A question is raised concerning how the promise in Genesis 8:22 ("While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease") can be reconciled with the occurrence of famine, especially Genesis 41:54 ("The famine was over all the face of the earth").

Just because there is a famine does not mean that people are unable to plant and harvest, which would have been the case during the flood. It just means that the yield from the crops is very low, and not enough to meet current demand. The terms here in fact refer to planting seasons, not activity or results.

Problem: God promised Noah: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest ... shall not cease.” However, there are many famines recorded, even in Bible times, when there has been no harvest (cf. Gen. 26:1; 41:54).

Solution: “Cease” (shabath) means to come to an end, to be eliminated, to desist completely. This passage only promises that the seasons will not cease, not the crops. It refers to “seedtime” and harvesttime, not necessarily to the actual planting and harvesting of a crop. And the seasons have never stopped completely since this promise was made to Noah. Further, this general promise was not intended as a guarantee that there would be no temporary interruptions. It was only a statement about the permanent cycles of the year until the end of time.