Commento su Genesi 41:19
וְהִנֵּ֞ה שֶֽׁבַע־פָּר֤וֹת אֲחֵרוֹת֙ עֹל֣וֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶ֔ן דַּלּ֨וֹת וְרָע֥וֹת תֹּ֛אַר מְאֹ֖ד וְרַקּ֣וֹת בָּשָׂ֑ר לֹֽא־רָאִ֧יתִי כָהֵ֛נָּה בְּכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם לָרֹֽעַ׃
Ed ecco altre sette vacche, che salivano dietro di quelle, misere, di bruttissima figura, e di corpo smunto: simili alle quali non ne vidi di brutte in tutta la terra d’Egitto.
Rashi on Genesis
דלות means LEAN, as (2 Samuel 13:4) “Why art thou thus becoming (דל) lean?” which occurs in the narrative of Amnon.
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Sforno on Genesis
לא ראיתי כהנה, Pharaoh meant that such a dream as he had did not reflect anything that he might have thought about during the preceding day, as is usual for most dreams. For what he had seen in his dream was beyond anything he had ever experienced while awake. (compare Daniel 2,29). [the novelty of Seforno’s approach is that he does not understand the word כהנה as referring merely to the frightening appearance of the lean cows. Ed.]
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Radak on Genesis
ורקות בשר, with the letter ר instead of the letter ד the meaning is derived from רקק, as in רקיקי מצות, in Exodus 29,2 where it means “unleavened wafers.” [the author refers to the thinness of wafers describing the thinness of the flesh on these cows. Ed.]
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Siftei Chakhamim
Meaning lean, as in... I.e., דלות does not mean impoverished.
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Daat Zkenim on Genesis
ורקות בשר, “of poor quality flesh.” The descriptions of these cows/ears of corn as either רקות or דקות are nuances of רעות, how poorly they appeared to Pharaoh in his dream. [Personally, I have always thought that by varying the adjectives applicable, Pharaoh wanted to test Joseph to see if he had really been shown his dream by G–d. Ed.]
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Chizkuni
דלות ורעות תואר מאד ורקות בשר, “very thin, badly formed, and meatless;” in verse 20,27, both the cows and the stalks that were inferior are described as רקות, instead of as דקות. The reason that Pharaoh’s dream is spelled out twice was as compliment to Joseph.
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Rashi on Genesis
ורקות בשר AND LEAN-FLESHED — wherever רקות is found in Scripture it means spare (literally, deficient) of flesh; old French flouet.
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Siftei Chakhamim
All terms of רקות that appear in Scripture [refer to] lacking of flesh. Meaning: the words אך and רק always come to exclude something. Here, too, רקות comes to exclude. What does it exclude? Flesh. It does not mean רֵק (empty), because that word is missing the middle letter of the root [and thus would not take a dagesh in the ק].
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