Genesis 41:34
in Genesis 41Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.
KJV
Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.
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This verse in Genesis 41
Commentary
5 notes on this verseLet him appoint officers - פקדים pekidim, visitors, overseers: translated by Ainsworth, bishops; see Gen 39:1. Take up the fifth part of the land - What is still called the meery, or that part of the produce which is claimed by the king by way of tax.
This site's exposition
a discerning and wise man
on Genesis 41:33-36
Joseph was asked for a meaning and hands back a policy, a fifth of the harvest stored in the cities against the famine, since the interpretation alone would have saved nobody. He names no man, and the older writers read that silence two ways. Ephrem the Syrian took him to speak of himself out of modesty, and Clarke held that he gave no thought to his own advancement.
This site's exposition
take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt
The fifth is one Hebrew verb, to take a fifth part. Twice the tithe, it could be spared easily in years of great harvests. Genesis 47:26 records the same fifth becoming a standing law of Egypt, paid to Pharaoh long after the famine.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Let Pharaoh do this,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
and let him appoint officers over the land--overseers, equivalent to the beys of modern Egypt. take up the fifth part of the land--that is, of the land's produce, to be purchased and stored by the government, instead of being sold to foreign corn merchants.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה | yaaseh | let him act | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| פַרְעֹ֔ה | faroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| וְיַפְקֵ֥ד | veyafked | and let him appoint | H6485 → | 303 times |
| פְּקִדִ֖ים | pekidim | overseers | H6496 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְחִמֵּשׁ֙ | vechimesh | and he will take a fifth of | H2567 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| בְּשֶׁ֖בַע | besheva' | in seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| שְׁנֵ֥י | shenei | [the] years of | H8141 → | 877 times |
| הַשָּׂבָֽע׃ | hasava' | <the> plenty | H7647 → | 8 times |
יַעֲשֶׂ֣הlet him act
yaasehH6213 →2628 times
פַרְעֹ֔הPharaoh
farohH6547 →274 times
וְיַפְקֵ֥דand let him appoint
veyafkedH6485 →303 times
פְּקִדִ֖יםoverseers
pekidimH6496 →
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְחִמֵּשׁ֙and he will take a fifth of
vechimeshH2567 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
בְּשֶׁ֖בַעin seven
besheva'H7651 →394 times
שְׁנֵ֥י[the] years of
sheneiH8141 →877 times
הַשָּׂבָֽע׃<the> plenty
hasava'H7647 →8 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 22:3The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.
it leads to
- Proverbs 27:12
The prudent see danger and take cover; but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
- Proverbs 14:16
A wise man fears and turns from evil, but a fool is careless and reckless.
- Proverbs 29:1
A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2–6
For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes…
- Proverbs 27:12
Through
Job 5:20In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
it leads to
- Psalms 33:19
to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
- Hosea 13:14
I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
- Genesis 45:7
God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
- Psalms 33:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on Genesis; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.