Genesis 41:31
in Genesis 41The abundance in the land will not be remembered, since the famine that follows it will be so severe.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine which followeth; for it shall be very grievous.
KJV
And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.
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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 are credited to God. The language of forgetting comes back at verse 51, over Manasseh.
This site's exposition
the famine that follows it will be so severe
Severe translates kaved, heavy. The same root gives the Hebrew word for glory and calls the famine of 12:10 heavy in the land. In Exodus it names the heavy heart of a later Pharaoh.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 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
And the plenty shall not be known in the land, by reason of that famine following,.... That is, before it would be over; otherwise the former plenty was in some measure known by the stores of provisions laid up in the seven years of it, and which were brought forth when the famine became very pressing; but by that time, and before the seven years of it were ended, there were no traces of the foregoing plenty to be observed: for it shall be very grievous; as it was both in Egypt and in all the countries round about.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following - As Egypt depends for its fertility on the flowing of the Nile, and this flowing is not always equal, there must be a point to which it must rise to saturate the land sufficiently, in order to produce grain sufficient for the support of its inhabitants. Pliny, Hist.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִוָּדַ֤ע | yivada' | it will be known | H3045 → | 945 times |
| הַשָּׂבָע֙ | hasava' | the plenty | H7647 → | 8 times |
| בָּאָ֔רֶץ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֛י | mipenei | <from> because of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָרָעָ֥ב | haraav | the famine | H7458 → | 101 times |
| הַה֖וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אַחֲרֵי־ | ʾacharei- | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| כֵ֑ן | khen | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כָבֵ֥ד | khaved | [will be] heavy | H3515 → | 41 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִוָּדַ֤עit will be known
yivada'H3045 →945 times
הַשָּׂבָע֙the plenty
hasava'H7647 →8 times
בָּאָ֔רֶץin the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
מִפְּנֵ֛י<from> because of
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
הָרָעָ֥בthe famine
haraavH7458 →101 times
הַה֖וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
אַחֲרֵי־after
ʾacharei-H310 →715 times
כֵ֑ןthus
khenH3651 →771 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
כָבֵ֥ד[will be] heavy
khavedH3515 →41 times
ה֖וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
מְאֹֽד׃very
meodH3966 →300 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
1 Samuel 5:6Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 5:11
Then the Ekronites assembled all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us…
- Psalms 32:4
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah
- Deuteronomy 28:27
The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.
- Exodus 9:3
then the hand of the LORD will bring a severe plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.
- Acts 13:11
Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him,…
- 1 Samuel 5:11
Through
Isaiah 24:20The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.
it leads to
- Isaiah 19:14
The LORD has poured into her a spirit of confusion. Egypt has been led astray in all she does, as a drunkard staggers through his own vomit.
- Isaiah 29:9
Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not from strong drink.
- Daniel 11:19
After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.
- Isaiah 19:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the 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.