Genesis 41:36

36 and there let them kepte it: that there may be foode in stoore in the lande agaynst the .vij. yeres of hunger which shall come in the lande of Egipte and that the lande perishe not thorow hunger.

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 And let Pharao make officers ouer the lande and take vp the fyfte parte of the land of Egipte in the vij. plenteous yeres

35 and let them gather all the foode of these good yeres that come ad lay vp corne vnder the power of Pharo: that there may be foode in the cities

36 and there let them kepte it: that there may be foode in stoore in the lande agaynst the .vij. yeres of hunger which shall come in the lande of Egipte and that the lande perishe not thorow hunger.

37 And the saynge pleased Pharao ad all his seruauntes.

38 Than sayde Pharao vnto his seruavauntes: where shall we fynde soch a ma as this is that hath the sprete of God in him?