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†. Gen 41:53-54 . . At last the seven years of plenty came to an end.
Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted.
There were crop failures in all the surrounding countries, too, but in
Egypt there was plenty of grain in the storehouses.
Joseph had made no mention of the misfortunes of Egypt's neighbors to
Pharaoh. But now comes out the reason for Egypt's incredible over
abundance during the good years. It wasn't meant just to sustain their own
selves that God had so blessed the Egyptians, no, all around them countries
were effected, became desperate, and forced to look outside themselves for
relief.
In order for the countries all around Egypt to experience the famine, it would
mean that they too were experiencing severe reductions in annual rainfall.
Though northern Egypt, around the Nile delta, normally receives very little
rain to begin with, it's agriculture prospers because of heavy rainfalls way
down in Africa that feed tributaries flowing into the Nile; e.g. the Blue Nile.
We're talking about a massive watershed encompassing several thousands
of square miles of Africa's countryside. And that, added to the surrounding
countries, really adds up to an incredibly large geographic area effected by
an unbelievable large-scale drought.
†. Gen 41:53-56 . .Throughout the land of Egypt the people began to
starve. They pleaded with Pharaoh for food, and he told them; Go to
Joseph and do whatever he tells you. So with severe famine
everywhere in the land, Joseph opened up the storehouses and sold
grain to the Egyptians.
Advocates of a welfare state might question Joseph's ethical integrity and
want to know why he "sold" grain to his fellow citizens instead of just doling
it out in soup lines. Well, for one thing, quite a few of the Egyptians had
good incomes (Ex 3:20-22, Ex 11:2). They were quite prosperous and could
easily afford to pay-- at least at first. Secondly, Joseph answered to a higher
power than himself. It was his duty to look out for Pharaoh's best interests,
and make sure his boss received adequate taxes even during lean years (cf.
Matt 25:14-30, 1Cor 4:1-2, 1Pet 4:10).
†. Gen 41:57 . . And people from surrounding lands also came to
Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe
throughout the world.
The "world" wasn't the whole planet, nor did the drought effect the whole
planet as the Flood had. The famine was severe throughout the world, but
not everywhere under the whole sky (cf. Gen 7:19); meaning that wherever
the famine was, it was severe; as opposed to severe in some places while
tolerable in others; viz: nobody had it good. Wherever that famine went, if it
went there at all, then it was all bad rather than some bad and some not so
bad.
At this point, Joseph had been away from home for twenty years (cf. Gen
37:2, Gen 41:46, Gen 41:53) and had seen neither his dad nor his brothers
even once in all that time. When he was sold into slavery, Joseph was just a
young teen-ager; now he's in his late thirties. He was just a boy then; now
he's a man.
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†. Gen 41:53-54 . . At last the seven years of plenty came to an end.
Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted.
There were crop failures in all the surrounding countries, too, but in
Egypt there was plenty of grain in the storehouses.
Joseph had made no mention of the misfortunes of Egypt's neighbors to
Pharaoh. But now comes out the reason for Egypt's incredible over
abundance during the good years. It wasn't meant just to sustain their own
selves that God had so blessed the Egyptians, no, all around them countries
were effected, became desperate, and forced to look outside themselves for
relief.
In order for the countries all around Egypt to experience the famine, it would
mean that they too were experiencing severe reductions in annual rainfall.
Though northern Egypt, around the Nile delta, normally receives very little
rain to begin with, it's agriculture prospers because of heavy rainfalls way
down in Africa that feed tributaries flowing into the Nile; e.g. the Blue Nile.
We're talking about a massive watershed encompassing several thousands
of square miles of Africa's countryside. And that, added to the surrounding
countries, really adds up to an incredibly large geographic area effected by
an unbelievable large-scale drought.
†. Gen 41:53-56 . .Throughout the land of Egypt the people began to
starve. They pleaded with Pharaoh for food, and he told them; Go to
Joseph and do whatever he tells you. So with severe famine
everywhere in the land, Joseph opened up the storehouses and sold
grain to the Egyptians.
Advocates of a welfare state might question Joseph's ethical integrity and
want to know why he "sold" grain to his fellow citizens instead of just doling
it out in soup lines. Well, for one thing, quite a few of the Egyptians had
good incomes (Ex 3:20-22, Ex 11:2). They were quite prosperous and could
easily afford to pay-- at least at first. Secondly, Joseph answered to a higher
power than himself. It was his duty to look out for Pharaoh's best interests,
and make sure his boss received adequate taxes even during lean years (cf.
Matt 25:14-30, 1Cor 4:1-2, 1Pet 4:10).
†. Gen 41:57 . . And people from surrounding lands also came to
Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe
throughout the world.
The "world" wasn't the whole planet, nor did the drought effect the whole
planet as the Flood had. The famine was severe throughout the world, but
not everywhere under the whole sky (cf. Gen 7:19); meaning that wherever
the famine was, it was severe; as opposed to severe in some places while
tolerable in others; viz: nobody had it good. Wherever that famine went, if it
went there at all, then it was all bad rather than some bad and some not so
bad.
At this point, Joseph had been away from home for twenty years (cf. Gen
37:2, Gen 41:46, Gen 41:53) and had seen neither his dad nor his brothers
even once in all that time. When he was sold into slavery, Joseph was just a
young teen-ager; now he's in his late thirties. He was just a boy then; now
he's a man.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=