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Genesis 41:34-36
New English Translation
Genesis 41:34-36
New English Translation
34 Pharaoh should do[a] this—he should appoint[b] officials[c] throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt[d] during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should gather all the excess food[e] during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority[f] they should store up grain so the cities will have food,[g] and they should preserve it.[h] 36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.”[i]
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- Genesis 41:34 tn The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. Smr has a jussive form here, “and let [Pharaoh] do.”
- Genesis 41:34 tn Heb “and let him appoint.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.
- Genesis 41:34 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.
- Genesis 41:34 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.
- Genesis 41:35 tn Heb “all the food.”
- Genesis 41:35 tn Heb “under the hand of Pharaoh.”
- Genesis 41:35 tn Heb “[for] food in the cities.” The noun translated “food” is an adverbial accusative in the sentence.
- Genesis 41:35 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same force as the sequence of jussives before it.
- Genesis 41:36 tn Heb “and the land will not be cut off in the famine.”
New English Translation (NET)
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