Look at the gifts that were sent to Egypt as homage. So what exactly was the famine of? Honey needs flowers, Balm is made from flowers, so there had to be some type of vegetation, Honey kept for a long period turns to sugar, especially in the heat. The honey had to be fresh.
Genesis 43:1 - 11
KJV - 1 And the famine was sore in the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.
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