Genesis 45:11

And there I will provide for you, because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you and your household and everything you own will come to destitution.’

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Joseph addresses his brothers in Egypt, explaining why he will sustain them in Goshen prior to Jacob’s arrival.

The words — כִלְכַּלְתִּי (khilkalti) translates literally as “I will provide for” or “sustain,” and שָׁם (sham) means “there.”

The thread — This promise of sustained provision continues in Genesis 47:12, where Joseph feeds the entire household during the famine.

Why it lands — The text states that five years of famine will continue, so Joseph pledges direct material support to prevent destitution. It requires the reader to acknowledge that survival through prolonged hardship depends on deliberate, ongoing provision rather than immediate relief.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְכִלְכַּלְתִּ֤יve./khil.kal.Tiand/ I will provide for אֹֽתְךָ֙'o.te./Kha<obj.>/ you שָׁ֔םShamthere כִּי־ki-for ע֛וֹדodstill חָמֵ֥שׁcha.Mesh[will be] five שָׁנִ֖יםsha.Nimyears רָעָ֑בra.'Avfamine פֶּן־pen-lest תִּוָּרֵ֛שׁti.va.Reshyou should become impoverished אַתָּ֥ה'a.Tahyou וּבֵֽיתְךָ֖u./vei.te./Khaand/ household/ your וְכָל־ve./kholand/ all אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-thatלָֽךְ׃La/kh[belongs] to/ you

King James Version

And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

Cross-references

Genesis 47:12 Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families.
Genesis 47:6 the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”
Matthew 15:5 But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
1 Timothy 5:4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show godliness to their own family and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
Mark 7:9 He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition.