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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There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.
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.
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.
Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years." So the woman did as the prophet said. She and her family went and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
Be certain of this, the time is coming," says the sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land -- not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation!
For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various 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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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.
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.
So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley.
He will afflict you with weakness, fever, inflammation, infection, sword, blight, and mildew; these will attack you until you perish. The sky above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron. read more. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; it will come down on you from the sky until you are destroyed. "The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your carcasses will be food for every bird of the sky and wild animal of the earth, and there will be no one to chase them off. The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, eczema, and scabies, all of which cannot be healed. The Lord will also subject you to madness, blindness, and confusion of mind. You will feel your way along at noon like the blind person does in darkness and you will not succeed in anything you do; you will be constantly oppressed and continually robbed, with no one to save you. You will be engaged to a woman and another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it. Your ox will be slaughtered before your very eyes but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be stolen from you as you watch and will not be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be given to your enemies and there will be no one to save you. Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it. As for the produce of your land and all your labor, a people you do not know will consume it, and you will be nothing but oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives. You will go insane from seeing all this. The Lord will afflict you in your knees and on your legs with painful, incurable boils -- from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. The Lord will force you and your king whom you will appoint over you to go away to a people whom you and your ancestors have not known, and you will serve other gods of wood and stone there. You will become an occasion of horror, a proverb, and an object of ridicule to all the peoples to whom the Lord will drive you. "You will take much seed to the field but gather little harvest, because locusts will consume it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink wine or gather in grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with olive oil, because the olives will drop off the trees while still unripe. You will bear sons and daughters but not keep them, because they will be taken into captivity. Whirring locusts will take over every tree and all the produce of your soil.
Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years." So the woman did as the prophet said. She and her family went and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, 'No war or famine will happen in this land.' But I, the Lord, say this about them: 'War and starvation will kill those prophets.'
I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another."'"
All the people who are determined to go and settle in Egypt will die from war, starvation, or disease. No one will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.'
Be certain of this, the time is coming," says the sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land -- not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation!
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.)
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/net'>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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.
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. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; settle down in the land that I will point out to you.
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning. read more. The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent seven years of famine. This is just what I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. But seven years of famine will occur after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate the land. The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. The dream was repeated to Pharaoh because the matter has been decreed by God, and God will make it happen soon. "So now Pharaoh should look for a wise and discerning man and give him authority over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh should do this -- he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh's authority they should store up grain so the cities will have food, and they should preserve it. This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine."
Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph's. He clothed him with fine linen clothes and put a gold chain around his neck.
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.
Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years."
These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you?
I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, 'No war or famine will happen in this land.' But I, the Lord, say this about them: 'War and starvation will kill those prophets.'
If they ask you, 'Where should we go?' tell them the Lord says this: "Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease. Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war. Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation. Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile."
A third of your people will die of plague or be overcome by the famine within you. A third of your people will fall by the sword surrounding you, and a third I will scatter to the winds. I will unleash a sword behind them.
I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it; I will not bring a famine on you.
But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, 'Go' and he goes, and to another 'Come' and he comes, and to my slave '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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.
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.
(Now the flax and the barley were struck by the hail, for the barley had ripened and the flax was in bud.
They covered the surface of all the ground, so that the ground became dark with them, and they ate all the vegetation of the ground and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or on anything that grew in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt.
I will break your strong pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze.
Instead, the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy is one of hills and valleys, a land that drinks in water from the rains,
then he promises, "I will send rain for your land in its season, the autumn and the spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine, and olive oil.
The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the earth as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of stern appearance that will have no regard for the elderly or pity for the young. read more. They will devour the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil until you are destroyed. They will not leave you with any grain, new wine, olive oil, calves of your herds, or lambs of your flocks until they have destroyed you. They will besiege all of your villages until all of your high and fortified walls collapse -- those in which you put your confidence throughout the land. They will besiege all your villages throughout the land the Lord your God has given you. You will then eat your own offspring, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you, because of the severity of the siege by which your enemies will constrict you. The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children. He will withhold from all of them his children's flesh that he is eating (since there is nothing else left), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages. Likewise, the most tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters, and will secretly eat her afterbirth and her newborn children (since she has nothing else), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages.
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.
"The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land, or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs.
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."
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."
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.
By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food.
Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians who are besieging it will live. They will escape with their lives.
Those who stay in this city will die in battle or of starvation or disease. Those who leave the city and surrender to the Babylonians who are besieging it will live. They will escape with their lives.
(Yod) The hands of tenderhearted women cooked their own children, who became their food, when my people were destroyed.
What the gazam-locust left the 'arbeh-locust consumed, what the 'arbeh-locust left the yeleq-locust consumed, and what the yeleq-locust left the hasil-locust consumed!
"But surely I gave you no food to eat in any of your cities; you lacked food everywhere you live. Still you did not come back to me." The Lord is speaking! "I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.
"I destroyed your crops with blight and disease. Locusts kept devouring your orchards, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees. Still you did not come back to me." The Lord is speaking!
Be certain of this, the time is coming," says the sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land -- not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation!
For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines. These are but the beginning of birth pains.
There will be great earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven.
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.)
Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!
Then when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, "Come!" So I looked, and here came a black horse! The one who rode it had a balance scale in his hand.
For this reason, she will experience her plagues in a single day: disease, mourning, and famine, and she will be burned down with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!"
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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The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent seven years of famine. This is just what I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. read more. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. But seven years of famine will occur after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate the land. The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. The dream was repeated to Pharaoh because the matter has been decreed by God, and God will make it happen soon. "So now Pharaoh should look for a wise and discerning man and give him authority over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh should do this -- he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh's authority they should store up grain so the cities will have food, and they should preserve it. This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine." This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. So Pharaoh asked his officials, "Can we find a man like Joseph, one in whom the Spirit of God is present?" So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning as you are! You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. Only I, the king, will be greater than you. "See here," Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I place you in authority over all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph's. He clothed him with fine linen clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. Pharaoh had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, and they cried out before him, "Kneel down!" So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one will move his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt." Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by Pharaoh and was in charge of all the land of Egypt. During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it. Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure. Two sons were born to Joseph before the famine came. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, "Certainly God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's house." He named the second child Ephraim, saying, "Certainly God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." 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." 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.
"For this is what the sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments -- sword, famine, wild animals, and plague -- to Jerusalem to kill both people and animals!
Be certain of this, the time is coming," says the sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land -- not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation! People will stagger from sea to sea, and from the north around to the east. They will wander about looking for a revelation from the Lord, but they will not find any.
For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
There will be great earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven.
For this reason, she will experience her plagues in a single day: disease, mourning, and famine, and she will be burned down with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!"
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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.
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.
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. read more. 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." 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.
Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years." So the woman did as the prophet said. She and her family went and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years.