וְיִקְבְּצ֗וּ אֶת־כָּל־אֹ֙כֶל֙ הַשָּׁנִ֣ים הַטֹּבֹ֔ת הַבָּאֹ֖ת הָאֵ֑לֶּה וְיִצְבְּרוּ־בָ֞ר תַּ֧חַת יַד־פַּרְעֹ֛ה אֹ֥כֶל בֶּעָרִ֖ים וְשָׁמָֽרוּ׃
E reúnam todo o alimento destes anos bons que estão por vir, e armazenem grãos sob a autoridade de Par'oh, alimento nas cidades, e o guardem.
Ramban
AND THE COWS ATE UP. In my opinion26Ramban’s interpretation differs from Rashi, who writes that the eating up of the fat by the lean indicates that all joy occasioned by the years of plenty would be forgotten in the days of the famine. His own opinion is presented in the text. this is a sign that the years of famine shall consume the years of plenty. It is from this that Joseph inferred that he should tell Pharaoh, And let them store up all the food of those good years,27Verse 35 here. And the food shall serve as a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine,28Verse 36 here. as he saw that the healthy cows and ears of corn were absorbed by the lean ones.29The fact that the fat ones were absorbed by the lean ones was a sign to Joseph that the food from the seven years of plenty should be kept as a reserve for the years of famine. This was no mere counsel which Joseph proposed, for was he appointed to be a counselor of the king?30See II Chronicles 25:16. It was only in connection with the interpretation of the dream that he said thus: And the plenty shall be forgotten,31Verse 30 here. And the plenty shall not be known.32Verse 31 here. These words of Joseph constitute the interpretation of: It could not be known that they had eaten them up, their appearance being bad as previously,33Verse 21 here. for Joseph saw that by their consumption of the fat cows, the lean ones did not become fine and plump. They served them for subsistence only, for had they not eaten them they would have died in their lean state. This is unlike Rashi, who says that the plenty shall be forgotten31Verse 30 here. is the interpretation of the eating itself.34But according to Ramban, Joseph’s words, And the plenty shall be forgotten, are the interpretation of the aspect of the dream expressed by: It could not be known that they had eaten them up.
Rashi
An abundance of food is the result of the plowing of the poor I saw in the great Masorah [on the words רב אכל]: The word רב appears thirty-three times with a “kamatz,” but this one has a short “kamatz,” and it is joined to the word אכל, food, with a “makkaf” (hyphen); and I saw there that אכל is vowelized with a “pattah” (i.e., a “segol” which is a small “pattah”), and it is accented on the first syllable, as in (Gen. 41:35): “all the food (אכל) of the good years.” According to its vowelization, this is its interpretation: Much grain comes to the world through the plowing of the poor people; i.e., much Torah emanates from pupils whose teachers learn from them through their debate concerning the halachah.
Ramban
AND HE STORED UP ALL THE FOOD. “He” refers to Joseph mentioned above.108In Verse 46: And Joseph was… The same applies to the following verse: And Joseph piled up grain… until he ceased numbering.109Verse 49 here. The pronoun “he” refers to Joseph, who was mentioned.
Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the phrase, all the food, is not to be understood literally, for otherwise they would have died of famine immediately. A similar case is the verse, And all the lands came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain.110Verse 57 here. This verse is also not to be understood in its literal sense since Jacob and Benjamin did not come to buy grain. The meaning of he stored up all the food is only that Joseph stored up all the food which he could.
It appears to me to be correct that Joseph gathered all food under his control, and he gave enough of it every year for sustenance to the Egyptians, so that they should not squander it. This is the intent of his statement, And let them store up all the food of those good years that come, and pile up corn under the hand of Pharaoh… and hold it there.111Verse 35 here. Ramban thus makes a distinction between ochel (food) and bar (corn). At the end of the paragraph, he will mention that Onkelos makes no distinction between them. Now in view of the fact that it says, And let them store up all the food… and pile up corn,111Verse 35 here. Ramban thus makes a distinction between ochel (food) and bar (corn). At the end of the paragraph, he will mention that Onkelos makes no distinction between them. and [here in the verses before us] it says, And he stored up all the food… And Joseph piled up grain, this would indicate that he gathered whatever is eaten by man; corn, bread, and all food essential to life, even figs, fresh and dried, and similar things. He piled the corn — meaning the produce which is brought under a winnowing shovel and fan for fanning and cleansing — under the hand of Pharaoh, and he laid up in the cities enough of all the fruits for sustenance. Thus all the food was held in need for the years of famine to be drawn upon to the degree essential for life, and the balance of the corn he preserved in the storehouses.
It is possible that Joseph paid them money from the royal treasures at a low market price. This was why the corn belonged to Pharaoh, and he sold it to them in the years of famine, just as it is written, And Joseph collected all the money that was found in the land of Egypt.112Further, 47:14. It is possible that the king took it by force, saying: “I preserved it.”113For were it not for the king’s dream, the food of the seven years of plenty would have been squandered.
Onkelos, however, translated both ochel (food) and bar (corn) alike.114Calling them ibur. See Note 111.
Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the phrase, all the food, is not to be understood literally, for otherwise they would have died of famine immediately. A similar case is the verse, And all the lands came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain.110Verse 57 here. This verse is also not to be understood in its literal sense since Jacob and Benjamin did not come to buy grain. The meaning of he stored up all the food is only that Joseph stored up all the food which he could.
It appears to me to be correct that Joseph gathered all food under his control, and he gave enough of it every year for sustenance to the Egyptians, so that they should not squander it. This is the intent of his statement, And let them store up all the food of those good years that come, and pile up corn under the hand of Pharaoh… and hold it there.111Verse 35 here. Ramban thus makes a distinction between ochel (food) and bar (corn). At the end of the paragraph, he will mention that Onkelos makes no distinction between them. Now in view of the fact that it says, And let them store up all the food… and pile up corn,111Verse 35 here. Ramban thus makes a distinction between ochel (food) and bar (corn). At the end of the paragraph, he will mention that Onkelos makes no distinction between them. and [here in the verses before us] it says, And he stored up all the food… And Joseph piled up grain, this would indicate that he gathered whatever is eaten by man; corn, bread, and all food essential to life, even figs, fresh and dried, and similar things. He piled the corn — meaning the produce which is brought under a winnowing shovel and fan for fanning and cleansing — under the hand of Pharaoh, and he laid up in the cities enough of all the fruits for sustenance. Thus all the food was held in need for the years of famine to be drawn upon to the degree essential for life, and the balance of the corn he preserved in the storehouses.
It is possible that Joseph paid them money from the royal treasures at a low market price. This was why the corn belonged to Pharaoh, and he sold it to them in the years of famine, just as it is written, And Joseph collected all the money that was found in the land of Egypt.112Further, 47:14. It is possible that the king took it by force, saying: “I preserved it.”113For were it not for the king’s dream, the food of the seven years of plenty would have been squandered.
Onkelos, however, translated both ochel (food) and bar (corn) alike.114Calling them ibur. See Note 111.