Genesis 47:13

Summary

The verse states that there was no food anywhere in the land because the famine was extremely severe, and as a result the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan became exhausted on account of the famine.

Key words

• Lechem ("food", H3899G) — masculine singular noun, the subject of the negated existential clause "there was no food."
• 'ein ("there not", H0369) — existential negator in construct form, used to state the absence of something ("there is no X of...").
• khaved ("was heavy/severe", H3515) — masculine singular adjective describing ra'av ("famine"), functioning as the predicate of the causal clause introduced by ki.
• Telah ("it languished", H3856A) — qal verb with narrative vav, feminine singular form agreeing with 'eretz ("land"), marking the next event in the narrative sequence.
• penei ("face of / because of", H6440I) — masculine plural construct noun following the preposition mi, forming the idiom "from the face of" to express causation.

What the text says

The verse divides into two clauses joined by the narrative vav. The first clause, ve-lechem 'ein be-khol ha-'aretz, uses the existential negator 'ein ("there not", H0369) in construct with lechem ("food", H3899G) to assert total absence of food "in all the land" (be-khol ha-'aretz). This is followed by a causal clause introduced by ki ("for/that", H3588A): khaved ha-ra'av me'od — "the famine was very heavy" — where the adjective khaved ("heavy", H3515) predicates the noun ra'av ("famine", H7458), intensified by me'od ("very", H3966).

The second half of the verse shifts to narrative action with va-Telah ("and it languished", H3856A), a qal verb marked by the narrative vav that advances the storyline. Its subject is 'eretz Mitzrayim ve-'eretz Kena'an — "the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan" — both in construct form ('eretz, H0776G) governing the proper names Mitzrayim and Kena'an. The verb Telah is feminine singular, agreeing grammatically with 'eretz ("land") even though two lands are named, suggesting the verb may govern the nearer or combined subject as a unified idea. The final phrase mi-penei ha-ra'av ("from the face of the famine") uses the idiomatic construct penei ("face of", H6440I) with the preposition mi to express causation — literally "from the face of," conveying "because of" or "on account of" the famine.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders Telah ("languished", H3856A) with ἐξέλιπεν ("failed/gave out"), a comparable but distinct verb choice describing exhaustion rather than languishing. The Vulgate uses oppresserat ("had oppressed"), shifting the grammatical subject: instead of the land languishing, the Vulgate presents the famine as the active agent oppressing the land, with terram ("the land") as object. The Vulgate also adds maxime ("especially"), which is not present in the Hebrew construct chain 'eretz Mitzrayim ve-'eretz Kena'an.