Genesis 41:56
in Genesis 41When 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the store-houses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine was sore in the land of Egypt.
KJV
And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
3 notes on this verseOver all the face of the earth - The original, כל פני הארץ col peney haarets, should be translated, all the face of that land, viz., Egypt, as it is explained at the end of the verse.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the famine was over all the face of the earth,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But improvident as men commonly are in the time of prosperity, they found themselves in want, and would have starved by thousands had not Joseph anticipated and provided for the protracted calamity.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָרָעָ֣ב | veharaav | and the famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| הָיָ֔ה | hayah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עַ֖ל | ʾal | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַיִּפְתַּ֨ח | vaiyiftach | and he opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| יוֹסֵ֜ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּהֶם֙ | bahem | [was] in <the> them | ||
| וַיִּשְׁבֹּ֣ר | vaiyishbor | and he bought grain | H7666 → | 21 times |
| לְמִצְרַ֔יִם | lemitzrayim | to Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וַיֶּחֱזַ֥ק | vaiyechezak | and it was severe | H2388 → | 291 times |
| הָֽרָעָ֖ב | haraav | the famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| בְּאֶ֥רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרָֽיִם׃ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
וְהָרָעָ֣בand the famine
veharaavH7458 →101 times
הָיָ֔הit was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
עַ֖לover
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וַיִּפְתַּ֨חand he opened
vaiyiftachH6605 →144 times
יוֹסֵ֜ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בָּהֶם֙[was] in <the> them
bahem
וַיִּשְׁבֹּ֣רand he bought grain
vaiyishborH7666 →21 times
לְמִצְרַ֔יִםto Egypt
lemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וַיֶּחֱזַ֥קand it was severe
vaiyechezakH2388 →291 times
הָֽרָעָ֖בthe famine
haraavH7458 →101 times
בְּאֶ֥רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרָֽיִם׃Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 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
Acts 17:26From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:7–8
Remember the days of old; consider the years long past. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will inform you.
- Genesis 3:20
And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.
- Malachi 2:10
Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why then do we break faith with one another so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?
- Romans 5:12–19
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
- 1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
- Deuteronomy 32:7–8
Through
Zechariah 5:3Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according…
it leads to
- Exodus 20:15
You shall not steal.
- Isaiah 24:6
Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants must bear the guilt; the earth’s dwellers have been burned, and only a few survive.
- Exodus 20:15
Through
Isaiah 23:17And at the end of seventy years, the LORD will restore Tyre. Then she will return to hire as a prostitute and sell herself to all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.
it leads to
- Nahum 3:4
because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft.
- Nahum 3:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
