Reference: Famine
American
Scripture records several famines in Palestine, and the neighboring countries, Ge 12:10; 26:1; Ru 1:1; 2Ki 6:25; Ac 11:27. The most remarkable one was that of seven years in Egypt, while Joseph was governor, Ge 41. It was distinguished for its duration, extent, and severity; particularly as Egypt is one of the countries least subject to such a calamity, by reason of its general fertility. Famine is sometimes a natural effect, as when the Nile does not overflow in Egypt, or rains do not fall in Judea, at the customary season; or when caterpillars, locusts, or other insects, destroy the fruits. But all natural causes are under the control of God; and he often so directs them as to chastise the rebellious with want, 2Ki 8:1-2; Eze 6:1; Mt 24:7. The worst famine is a spiritual one, Am 8:11.
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And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Now Elisha had spoken to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wherever thou can sojourn, for LORD has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land seve And the woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God. And she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
Behold, the days come, says lord LORD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of LORD.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in places.
Easton
The first mentioned in Scripture was so grievous as to compel Abraham to go down to the land of Egypt (Ge 26:1). Another is mentioned as having occurred in the days of Isaac, causing him to go to Gerar (Ge 26:1,17). But the most remarkable of all was that which arose in Egypt in the days of Joseph, which lasted for seven years (Genesis 41-45).
Famines were sent as an effect of God's anger against a guilty people (2Ki 8:1-2; Am 8:11; De 28:22-42; 2Sa 21:1; 2Ki 6:25-28; 25:3; Jer 14:15; 19:9; 42:17, etc.). A famine was predicted by Agabus (Ac 11:28). Josephus makes mention of the famine which occurred A.D. 45. Helena, queen of Adiabene, being at Jerusalem at that time, procured corn from Alexandria and figs from Cyprus for its poor inhabitants.
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And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
And Isaac departed there, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
LORD will smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with the sword, and with blight, and with mildew. And they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy sky that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. read more. LORD will make the rain of thy land powder and dust. From the sky it shall come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. LORD will cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies. Thou shall go out one way against them, and shall flee seven ways before them. And thou shall be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy dead body shall be food to all birds of the sky, and to the beasts of the earth, and there shall be none to frighten them away. LORD will smite thee with the boil of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which thou cannot be healed. LORD will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with confusion of mind, and thou shall grope at noonday, as the blind man gropes in darkness. And thou shall not prosper in thy ways. And thou shall only be oppressed and robbed always, and there shall be none to save thee. Thou shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lay with her. Thou shall build a house, and thou shall not dwell in it. Thou shall plant a vineyard, and shall not use the fruit of it. Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shall not eat of it. Thy donkey shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee. Thy sheep shall be given to thine enemies, and thou shall ha Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given to another people. And thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day, and there shall be nothing in the power of thy hand. The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labors, shall a nation eat up which thou know not. And thou shall only be oppressed and crushed always, so that thou shall be mad because of the sight of thine eyes which thou shall see. LORD will smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, of which thou cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot to the crown of thy head. LORD will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shall set over thee, to a nation that thou have not known, thou nor thy fathers. And there thou shall serve other gods, wood and stone. And thou shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where LORD shall lead thee away. Thou shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather little in, for the locust shall consume it. Thou shall plant vineyards and dress them, but thou shall neither drink of the wine, nor gather, for the worm shall eat them. Thou shall have olive trees throughout all thy borders, but thou shall not anoint thyself with the oil, for thine olive shall drop off. Thou shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be thine, for they shall go into captivity. All thy trees and the fruit of thy ground shall the locust possess.
Now Elisha had spoken to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wherever thou can sojourn, for LORD has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land seve And the woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God. And she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
Therefore thus says LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, and I did not send them, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.
And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters. And they shall eat each one the flesh of his friend, in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies, and those who seek their life, s
So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there. They shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon
Behold, the days come, says lord LORD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of LORD.
And one of them named Agabus, after standing up, signified by the Spirit there was going be a great famine in the whole world, which also happened under Claudius Caesar.
Fausets
Often sent as visitations from God for sin. 2Ki 8:1; "the Lord hath called for a famine" (Ps 105:16), as a master calls for a servant ready to do his bidding. Compare Mt 8:8-9; contrast Eze 36:29. So associated with pestilence and the sword (1/type/acv'>2 Samuel 21; 1 Kings 17). The famine in Ru 1:1 was probably owing to the Midianite devastation of the land (Judges 6), so severe in the Holy Land that Elimelech had to emigrate to Moab, and Naomi his widow returned not until ten years had elapsed. Isa 51:19; Jer 14:15; 15:2; Eze 5:12. Defects in agriculture, in means of transit, and in freedom of commerce through despotism, were among the natural causes of frequent famines anciently.
Failure of the heavy rains in November and December in Palestine (Ge 12:10; 26:1-2), and of the due overflow of the Nile, along with E. and S. winds (the N. wind on the contrary brings rains, and retards the too rapid current) in Egypt, the ancient granary of the world, often brought famines (Ge 41:25-36,42). Abraham's faith was tried by the famine which visited the land promised as his inheritance immediately after his entering it; yet though going down to Egypt for food, it was only "to sojourn," not to live there, for his faith in the promise remained unshaken. A record of famine for seven years in the 18th century B.C. has been found in China, which agrees with the time of Joseph's seven years of famine in Egypt.
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And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar. And LORD appeared to him, and said, Do not go down into Egypt. Dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.
And Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one; what God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dream is one. read more. And the seven lean and ill-favored cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind, they shall be seven years of famine. That is the thing which I spoke to Pharaoh. What God is about to do he has shown to Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, and there shall arise after them seven years of famine. And all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land. And the plenty shall not be known in the land because of that famine which follows, for it shall be very grievous. And because the dream was doubled to Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out for a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do [this], and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. And the food shall be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land not perish through the famine.
And Pharaoh took his signet ring from off his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck.
And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Now Elisha had spoken to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wherever thou can sojourn, for LORD has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land seve
These two things have befallen thee (Who shall bemoan thee?): Desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword. How shall I comfort thee?
Therefore thus says LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, and I did not send them, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.
And it shall come to pass, when they say to thee, Where shall we go forth? Then thou shall tell them, Thus says LORD: Such as are for death, to death, and such as are for the sword, to the sword, and such as are for the famine, to
A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and they shall be consumed with famine in the midst of thee, and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee, and a third part I will scatter to all the winds, and will
And I will save you from all your uncleannesses. And I will call for the grain, and will multiply it, and lay no famine upon you.
And having answered, the centurion said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou should come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my boy will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under myself. And I say to this man, Go, and he goes, and to another, Come, and he comes, and to my bondman, Do this, and he does it.
Hastings
In Palestine, famine is usually due to failure of the rainfall (Le 26:19; Am 4:6-7). Both crops and pasturage depend on the proper amount falling at the right time, the 'early rain' in Oct.
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And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
And the flax and the barley were smitten, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bloom.
For they covered the face of the whole ground, so that the land was darkened, and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. And there remained not any green thing, either tree nor herb
And I will break the pride of your power. And I will make your sky as iron, and your earth as brass,
but the land, where ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, [and] drinks water from the rain of heaven,
that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou may gather in thy grain, and thy new wine, and thine oil.
LORD will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies, a nation whose tongue thou shall not understand, a nation of fierce countenance, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young, read more. and shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, until thou be destroyed, that also shall not leave thee grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of thy cattle, or the young of thy flock, until they have caused thee And they shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fortified walls come down, in which thou trusted, throughout all thy land. And they shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which LORD thy God ha And thou shall eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, whom LORD thy God has given thee, in the siege and in the distress with which thine enemies shall distress thee. The man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his sons whom he has remaining, so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his sons whom he shall eat, because he has nothing left to him, in the siege and in the distress with which thine enemy shall distress thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her and toward her young one who comes out from between her feet, and toward her sons whom she shall bear, for she shall eat them secretly for want of all things, in the siege and in the distress with which thine enemy shall distress t
And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
If there be famine in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blight, mildew, locust [or] caterpillar, if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there be,
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead, said to Ahab, As LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
And Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land, to all the fountains of water, and to all the brooks. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we not lose all the beasts.
And there was a great famine in Samaria. And, behold, they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty [pieces] of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five [pieces] of silver.
On the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
He who abides in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. But he who goes out, and passes over to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey.
He who abides in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. But he who goes out, and passes over to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey.
The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children. They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
That which the palmer-worm has left the locust has eaten, and that which the locust has left the canker-worm has eaten, and that which the canker-worm has left the caterpillar has eaten.
And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places, yet ye have not returned to me, says LORD. And I also have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest. And I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city. One piece was rained upon, and the piece upon which it
I have smitten you with blasting and mildew. The multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees the palmer-worm has devoured. Yet ye have not returned to me, says LORD.
Behold, the days come, says lord LORD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of LORD.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in places.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These things are the beginnings of travails.
And great earthquakes will be in various places, and famines and plagues. And there will be fearful sights and great signs from the sky.
And one of them named Agabus, after standing up, signified by the Spirit there was going be a great famine in the whole world, which also happened under Claudius Caesar.
Elijah was a man of the same nature as we. And by prayer, he asked for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third being saying, Come and see. And behold, a black horse, and he who sits on it having a balance in his hand.
Because of this her plagues will come in one day, death, and grief, and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, because strong is Lord, the God who judged her.
Morish
One of God's 'four sore judgements' which He in past times brought upon the earth, and which He has foretold will again be sent as a punishment. The most severe famines recorded in scripture are the two of seven years' duration, one in the time of Joseph, and the other in the days of Elisha. Ge 41:27-57; 2Ki 8:1-2: cf. Eze 14:21; Mt 24:7; Lu 21:11; Re 18:8. In speaking of the tribulations that will come upon Israel before the remnant of them are brought into blessing, Amos prophesies that there will be a famine of the 'words of Jehovah.' When judgements are falling on them, they will seek for some word from God for guidance and comfort; but will not find it: God will for a time leave them in darkness and perplexity. Am 8:11-12.
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And the seven lean and ill-favored cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind, they shall be seven years of famine. That is the thing which I spoke to Pharaoh. What God is about to do he has shown to Pharaoh. read more. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, and there shall arise after them seven years of famine. And all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land. And the plenty shall not be known in the land because of that famine which follows, for it shall be very grievous. And because the dream was doubled to Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out for a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do [this], and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. And the food shall be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land not perish through the famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God? And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Inasmuch as God has shown thee all of this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou. Thou shall be over my house, and according to thy word all my people shall be ruled. Only in the throne I will be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took his signet ring from off his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried before him, Bow the knee. And he set him over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee no man shall lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera priest of On, for a wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities. The food of the field, which was round about every city, he laid up in the same. And Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left off numbering, for it was without number. And two sons were born to Joseph before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for, God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. And the name of the second he called Ephraim, for God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. And the seven years of plenty, that was in the land of Egypt, came to an end. And the seven years of famine began to come, according as Joseph had said. And there was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. And Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do. And the famine was over all the face of the earth. And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe on all the earth.
For thus says lord LORD: How much more when I send my four severe judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil beasts, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!
Behold, the days come, says lord LORD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of LORD. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east. They shall run to and fro to seek the word of LORD, and shall not find it.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and plagues and earthquakes in places.
And great earthquakes will be in various places, and famines and plagues. And there will be fearful sights and great signs from the sky.
Because of this her plagues will come in one day, death, and grief, and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, because strong is Lord, the God who judged her.
Smith
Famine.
In the whole of Syria and Arabia, the fruits of the earth must ever be dependent on rain; the watersheds having few large springs, and the small rivers not being sufficient for the irrigation of even the level lands. If therefore the heavy rains of November and December fail, the sustenance of the people is cut off in the parching drought of harvest-time, when the country is almost devoid of moisture. Egypt, again, owes all its fertility to its mighty river, whose annual rise inundates nearly the whole land. The causes of dearth and famine in Egypt are defective inundation, preceded, accompanied and followed by prevalent easterly and southerly winds. Famine is likewise a natural result in the East when caterpillars, locusts or other insects destroy the products of the earth. The first famine recorded in the Bible is that of Abraham after he had pitched his tent on the east of Bethel,
the second in the days of Isaac,
seq. We hear no more of times of scarcity until the great famine of Egypt, which "was over all the face of the earth."
The modern history of Egypt throws some curious light on these ancient records of famines; and instances of their recurrence may be cited to assist us in understanding their course and extent. The most remarkable famine was that of the reign of the Fatimee Khaleefeh, El-Mustansir billah, which is the only instance on record of one of seven years duration in Egypt since the time of Joseph (A.H. 457-464, A.D. 1064-1071). Vehement drought and pestilence continued for seven consecutive years, so that the people ate corpses, and animals that died of themselves. The famine of Samaria resembled it in many particulars; and that very briefly recorded in
affords another instance of one of seven years. In Arabia famines are of frequent occurrence.
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And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
And the seven years of plenty, that was in the land of Egypt, came to an end. And the seven years of famine began to come, according as Joseph had said. And there was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. read more. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. And Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do. And the famine was over all the face of the earth. And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe on all the earth.
Now Elisha had spoken to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wherever thou can sojourn, for LORD has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land seve And the woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God. And she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.