The Meaning of Genesis 47:13 Explained

Genesis 47:13

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.

YLT: And there is no bread in all the land, for the famine is very grievous, and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan are feeble because of the famine;

Darby: And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very grievous; and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted through the famine.

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 Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Genesis 47:13 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 47:13-26 - Egyptians Saved In Famine
The slender stores of the Egyptians were soon exhausted, and had it not been for Joseph the streets would have been filled with the dying and dead. His Egyptian name means "the savior of the world;" and the confession of the Egyptians proved how true it was: "Thou hast saved our lives." How closely the parallel holds! Joseph rose from the pit and the prison to save his brethren as well as the myriads of his adopted fellow-countrymen: Jesus rose from the grave to be a Prince and a Savior. Joseph's bread cost him nothing, while Jesus gave us that which cost him Calvary. Joseph sold his corn for money; our Lord gave himself without money or price. You may go to Him without reluctance, though your sack is empty and you have no money in your hand; but He will give and give again, without stint. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 47

1  Joseph presents his father, and five of his brothers before Pharaoh
11  He gives them habitation and maintenance
13  He gets the Egyptian's money;
16  their cattle;
18  and their lands, except the priests', to Pharaoh
23  He restores the land for a fifth
28  Jacob's age
29  He swears Joseph to bury him with his fathers

What do the individual words in Genesis 47:13 mean?

And bread [there was] no in all the land for severe the famine [was] very so that languished the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan because of the famine
וְלֶ֤חֶם אֵין֙ בְּכָל־ הָאָ֔רֶץ כִּֽי־ כָבֵ֥ד הָרָעָ֖ב מְאֹ֑ד וַתֵּ֜לַהּ אֶ֤רֶץ מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ וְאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן מִפְּנֵ֖י הָרָעָֽב

וְלֶ֤חֶם  And  bread 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
אֵין֙  [there  was]  no 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
בְּכָל־  in  all 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הָאָ֔רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
כָבֵ֥ד  severe 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: כָּבֵד  
Sense: heavy, great.
הָרָעָ֖ב  the  famine  [was] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רָעָב  
Sense: famine, hunger.
מְאֹ֑ד  very 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מְאֹד  
Sense: exceedingly, much subst.
וַתֵּ֜לַהּ  so  that  languished 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יָלַהּ 
Sense: (Qal) to languish, faint.
אֶ֤רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
מִצְרַ֙יִם֙  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
וְאֶ֣רֶץ  and  the  land 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
כְּנַ֔עַן  of  Canaan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּנַעַן 
Sense: the 4th son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine.
מִפְּנֵ֖י  because 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הָרָעָֽב  of  the  famine 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רָעָב  
Sense: famine, hunger.