Genesis 41:34

41:34 Pharaoh should do ¹  this – he should appoint ²  officials ³  throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt ⁴  during the seven years of abundance.

Genesis 47:24

47:24 When you gather in the crop, ⁵  give ⁶  one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and the rest ⁷  will be yours for seed for the fields and for you to eat, including those in your households and your little children.”

Genesis 47:26

47:26 So Joseph made it a statute, ⁸  which is in effect ⁹  to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

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¹ tn The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. The Samaritan Pentateuch has a jussive form here, “and let [Pharaoh] do.”

² tn Heb “and let him appoint.” The jussive form expresses Joseph’s advice to Pharaoh.

³ tn Heb “appointees.” The noun is a cognate accusative of the preceding verb. Since “appoint appointees” would be redundant in English, the term “officials” was used in the translation instead.

⁴ tn Heb “and he shall collect a fifth of the land of Egypt.” The language is figurative (metonymy); it means what the land produces, i.e., the harvest.

⁵ tn The words “the crop” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn The perfect form with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to an imperfect of instruction here.

⁷ tn Heb “four parts.”

⁸ tn On the term translated “statute” see P. Victor, “A Note on Hoq in the Old Testament,” VT 16 (1966): 358-61.

⁹ tn The words “which is in effect” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.