So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
So the people were scattered. It was an immense grievance to the labourers individually, but there would be no hindrance from the farmers whose fields they entered, as almost all the lands of Egypt were in the possession of the crown (Genesis 47:20). The season of harvest in Egypt corresponds nearly to May in our calendar (Osburn's 'Mon. Hist.,' 2:, p. 576).