Genesis 12:10

From OpenWordBase

“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.”

History, Meteorology, Topography, Geography

Famine, Dearth, Relocation, Immigration ^{(180) (181) (182) (183)}

This is the first famine on record, and it prevailed in the most fertile land then under the sun. It occurred in Canaan. This land is watered by periodical rains. A season of drought arrests the progress of vegetation, and brings on a famine. But in Egypt, the fertility of the loamy soil depends not on local showers, but on the annual rise of the Nile, which is fed by the rains of a far-distant mountain range. Hence, when the land of Canaan (Kenaan) was wasted by drought and consequent famine, Egypt was generally so productive as to be the granary of the neighboring countries. As Kenaan was the brother of Mizraim, the contact between the two countries in which they dwelt was natural and frequent. Dry seasons and dearth of provisions seem to have been of frequent occurrence in the land of Kenaan (note Genesis 26:1 and 41:56-57). Even Egypt itself was not exempt from such calamitous visitations.