New International Version
Genesis 12:10
10Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
Genesis 12:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.
- New Living Translation (NLT)At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner.
Context of Genesis 12:10
8From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. 9Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
Read all of Genesis 12Genesis 12:10 word by word
וַיְהִ֥י רָעָ֖ב בָּאָ֑רֶץ וַיֵּ֨רֶד אַבְרָ֤ם מִצְרַ֙יְמָה֙ לָג֣וּר שָׁ֔ם כִּֽי־כָבֵ֥ד הָרָעָ֖ב בָּאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 12:10
- Genesis 26:1Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar.
- Genesis 42:5So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.
- Genesis 43:1Now the famine was still severe in the land.
- Genesis 47:13There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.
- Ruth 1:1In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.
- 2 Samuel 21:1During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”
- 1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”
- 2 Kings 4:38Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.”
- 2 Kings 6:25There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels.
- 2 Kings 7:1Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
- Psalms 34:19The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;
- Psalms 107:34and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
- Jeremiah 14:1This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
- John 16:33“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
- Acts 7:11“Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food.
- Acts 14:22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
Commentaries on Genesis 12:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10There was a famine in the land - Of Canaan. This is the first famine on record, and it prevailed in the most fertile land then under the sun; and why? God made it desolate for the wickedness of those who dwelt in it. Went down into Egypt - He felt himself a stranger and a pilgrim, and by his unsettled state was kept in mind of the city that hath foundations that are permanent and stable, whose builder is the living God. See Hebrews 11:8, Hebrews 11:9.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10-20Verses 10-20 - XXXVIII. Abram in Egypt 15. פרעה par‛oh Paroh, “ouro.” Coptic for “king,” with the masculine article pi. or p. P-ouro, “the king.” If we separate the article p. from the Hebrew form, we have רעה re‛oh for king, which may be compared with רעה ro‛eh “pastor, leader,” and the Latin rex, king. This is the common title of the Egyptian sovereigns, to which we have the personal name occasionally added, as Pharaoh-Necho, Pharaoh-Hophrah. Genesis…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-20Verses 10-20 There is no state on earth free from trials, nor any character free from blemishes. There was famine in Canaan, the glory of all lands, and unbelief, with the evils it ever brings, in Abram the father of the faithful. Perfect happiness and perfect purity dwell only in heaven. Abram, when he must for a time quit Canaan, goes to Egypt, that he might not seem to look back, and meaning to tarry there no longer than needful. There Abram dissembled…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10The Nile River supplied plenty of water for crops, so Egypt was usually the last area to experience famine.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. there was a famine ... and Abram went down into Egypt--He did not go back to the place of his nativity, as regretting his pilgrimage and despising the promised land (He 11:15), but withdrew for a while into a neighboring country.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 12:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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