And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
Ver. 4. Did eat up the seven, &c.] In famine is not only outward want, but a greedy dog-like appetite within (Bουλιμια, appetitas caninus), that an ordinary meal sufficeth not, Isa 9:20 but men are ready to eat one another: as they did at Potidea, in the Peloponnesian war; at Utica, when it was besieged by Hamilcar the father of Hannibal; at Jerusalem, when it was beleaguered by Vespasian; at Tunis, in the African war, when the soldiers were tithed, that is, every tenth man was cut in pieces and devoured. Such a famine there was at Rome in the days of Honorius the Emperor, that they were ready to eat one another; and this voice was heard in the place of public meeting, Pone precium humanae carni. At Antioch in Syria, many of the Christians, in the holy war, through famine, devoured the dead bodies of their recently slain enemies. At the siege of Scodra, they were well-nigh put to this extremity, when horses were dainty meat; yea, they were glad to eat dogs, cats, rats, and the skins of beasts sod. It exceedeth all credit, to tell at what exceeding great price a little mouse was sold, or puddings made of dogs' guts. a And if our relations deceived us not, such things as these we heard of lately, to have happened in Germany. Alterius perditio, tua cautio. Seest thou another man perish? see to thyself.
a Thucyd.; Polyb.; Joseph.; Manlii., loc. com. 278; Alsted., Chronol., p. 300; Turk. Hist., fol. 18, 426.