Genesis 26:1

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ¹  in the days of Abraham. ²  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

Genesis 41:30

41:30 But seven years of famine will occur ³  after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate ⁴  the land.

Genesis 41:36

41:36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.” ⁵ 

Genesis 41:54

41:54 Then the seven years of famine began, ⁶  just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food.

Genesis 41:56

41:56 While the famine was over all the earth, ⁷  Joseph opened the storehouses ⁸  and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt.

Genesis 47:13

47:13 But there was no food in all the land because the famine was very severe; the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away ⁹  because of the famine.

[26:1]  ¹ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ² sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.

[41:30]  ³ tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.

[41:30]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb כָּלָה (kalah) in the Piel stem means “to finish, to destroy, to bring an end to.” The severity of the famine will ruin the land of Egypt.

[41:36]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the land will not be cut off in the famine.”

[41:54]  ⁷ tn Heb “began to arrive.”

[41:56]  ⁹ tn Or “over the entire land”; Heb “over all the face of the earth.” The disjunctive clause is circumstantial-temporal to the next clause.

[41:56]  ¹⁰ tc The MT reads “he opened all that was in [or “among”] them.” The translation follows the reading of the LXX and Syriac versions.

[47:13]  ¹¹ tn The verb לַהַה (lahah, = לָאָה, la’ah) means “to faint, to languish”; it figuratively describes the land as wasting away, drooping, being worn out.