and it is noteworthy that (as if to relieve Joseph of the odium) the proposal is represented as coming from the people themselves.—18. that year . . . the second year] Not the first and second years of the famine (for we can hardly suppose that the money and cattle were exhausted in a single year), but simply two successive years.—19. buy us and our land] The only basis of personal independence in a state like ancient Egypt being the possession of land, the peasants know that in parting with their land they sacrifice their freedom as well.—give seed, etc.] A temporary provision (see v.24) for the time of famine, or perhaps for the first sowing after it was over (Ho.). It is in any case most natural to suppose that these drastic changes took place towards the end of the 7 years.—21. 'and the people he reduced to bondmen'] Read so with Vns., v.i. (Kn. Di. De. al.). The MT: 'he brought them over to the cities' appears to mean that he brought the rural population to the cities where the corn-magazines were (4135. 48); but the emphasis on the obj. leads us to expect a parallelism to the appropriation of the land in v.20 (Di.). A universal redistribution of the inhabitants (TO, Tu. al.) could not be expressed by the words, and would, moreover, be a senseless measure.—22. The priests' property was exempted, because they had a statutory provision of food, and did not need to sell their lands. So the writer explains a privilege which existed in his day (see p. 501 below). Comp. Erman, LAE, 129, where Ramses III. is said to have given 185,000 sacks of corn annually to the temples.—23-26. Institution of the land-tax.—23. Here is seed for you] The gift is not to be repeated; hence the incident naturally belongs to the end of the famine.—24. a fifth part] According to Oriental ideas,
place, goal, etc.): see p. 414.—18. (
Hebrew characters)] may be rendered equally well
(with G) 'that, if' (protasis to (Hebrew characters)), or with TO 'but' [sondern] (De.
Ho.).—19. (Hebrew characters)] G avoids the bold zeugma, and substitutes
[Greek: kai hê gê erêmôthê], as at the end of the v.—(Hebrew characters)] G [Greek: hina speirômen] ((Hebrew characters) ?).—21.
(Hebrew characters)—(Hebrew characters)] MT is supported by STOJ, while [E]G read (Hebrew characters)—(Hebrew characters),
as does the loose paraphrase of V.—23. (Hebrew characters)] Only Ezk. 1643 and Aram.
Dn. 243.—24 (Hebrew characters)] It seems necessary here to take (Hebrew characters) as a noun of
action: 'at the bringings in' (TO De. Di.), though elsewhere it always
