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Genesis 41:47

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 41:47 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
Genesis 41:47 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 41

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
44And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.
45And Pharaoh called Joseph`s name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera priest of On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
46And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
47And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
48And he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.
49And Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left off numbering; for it was without number.
50And unto Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bare unto him.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.] Such as the gatherers take up in their hands when reaped, in order to bind up in sheaves: now such was the fruitfulness of the land during the seven years of plenty, that either one stalk produced as many ears as a man could hold in his hand; or one grain produced an handful, as Ben Melech observes; though Onkelos paraphrases the words, “the inhabitants of the earth in the seven years of plenty gathered even into their treasuries:” and this they did by the order and direction of Joseph as he passed through the land; what he bought of them they brought, and put into the granaries, as he directed them.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“the earth brought forth by handfuls--a singular expression, alluding not only to the luxuriance of the crop, but the practice of the reapers grasping the ears, which alone were cut.”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“41:47-57 Pharaoh’s dreams were fulfilled in keeping with Joseph’s interpretation.”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification