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Genesis 47:13

in Genesis 47

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, 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.

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This verse in Genesis 47

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

the famine was so severe

on Genesis 47:13-15

The seven lean years arrive as the dreams said. Genesis 41:32 had given the reason for the doubling, that God had determined the matter and would carry it out shortly. Joseph collects all the money in Egypt and Canaan into Pharaoh's palace, and then the money runs out. Everything the chapter does next follows from a currency that has stopped working.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

1 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. 2 And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. 3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation?

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

And there was no bread in all the land,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

there was no bread in all the land--This probably refers to the second year of the famine (Ge 45:6) when any little stores of individuals or families were exhausted and when the people had become universally dependent on the government.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

AND JOSEPH GATHERED UP ALL THE MONEY, etc. Scripture relates this and goes on to complete the subject in this entire section in order to make known Joseph’s excellence in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, 241 Exodus:3. and that he was a faithful man. Proverbs:6.
Ramban: Spain, 1194–1270 · Ramban on Genesis 47:14:1, via Sefaria, Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְלֶ֤חֶםand [was] food

    velechemH3899 →298 times

  • אֵין֙there not

    ʾeinH369 →789 times

  • בְּכָל־in all

    bekholH3605 →5413 times

  • הָאָ֔רֶץthe land

    haaretzH776 →2504 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • כָבֵ֥ד[was] heavy

    khavedH3515 →41 times

  • הָרָעָ֖בthe famine

    haraavH7458 →101 times

  • מְאֹ֑דvery

    meodH3966 →300 times

  • וַתֵּ֜לַהּand it languished

    vatelahH3856 →

  • אֶ֤רֶץ[the] land of

    ʾeretzH776 →2504 times

  • מִצְרַ֙יִם֙Egypt

    mitzrayimH4714 →641 times

  • וְאֶ֣רֶץand [the] land of

    veeretzH776 →2504 times

  • כְּנַ֔עַןCanaan

    kenaanH3667 →94 times

  • מִפְּנֵ֖י<from> because of

    mipeneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הָרָעָֽב׃the famine

    haraavH7458 →101 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 41:30but 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.5 worksActs 7:11Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.4 worksPsalms 105:16He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.3 worksJoel 1:10–12The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails.2 worksJeremiah 14:1–6This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:2 works1 Kings 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.”2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Lamentations 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.2 worksLamentations 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.2 worksJeremiah 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?2 worksGenesis 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.2 worksGenesis 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.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 7:11

    Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 41:54–57

      the 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.

    • Psalms 105:16

      He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.

    • Genesis 45:5–6

      And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.

    • Genesis 43:1

      Now the famine was still severe in the land.

    • Genesis 42:5

      So the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.

  • Through

    1 Kings 18:5

    Then 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…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 14:5–6

      Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass.

    • Joel 1:18

      How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

    • Romans 8:20–22

      For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope

About Genesis

The Garden of Eden, Thomas Cole, 1828, Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Public domain.
The Garden of Eden, Thomas Cole, 1828, Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Public domain.
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 47 →

This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 47 →