Genesis 41:3 - Exposition

And, behold, seven other kind came up after them out of the river, ill. favored and lean-fleshed . The second seven cows, "evil to look upon," i.e. bad in appearance, and "thin (beaten small, dakoth , from dakak , to crush or beat small) of flesh," also proceeded from the river, since a failure in the periodical overflow of the Nile was the usual cause of scarcity and famine in Egypt. And stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. The use of the term lip, שָׂפָה , for brink, common enough in Hebrew ( Genesis 22:17 ; Exodus 14:30 ; 1 Kings 5:9 ), occurs also in a papyrus of the nineteenth dynasty, " I sat down by the lip of the river," which appears to suggest the impression that the verse in the text was written by one who was equally familiar with both languages.