He gathered up: he refers to Joseph; however, the work of gathering is actually done under Joseph’s supervision. It may be necessary to say, for example, “Joseph made workers gather….”

The food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land: as in verse 35, food refers to crops or grain. Of the seven years represents the Hebrew text, to which the Septuagint adds “of plenty,” which is then followed by Revised Standard Version. However, this is more a translation adjustment than a textual problem.

Stored up food in the cities: that is, “he ordered the people to store the crops in the towns,” which in Hebrew refers to “walled cities.”

He stored up … from the fields around it: in every town he arranged for the crops grown near by to be stored in the local towns. The point here is that the grain would not have to be transported to a central storage place, and when the time of need came, the grain would be locally available.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .