12:47
قَالَ
تَزْرَعُونَ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ دَأَبًا فَمَا حَصَدتُّمْ فَذَرُوهُ فِي سُنبُلِهِ
إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِّمَّا تَأْكُلُونَ
Qāla tazraAAoona sabAAa sineena da’aban famā ḥasadtum
fatharoohu fī sunbulihi illā qaleelan mimmā ta’kuloon
He (Joseph)
said: “You plant seven years diligently, so whatever you harvest leave in it’s
pods except for a little of what you eat”
My personal
note:
The term leave
in the pods is a pointer that they should store the harvest and not process it
unless they want to eat it. Here Joseph
is not only interpreting the dream but suggesting a plan.
Translation
of the transliterated words:
Qala: He said/ he responded
Note: QALA is derived from the root Qaf-W-L and it means
saying in any way possible. QALA is an action that is completed that is derived
from the root. It means the action of saying happened by the subject (third
person plural). This, in turn means: they said or claimed. In this context it
takes the meaning of he responded.
tazraAAoona: you
(plural) plant/ farm/ sow
Note: the root is Z-R-Ain and it means
planting the seeds in the ground. TAZRaAAooNA is an action that is happening or
will be happening. It means the action
of planting or sowing seeds is happening or will be happening by the subject
(second person plural).
sabAAa: seven
sineena: years
Note: SINEEN is derived from the root S-N-N and it means in
concrete tooth or teeth. This word also takes many other meanings that are
related in different words to the concrete. One of the meanings is aging and
years, probably because the teeth change little with years and last long even
after death. It is also used to mean the action that is repeated identically
very much as the teeth chew identically through the years. In this context
Sineen is for years.
da’aban: repeatedly/
habitually/ diligently
Note: DA’ABAN is derived from the root D-Hamza-B and it means
habit or practice. DA’ABAN in this context takes the meaning of habitually/
repeatedly/ diligently
Famā: so
what
ḥasadtum: what you (plural) harvested
Note: the root is HA-Sad-D and it means
harvesting as in cutting the wheat and so on to get the seed and leave the
dried stuff behind. HASADTUM is an
action that is completed. It means: the
action of harvesting happened by the subject (second person plural)
Fatharoohu: then
leave it
Note: THAROOHU is
derived from the root TH-R-Y
or TH-R-W and it means: throw something to let the wind pick it up and take it
wherever. Conceptually, it can be used
to let things be vulnerable to the elements and to abandoning since we have no
control on where the wind will take things or let things go wherever they want
to go without interference. THAROOHU is
an order or request addressed to a group.
It says: Let it be left where it is.
Fī: in/
on
Sunbulihi: its
pods
Note: the root is S-N-B-L and it means
seed pod, or an ear of corn and so forth. SUNBULI means seed pods of. HI means
his or its.
Illā: except/
if not
QALEELAN:
a little
Note: the root is Qaf-L-L and it means
becoming few in quality or quantity. QALEELAN is little or few in quality
and/or in quantity.
Mimma: of what
ta’kuloon: you
(plural) eat
Note: the
root is Hamza-K-L and it means eating. This will then take different meanings
depending on the different planes of thought that a person has. TA’KULOON is an action that is happening or
will be happening. It means the action
of eating is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person
plural)