kings 17:1
Through
Genesis 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.
it leads to
- Acts 7:11
Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Acts 7:11
Through
Psalms 105:16He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 4:16
Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water…
- Isaiah 3:1
For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,
- Ezekiel 4:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
