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 ¹  because of the famine.

Genesis 12:10

The Promised Blessing Jeopardized

12:10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt ²  to stay for a while ³  because the famine was severe. ⁴ 

Genesis 41:57

41:57 People from every country ⁵  came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth.

Genesis 42:5

42:5 So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers, ⁶  for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 26:1

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ⁷  in the days of Abraham. ⁸  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

Genesis 41:30-31

41:30 But seven years of famine will occur ⁹  after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate ¹⁰  the land. 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered ¹¹  because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. ¹² 

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.” ¹³ 

Genesis 41:50

41:50 Two sons were born to Joseph before the famine came. ¹⁴  Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. ¹⁵ 

Genesis 41:54

41:54 Then the seven years of famine began, ¹⁶  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, ¹⁷  Joseph opened the storehouses ¹⁸  and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt.

Genesis 45:6

45:6 For these past two years there has been famine in ¹⁹  the land and for five more years there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

Genesis 47:4

47:4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as temporary residents ²⁰  in the land. There ²¹  is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”

Genesis 47:20

47:20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Each ²²  of the Egyptians sold his field, for the famine was severe. ²³  So the land became Pharaoh’s.

[47:13]  ¹ 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.

[12:10]  ² sn Abram went down to Egypt. The Abrahamic narrative foreshadows some of the events in the life of the nation of Israel. This sojourn in Egypt is typological of Israel’s bondage there. In both stories there is a famine that forces the family to Egypt, death is a danger to the males while the females are preserved alive, great plagues bring about their departure, there is a summons to stand before Pharaoh, and there is a return to the land of Canaan with great wealth.

[12:10]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb גּוּר (gur), traditionally rendered “to sojourn,” means “to stay for a while.” The “stranger” (traditionally “sojourner”) is one who is a temporary resident, a visitor, one who is passing through. Abram had no intention of settling down in Egypt or owning property. He was only there to wait out the famine.

[12:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “heavy in the land.” The words “in the land,” which also occur at the beginning of the verse in the Hebrew text, have not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[41:57]  ³ tn Heb “all the earth,” which refers here (by metonymy) to the people of the earth. Note that the following verb is plural in form, indicating that the inhabitants of the earth are in view.

[42:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the midst of the coming ones.”

[26:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁶ tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.

[41:30]  ⁷ 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.

[41:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “known.”

[41:31]  ⁸ tn Or “heavy.”

[41:36]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the land will not be cut off in the famine.”

[41:50]  ⁹ tn Heb “before the year of the famine came.”

[41:50]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “gave birth for him.”

[41:54]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “began to arrive.”

[41:56]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tc The MT reads “he opened all that was in [or “among”] them.” The translation follows the reading of the LXX and Syriac versions.

[45:6]  ¹² tn Heb “the famine [has been] in the midst of.”

[47:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “to sojourn.”

[47:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for there.” The Hebrew uses a causal particle to connect what follows with what precedes. The translation divides the statement into two sentences for stylistic reasons.

[47:20]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text connects this clause with the preceding one with a causal particle (כִּי, ki). The translation divides the clauses into two sentences for stylistic reasons.

[47:20]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds “upon them.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.