Genesis 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.

Nu 31:14; 2Ki 11:11,12; 2Ch 34:12; Ne 11:9; Job 5:20; Ps 33:19; Pr 6:6-8; Pr 22:3; Pr 27:12; Lu 16:5

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.