יחזקאל, פרק כ״ט, פסוק י״א

The impending ruin of Egypt is portrayed as a total and absolute collapse, bringing an end to all movement and life within its borders. The land is destined for a desolation so profound that it will repel both human inhabitants and passing animals. It will transform into a completely barren desert, lacking even the most basic pasture needed to sustain flocks of sheep and herds of cattle [מלבי״ם]. Because the devastation will be so severe, no traveler will dare to cross through the territory, and it will cease to exist as a settled, functioning nation [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This period of complete ruin is not permanent; rather, it is limited to a strictly defined span of forty years [מלבי״ם]. The primary approach among commentators [רש״י, רד״ק, צאינה וראינה] views this specific timeframe as a historical closing of a circle, tracing the punishment back to the era of Joseph. According to tradition, Pharaoh's dreams originally signaled forty-two years of famine, a number derived from the biblical narrative mentioning the seven thin cows and the seven withered ears of grain three separate times.

Historically, the devastating famine during Joseph's rule lasted for only two years. It came to a sudden halt the moment Jacob arrived in Egypt. Consequently, a debt of forty years of famine and desolation remained suspended. Now, those exact forty years are being collected from the Egyptian empire.

This historical account presents a question regarding the scope of the punishment: since the original famine during Joseph's time affected the entire world, why is this delayed penalty falling solely upon Egypt? The answer lies in how the original famine ended [אהבת יהונתן]. While the initial starvation struck all nations, its abrupt end, triggered by Jacob's arrival, occurred exclusively within the borders of Egypt. Because only Egypt benefited from this early reprieve, only Egypt was left with the forty-year debt of desolation that it must now endure.