Genesis 41:47

Gen 41:47 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.

Ver. 47. By handfuls.] Manipulatim. Every grain of corn yields a handful of increase. {a} Thus God "filled their hearts with food and gladness"; {Act 14:17} and so "left not himself without witness" amongst those infidels.

{a} Ex uno grano integer manipulus colligebatur.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

41:47-57 Pharaoh’s dreams were fulfilled in keeping with Joseph’s interpretation.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hebrew, made for gatherings.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 47. The earth brought forth by handfuls.] This probably refers principally to rice, as it grows in tufts, a great number of stalks proceeding from the same seed. In those years the Nile probably rose sixteen cubits; See Clarke on Ge 41:31.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh,.... Which signifies forgetfulness, as the reason of it shows:

for God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house; all his toil and labour in Potiphar's house, and especially in the prison; and all the injuries his brethren had done him; all this he was made to forget by the grandeur and honour, wealth and riches, power and authority he was possessed of; and indeed he had so much business upon his hands, that he had scarce time to think of his father, and his family.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Sheaves. The straw would serve to feed the cattle, and would hinder the corn from spoiling for 50 years, if kept from the air. (Varro.; Pliny, Natural History xviii. 30.) (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Or, unto handfuls, to wit, growing upon one stalk; or, unto heaps; or, as the ancients render it, for the barns or storehouses; i.e. in such plenty, that all their storehouses were filled with heaps of corn.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 47, 48. And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls (i.e. abundantly). And he (Joseph, through his subordinates) gathered up all the food (i.e. all the portions levied) of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: men bringing corn into granaries appear upon the monuments at Beni-hassan (Wilkinson, "Ancient Egyptians," vol. 1. p. 371, ed. 1878)the food of the field, which was round about every city (literally, the food of the field of the city, which was in its environs), laid he up in the same (literally, in the midst of it).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For the seven years of superabundance the land bore לקמצים, in full hands or bundles; and Joseph gathered all the provisional store of these years (i.e., the fifth part of the produce, which was levied) into the cities. "The food of the field of the city, which was round about it, he brought into the midst of it;" i.e., he provided granaries in the towns, in which the corn of the whole surrounding country was stored. In this manner he collected as much corn "as the sand of the sea," until he left off reckoning the quantity, or calculating the number of bushels, which the monuments prove to have been the usual mode adopted (vid., Hengst. p. 36).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

ותעש הארץ AND THE EARTH BROUGHT FORTH — understand it as the Targum does: the inhabitants of the land gathered. Still the word ותעש does not really lose its meaning of “doing” or “making”.

לקמצים BY HANDFULS — they stored up the grain handful upon handful, fist upon fist.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

‘LIKMATZIM’ (HANDFULS). They stored up the grain handful upon handful, fist by fist. This is the language of Rashi.Onkelos translated it as, “into store houses,” since excavations made in the earth for storage or other purposes are called ‘kmatzim.’ He is hid now in one of ‘hap’chothim’ (the pits), Jonathan translated, “in one of the kumtza.” Similarly, he always translated the term pachath as kamtza, which is related to the expression, He that diggeth ‘gametz’ (a pit), as the letter gimmel serves here as kuph, just as it serves as a kaph in the following verses: Never lacking in ‘hamazeg’ (mingled wine), the word hamazeg being derived from the term, ‘Mas’cha’ (She hath mingled) her wine; ‘v’chano’ which Thy right hand hath planted,. But Ramban explains it as: “And of the garden, etc.” which is like ganoh (garden); ‘vayisachru’ the fountains of the murmuring deep, which is like vayisagru (and they were closed); To their native land (‘m’churatham’); 16:3 (m’chorotayich). Thy origin (‘m’chorothayich’) and thy birth; 16:3 (m’chorotayich). And I will give over (‘v’sikarti’) Egypt. In all of these cases the kaph and the gimmel are alike. The kuph and the kaph are often alike, as in kova and chova, (both meaning “hat”); 17:5 (chova). ‘tikein’ (he set in order) many proverbs, the word tikein being like the term sichein in the verse, Who has directed (‘sichein’) the spirit of the Eternal? Our Rabbis have said in connection with the term jewelry: tachshitim and takshit. Similarly, it is said, ‘Vayatziku’ (And they set down) the ark of G-d — but Abiathar went up — until all the people hath passed out of the city, and the Targum translates: “And they put down the ark,” thus making vayatziku as vayatzig, just as it is said concerning it, And they brought in the ark of the Eternal, ‘vayatzigu’ (and set it) in its place, 6:17. the word being derived from the expressions, ‘atziga’ (let me place) with thee, and ‘v’hitzagtiv’ (And I will set him) before thee.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ותעש הארץ, the earth produced harvests לקמצים, even a single kernel produced many handfuls. [possibly by “kernel” the author refers to a kernel of seed. Ed.]

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.