Comentario citado sobre Génesis 45:6

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים פרעה חולם והנה עומד על היאור, “It was at the end of two years and Pharaoh was dreaming that he was standing above the river (Nile).” The words שנתים ימים mean two years (not two days). These years were counted from the time Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s two courtiers who were imprisoned with him. On this occasion Pharaoh had a dream. Our sages said that Joseph’s stay in jail had been extended as we mentioned in our commentary on 39,5. This was due to the two words והזכרתני והוצאתני which Joseph permitted himself to say to the Chief of the butlers. We pointed out that these words did not mean that he did not trust in G’d but that he wanted to exploit his relationship to the Chief of the butlers to make him the instrument of G’d for his freedom.
Seeing that the Torah speaks of שנתים, “two years,” what was the need to add the words ימים, “days?” When the Torah wanted to tell us that there had been two years of famine it wrote כי זה שנתים הרעב, “for these last two years which have been famine,” (Genesis 45,6), it did not bother to add the words ימים. The point the Torah wanted us to know here by adding the word ימים is that it was precisely two years to the day after Joseph had interpreted the dreams in jail that Pharaoh dreamt his dream of the cows and the ears of corn.

AND BEHOLD, THERE CAME UP OUT OF THE RIVER. Since the land of Egypt is irrigated by the river, and it is from the river that abundance or famine befalls them, the king saw the cows coming up out of the river. The cows symbolize plowing, and the ears of corn symbolize the harvest, just as Joseph said, in which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest.¹²Genesis 45:6. Thus it is obvious that Joseph understood the characters in the dreams — i.e. the cows and the ears of corn — as symbolizing plowing and harvesting. He saw that the river rose only slightly and there would thus be no plowing, and the little which will be planted in moist places, a wind blowing from the east, a wind from the Eternal¹³Hosea 13:15. would burn them, even as he saw the ears of corn parched with the east wind.¹⁴Verse 6 here.
It would appear to be implied in the verses that the abundance was only in the land of Egypt, even as it said, Seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt;¹⁵Verse 29 here. likewise the verse, And he stored up all the food of the seven years which was in the land of Egypt.¹⁶Verse 48 here. But the famine, on the other hand, was in all the lands. And so did Joseph interpret it when he said, And there shall arise after them seven years of famine,¹⁷Verse 30 here. and did not mention the land of Egypt. It was for this reason that in the other countries they were unable to store up food even if they had heard about it, as they undoubtedly did, for the matter was well known throughout their lands. Perhaps this was alluded to in the dream since with respect to the fat cows, it mentions, And they fed in the reed-grass, for it was there in Egypt that they fed and stood, but the lean ones, after they consumed the fat ones, walked to and fro through the earth,¹⁸Zechariah 6:7. and Pharaoh did not know where they had gone.

AND THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE LAND. Now Abraham went down to Egypt on account of the famine to dwell there in order to keep himself alive in the days of the drought, but the Egyptians oppressed him for no reason [and attempted] to take his wife. The Holy One, blessed be He, avenged their cause with great plagues, and brought him forth from there with cattle, with silver, and with gold,⁶⁹Genesis 13:2. and Pharaoh even commanded his men to escort them from the land.⁷⁰Verse 20 here. He thereby alluded to Abraham that his children would go down to Egypt on account of the famine to dwell there in the land, and the Egyptians would do them evil and take the women⁷¹Shemoth Rabbah 1:22. See also following note. from them, just as Pharaoh said, And every daughter ye shall save alive,⁷²Exodus 1:22. They were to be saved alive for unchaste purposes. but the Holy One, blessed be He, would avenge their cause with great plagues until He would bring them forth with silver and gold, sheep and oxen, very rich in cattle, with the Egyptians pressuring to send them out of the land.⁷³Ibid., 12:33. Nothing was lacking in all the events that happened to the patriarch that would not occur to the children.
The Rabbis have explained this subject in Bereshith Rabbah:⁷⁴40:8. “Rabbi Pinchas said in the name of Rabbi Oshaya that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, ‘Go forth and tread out a path for your children!’ Thus you find that whatever is written concerning Abraham is also written concerning his children. In connection with Abraham it is written, And there was a famine in the land; in connection with Israel, it is written For these two years hath the famine been in the land.”⁷⁵Genesis 45:6.
Know that Abraham our father unintentionally committed a great sin by bringing his righteous wife to a stumbling-block of sin on account of his fear for his life. He should have trusted that G-d would save him and his wife and all his belongings for G-d surely has the power to help and to save. His leaving the Land, concerning which he had been commanded from the beginning, on account of the famine, was also a sin he committed, for in famine G-d would redeem him from death.⁷⁶See Job 5:20. It was because of this deed that the exile in the land of Egypt at the hand of Pharaoh was decreed for his children.⁷⁷See my Hebrew commentary, pp. 79-80, for sources and differing opinions on the view of Ramban expressed in this paragraph. In the place of justice, there is wickedness⁷⁸See Ecclesiastes 3:16. and sin.

neither shall it be inhabited for forty years Forty-two years of famine were decreed in Pharaoh’s dream, corresponding to the three times the dream is written. He saw seven bad cows and seven bad ears of grain (Gen. 41) and he told it to Joseph; hence we have [it mentioned] twice, and Joseph said to him, “The seven thin and bad cows and the seven empty ears,” totaling forty-two for the famine. But they had only two, as it is stated (ibid. 45:6): “For it is two years now that the famine has been on earth,” and when Jacob came down to Egypt, the famine ceased, for behold in the third year they sowed, as it is stated (ibid. 47:19): “and then you give us seed that we may live etc.,” and the forty years were paid to them now: “neither shall it be inhabited for forty years.”

ותן זרע GIVE US SEED — to sow in the ground. Although Joseph had said (Genesis 45:6) “And there are yet five years when there will be no plowing and sowing”, as soon as Jacob came to Egypt a blessing came with his arrival: they began to sow and the famine came to an end. Thus do we read in the Tosefta of Sotah (Tosefta Sotah 10:3).