Genesis 41:6

Gen 41:6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.

Ver. 6. Blasted with the east wind.] Which is, Ventus urens et exsiccans, saith Pliny: The property of this wind is to burn and blast the fruits. {Eze 17:10; Eze 19:12; Hos 13:15}

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.

Gen 41:6. Blasted by the east wind — Coming through the parched deserts of Arabia, and very pernicious in Egypt. Thevenot, in his Travels, part 1, Gen 50:2, c. 34, says, that in the year 1658 two thousand men were destroyed in one night by one of these blasting winds.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 6. Blasted with the east wind] It has been very properly observed that all the mischief done to corn or fruit, by blasting, smutting, mildews, locusts, c., is attributed to the east wind. See Ex 10:13; Ex 14:21; Ps 78:26; Eze 17:10; Jon 4:8. In Egypt it is peculiarly destructive, because it comes through the parched deserts of Arabia, often destroying vast numbers of men and women. The destructive nature of the simoom or smoom is mentioned by almost all travellers. Mr. Bruce speaks of it in his Travels in Egypt. On their way to Syene, Idris their guide, seeing one of these destroying blasts coming, cried out with a loud voice to the company, "Fall upon your faces, for here is the simoom! I saw," says Mr. B., "from the S. E. a haze come, in colour like the purple part of the rainbow, but not so compressed or thick. It did not occupy twenty yards in breadth, and was about twelve feet high from the ground. It was a kind of blush upon the air, and it moved very rapidly, for I scarce could turn to fall upon the ground, with my head northward, when I felt the heat of its current plainly upon my face. We all lay flat upon the ground, as if dead, till Idris told us it was blown over. The meteor or purple haze which I saw was indeed passed, but the light air that still blew was of a heat to threaten suffocation. for my part, I found distinctly in my breast that I had imbibed a part of it; nor was I free from an asthmatic sensation till I had been some months in Italy, at the bathe of Poretta, near two years afterwards."-Travels, vol. vi., p. 462. On another occasion the whole company were made ill by one of these pestilential blasts, so that they had scarcely strength to load their camels. - ibid., p. 484. The action of this destructive wind is referred to by the Prophet Ho 13:15: Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an EAST WIND shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up FROM THE WILDERNESS, and his spring shall BECOME DRY, and his fountain shall be DRIED up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.

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

(6) East wind.—In Palestine the prevalent winds are those which blow from the west or east, and the latter, coming across arid deserts, is injurious to vegetation. In Egypt the winds generally are from the north or south, but the south-east wind, called Chamsin, blowing from the deserts of Arabia, has even more disastrous effects upon plants than the east wind in Palestine, and from the small dust with which it is laden is baleful also to human life. As there are no words in Hebrew for any except the four principal winds, this south-eastern wind may be meant; or as kçdim, east wind, became the usual name of every wind that burned up vegetation, the term may be employed in a general sense.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. blasted with the east wind] The east wind in the O.T. is always a synonym for dryness, parching heat, and violence. Cf. Eze_17:10; Eze_19:12; Hos_13:15; Jon_4:8. In Egypt the S.E. wind is the dreaded khamsin, which brings the sandstorms in the spring, Ar. sirocco.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And, behold, seven thin ears, and blasted with the east wind,.... Which is very fatal to corn, to dry, burn, smite, or blast it; and especially to the corn in Egypt, whither it blew from the desert of Arabia: these

sprung up after them; after the seven full ears, in the same place the other did, or near unto them.

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

Blasted with the eastern wind, blowing from the deserts of Arabia, Osee xiii. 15. (Menochius)

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).

A boisterous wind, and in those parts of the world very pernicious to the fruits of the earth, Eze 17:10; 19:12; Hos 13:15.

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

6. Blasted with the east wind — The south-east wind, known as the Chamsin, which comes from the Arabian desert and blights all that it touches. These incidental notices of facts peculiar to Egypt evince the genuineness of this narrative.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them literally, burnt up of the east, being put poetically for the fuller jWr. It has been urged that this displays a gross ignorance of the nature, of the climate in Egypt (Bohlen), since a wind directly east is rare in Egypt, and when it does occur is not injurious to vegetation; but, on the other hand, it is open to reply

(1) that direct east winds may be rare in Egypt, but so are dearth and famine such as that described in the narrative equally exceptional (Kalisch);

(2) that the Hebrews having only names to describe the four principal winds, the kadirn might comprise any wind blowing from an easterly direction (Hengstenberg); and

(3) that the south-east wind, "blowing in the months of March and April, is one of the most injurious winds, and of longest continuance" (Havernick). Hengstenberg quotes Ukert as saying, "As long as the south-east wind continues, doors and windows are closed; but the fine dust penetrates everywhere; everything dries up; wooden vessels warp and crack. The thermometer rises suddenly from 16 20 up to 30 36 and even 38 Reaumur. This wind works destruction upon everything. The grass withers so that it entirely perishes if this wind blows long" ("Egypt and the Books of Moses," p. 10).

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

ושדופת PARCHED old French hales, (i.e. burnt up by the east wind) — But the Targum renders it by שקיפן קדום beaten upon by the east wind (and so burst open). This Aramaic word שקיפן is of the same root as משקוף a lintel, which is beaten continually by the door which knocks against it.

קדים is THE EAST WIND — called bise in old French

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.

SPRUNG UP AFTER THEM. Not that he saw them springing up —[although the word tzomchoth is actually in the present tense] — for he saw ripe ears of corn. But the verse is to be interpreted as if it said “they sprang up,” [i.e., tzamchu, which is in the past tense], suggesting that no sooner did he see the full ears than he immediately saw the thin ones coming up after them, for he saw the sign of immediacy in all facets of the dream.

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.