Why was Jacob about to starve in the Genesis 46 account?
Jacob was about to starve because he was in the Negev, a desert region, during a severe famine that had lasted almost seven years. There was no food, and the famine continued, so starvation threatened him and his household before he came to Beersheba.
Les explains that by Genesis 46, Israel had become a nation in slavery in Egypt, Joseph had risen to the top of the government, and Jacob was over in the Negev, which is desert. Jacob was about to starve to death because there was no food; the famine had been going on for almost seven years. He came to Beersheba, about 70-80 miles south of Jerusalem, offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac, and God spoke to Israel, or Jacob. This command was almost the total opposite of what he had been told up until then, since he had been told not to leave the land.