17 Bible Verses about Famine, Examples Of

There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.

The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end. Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, "Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you."read more.
While the famine was over all the earth, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. People from every country came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth.

Then a famine occurred throughout Egypt and Canaan, causing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food.

During the time of the judges there was a famine in the land of Judah. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons.

During David's reign there was a famine for three consecutive years. So David inquired of the Lord. The Lord said, "It is because of Saul and his bloodstained family, because he murdered the Gibeonites."

Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the Lord told Elijah, "Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground." So Elijah went to make an appearance before Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who supervised the palace. (Now Obadiah was a very loyal follower of the Lord.read more.
When Jezebel was killing the Lord's prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.) Ahab told Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grazing areas so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to kill some of the animals."

But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land.

Now Elisha went back to Gilgal, while there was famine in the land. Some of the prophets were visiting him and he told his servant, "Put the big pot on the fire and boil some stew for the prophets."

Samaria's food supply ran out. They laid siege to it so long that a donkey's head was selling for eighty shekels of silver and a quarter of a kab of dove's droppings for five shekels of silver.

These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you?

One of them, named Agabus, got up and predicted by the Spirit that a severe famine was about to come over the whole inhabited world. (This took place during the reign of Claudius.)

For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

Then a famine occurred throughout Egypt and Canaan, causing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. So when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there the first time. On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers again, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.

Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked and besieged Samaria. Samaria's food supply ran out. They laid siege to it so long that a donkey's head was selling for eighty shekels of silver and a quarter of a kab of dove's droppings for five shekels of silver.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the drought. "The people of Judah are in mourning. The people in her cities are pining away. They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow. Cries of distress come up to me from Jerusalem. The leading men of the cities send their servants for water. They go to the cisterns, but they do not find any water there. They return with their containers empty. Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands.read more.
They are dismayed because the ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers, too, are dismayed and bury their faces in their hands. Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn in the field because there is no grass. Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops and pant for breath like jackals. Their eyes are strained looking for food, because there is none to be found."

Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command."