COMMENTARY on 12:47
A. Yusuf Ali:

Translation:
(Joseph) said: "For seven years shall you diligently sow as is your wont: and the harvests that you reap, you shall leave them in the ear,- 1704 except a little, of which you shall eat.
Commentary:

1704  Joseph not only shows what will happen, but, unasked, suggests the measures to be taken for dealing with the calamity when it conies. There will be seven years of abundant harvest. With diligent cultivation they should get bumper crops. Of them they should take a little for their sustenance and store the rest in-the-ear, the better to preserve it from the pests that attack corn heaps when they have passed through the threshing floor.