Genesis 41:6

And, behold, seven thin ears, and blasted with the east wind,.... Which is very fatal to corn, to dry, burn, smite, or blast it; and especially to the corn in Egypt, whither it blew from the desert

And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow. No JFB commentary on these verses.

A boisterous wind, and in those parts of the world very pernicious to the fruits of the earth, 19:12 .

Genesis 41:6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.Ver. 6. Blasted with the east wind.] Which is, Ventus urens et exsiccans, saith Pliny: The property of this wind is to burn and blast the fruits.

(6) East wind.—In Palestine the prevalent winds are those which blow from the west or east, and the latter, coming across arid deserts, is injurious to vegetation. In Egypt the winds generally are from the north or south, but the south-east wind, called Chamsin, blowing from the deserts of Arabia, has even more disastrous effects upon plants than the east wind in Palestine, and from the small dust with which it is laden is baleful also to human life. As there are no words in Hebrew for any except the four principal winds, this south-eastern wind may be meant; or as kçdim, east wind, became the usual name of every wind that burned up vegetation, the term may be employed in a general sense.

Verse 6. Blasted with the east wind] It has been very properly observed that all the mischief done to corn or fruit, by blasting, smutting, mildews, locusts, c., is attributed to the east wind. See Exodus 10:13; Exodus 14:21; Psalms 78:26; Ezekiel 17:10; Jonah 4:8. In Egypt it is peculiarly destructive, because it comes through the parched deserts of Arabia, often destroying vast numbers of men and women. The destructive nature of the simoom or smoom is mentioned by almost all travellers. Mr. Bruce speaks of it in his Travels in Egypt. On their way to Syene, Idris their guide, seeing one of these destroying blasts coming, cried out with a loud voice to the company, "Fall upon your faces, for here is the simoom! I saw," says Mr. B., "from the S. E. a haze come, in colour like the purple part of the rainbow, but not so compressed or thick. It did not occupy twenty yards in breadth, and was about twelve feet high from the ground. It was a kind of blush upon the air, and it moved very rapidly, for I scarce could turn to fall upon the ground, with my head northward, when I felt the heat of its current plainly upon my face. We all lay flat upon the ground, as if dead, till Idris told us it was blown over. The meteor or purple haze which I saw was indeed passed, but the light air that still blew was of a heat to threaten suffocation. for my part, I found distinctly in my breast that I had imbibed a part of it; nor was I free from an asthmatic sensation till I had been some months in Italy, at the bathe of Poretta, near two years afterwards."-Travels, vol. vi., p. 462. On another occasion the whole company were made ill by one of these pestilential blasts, so that they had scarcely strength to load their camels. - ibid., p. 484. The action of this destructive wind is referred to by the Prophet Hosea 13:15: Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an EAST WIND shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up FROM THE WILDERNESS, and his spring shall BECOME DRY, and his fountain shall be DRIED up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.

6. blasted with the east wind] The east wind in the O.T. is always a synonym for dryness, parching heat, and violence. Cf. Ezekiel 17:10; Ezekiel 19:12; Hosea 13:15; Jonah 4:8. In Egypt the S.E. wind is the dreaded khamsin, which brings the sandstorms in the spring, Ar. sirocco.

6. Blasted with the east wind — The south-east wind, known as the Chamsin, which comes from the Arabian desert and blights all that it touches.