Genesis 41:47
Context41:47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. 1
Genesis 41:53
Context41:53 The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end.
Genesis 41:29-31
Context41:29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. 41:30 But seven years of famine will occur 2 after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate 3 the land. 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered 4 because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. 5
Genesis 41:34
Context41:34 Pharaoh should do 6 this – he should appoint 7 officials 8 throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt 9 during the seven years of abundance.


[41:47] 1 tn Heb “brought forth by handfuls.”
[41:30] 2 tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.
[41:30] 3 tn The Hebrew verb כָּלָה (kalah) in the Piel stem means “to finish, to destroy, to bring an end to.” The severity of the famine will ruin the land of Egypt.
[41:34] 4 tn The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The Samaritan Pentateuch has a jussive form here, “and let [Pharaoh] do.”
[41:34] 5 tn Heb “and let him appoint.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.
[41:34] 6 tn Heb “appointees.” The noun is a cognate accusative of the preceding verb. Since “appoint appointees” would be redundant in English, the term “officials” was used in the translation instead.
[41:34] 7 tn Heb “and he shall collect a fifth of the land of Egypt.” The language is figurative (metonymy); it means what the land produces, i.e., the harvest.