Genesis 41:36

36 Then the food shall be as a deposit for the land for the seven years of the famine that will be in the land of Egypt, that the land will not perish on account of the famine."

Genesis 41:36 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 41:36

And that food shall be for store to the land
A deposit in the said cities, to be brought forth and used in a time of public distress; the Targum of Jonathan is, it

``shall be hidden in a cave in the earth:''

against the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt:
and so be a supply to the inhabitants of the land, when they should be sore pressed with a famine, and know not what to do, nor where to go for food: that the land perish not through the famine;
that is, that the people of the land perish not, as the above Targum, which, without such a provision, they would have been in great danger of perishing. Justin, an Heathen writer ^F17, confirms this account of the advice of Joseph, of whom he says, that

``he was exceeding sagacious of things wonderful, and first found out the meaning of dreams; and nothing of right, divine or human, seemed unknown to him, so that he could foresee the barrenness of land many years beforehand; and all Egypt would have perished with the famine, if the king, by his advice, had not commanded an edict, that the fruits of the earth, for many years, should be preserved.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 E. Trogo, l. 36. c. 32.

Genesis 41:36 In-Context

34 Let Pharaoh do [this], and let him appoint supervisors over the land, and let him take one-fifth from the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.

35 Then let them gather all the food of these coming good years and let them pile up grain under the hand of Pharaoh [for] food in the cities, and let them keep [it].

36 Then the food shall be as a deposit for the land for the seven years of the famine that will be in the land of Egypt, that the land will not perish on account of the famine."

37 And the plan was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.

38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this in whom is the spirit of God?"