Treasury of Scripture
withered. or, small. thin.
Genesis 41:6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
2 Kings 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field...
Psalm 129:6,7 Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which wither before it grows up...
Hosea 8:7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it has no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield...
Hosea 9:16 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yes, though they bring forth...
Hosea 13:15 Though he be fruitful among his brothers, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness...
blasted. All the mischief done to corn or fruit by blasting, smutting, mildew, etc. are attributed to the east wind. (See Parallel Passages.) In Egypt it is peculiarly destructive, because it comes through the parched deserts of Arabia, often destroying vast numbers of people. The destructive nature of the {Sam, Simoom, Smoom,} or {Samiel}, is mentioned by almost all travellers. When this pestilential wind advances, its approach is indicated by a redness in the air. The principal stream of the blast always moves in a line of about
Genesis 41:20 And the lean and the ill favored cows did eat up the first seven fat cows:
yards in breadth, and
12 feet above the surface of the earth; but its parching influence pervades all places to a considerable distance. The only means of preservation from its noxious influence is to lie flat, with the face upon the ground, till the blast be over. Camels and other animals instinctively perceive its approach, and bury their mouths and nostrils in the ground. It rarely last more than seven or eight minutes, but so poisonous are its effects, that it instantly suffocates those who are unfortunate enough to inhale it.