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. Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while, because the famine was severe.
There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.
There was a famine in the land in the days when the judges ruled. And a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
Elisha told the woman who lived in Shunem, whose son he brought back to life: Jehovah is sending a famine on the land. It will last for seven years. Leave with your family and go live somewhere else. She followed his instructions and left with her family to live in Philistia for the seven years.
Behold, the day is coming, said the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many 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 another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.
There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.
Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar where he settled.
Jehovah will strike you with infectious diseases, with swelling and fever. He will send drought and scorching winds to destroy your crops. These disasters will be with you until you die. The sky above will look like copper and the ground below will be as hard as iron. read more. Jehovah will send dust storms and sandstorms on you from the sky until you are destroyed. Jehovah will cause you to be stricken before your enemies. You will go out one way against them, and flee seven ways from them. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your body will be food to all birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth. And no man shall frighten them away. Jehovah will strike you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. You will become insane and go blind. Jehovah will make you so confused, that even in bright sunshine you will have to feel your way around like a blind person. You will tell day from night! For the rest of your life, people will beat and rob you. No one will be able to stop them. A man will be engaged to a woman, but before they can get married, enemy soldiers will rape her. Some of you will build houses, but never get to live in them. If you plant a vineyard, you will not be around long enough to enjoy the first harvest. Your cattle will be killed while you watch. You will not get to eat any of the meat. Your donkeys and sheep will be stolen. No one will be around to force your enemies to give them back. Your sons and daughters will be dragged off to a foreign country. And you will stand there helpless. Even if you watch for them until you go blind, you will never see them again. A foreign nation will take all the crops that you have worked so hard to grow. You will receive nothing but constant oppression and harsh treatment. You will lose your mind (experience insanity) because of all the suffering. Jehovah will strike you on the knees and legs with sore boils. From the sole of your foot to the crown of your head they will not heal. Jehovah will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods made of wood and stone. You will become a thing of revulsion. All the nations where Jehovah will send you will make an example of you and laugh at you. You will plant many crops in your fields, but harvest little for locusts will destroy your crops. You will plant vineyards and tend them but will not drink the wine from them. Worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout all your coasts, but you shall not anoint with the oil, for your olive shall drop off its fruit. Even your infant sons and daughters will be taken as prisoners of war. Locusts will take over all your trees and the fruit of your land.
Elisha told the woman who lived in Shunem, whose son he brought back to life: Jehovah is sending a famine on the land. It will last for seven years. Leave with your family and go live somewhere else. She followed his instructions and left with her family to live in Philistia for the seven years.
I did not send these prophets. Yet, they prophesy in my name that there will be no wars or famines in this land. So this is what I, Jehovah, say about them: 'Wars and famines will bring an end to these prophets.
I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life will cause them.'
All the people who are determined to go and live in Egypt will die either in war or of starvation or disease. Not one of them will survive, not one will escape the disaster that I am going to bring on them.'
Behold, the day is coming, said the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah.
One of them was named Agabus. He indicated through the Spirit that a great famine was about to come on the entire earth. He said it would come to pass in the days of 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/nsb'>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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There was a famine in the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while, because the famine was severe.
There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. Jehovah appeared to Isaac and said: Isaac, stay away from Egypt! I will show you where I want you to go.
Joseph said to Pharaoh: Pharaoh had the same dream twice. God has told Pharaoh what he is going to do. The seven good cows are seven years. The seven good heads of grain are seven years. It is all the same dream. read more. The seven thin, sickly cows that came up behind them are seven years. The seven empty heads of grain scorched by the east wind are also seven years. Seven years of famine are coming! It is just as I said to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is going to do. Seven years are coming when there will be plenty of food in Egypt. Seven years of famine will follow. Then people will forget that there was plenty of food in Egypt. The famine will ruin the land. People will not remember that there was once plenty of food in the land, because the coming famine will be so severe. The reason Pharaoh has had a recurring dream is because the matter has been definitely decided by God. He will do it very soon. Pharaoh should look for a wise and intelligent man and put him in charge of Egypt. Make arrangements to appoint supervisors over the land. Take a fifth of Egypt's harvest during the seven good years. Have them collect all the food during these good years. Store up grain under Pharaoh's control, to be kept for food in the cities. This food will be a reserve supply for our country during the seven years of famine that will happen in Egypt. Then the land will not be ruined by the famine.
Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand. He clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck.
There was a famine in the land in the days when the judges ruled. And a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
Elisha told the woman who lived in Shunem, whose son he brought back to life: Jehovah is sending a famine on the land. It will last for seven years. Leave with your family and go live somewhere else.
These double calamities have come upon you. Who can comfort you? You experience ruin and destruction, famine and sword. Who can console you?
I did not send these prophets. Yet, they prophesy in my name that there will be no wars or famines in this land. So this is what I, Jehovah, say about them: 'Wars and famines will bring an end to these prophets.
When they ask you where they should go, say to them: This is what Jehovah says: Those who are to die will die. Those who are to die in wars will die in wars. Those who are to die in famines will die in famines. Those who are to die in captivity will die in captivity.
One third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine! One third will fall by the sword! One third I will scatter to every wind! I will unsheathe a sword behind them (war will follow them).
I will rescue you from all your uncleanness. I will make the grain grow so that you will never again have famines.
The centurion replied to Jesus: Lord, I am not worthy that you come under my roof. Say the word and my servant will be healed. I also am a man having authority and commanding soldiers. I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, '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. Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while, because the famine was severe.
There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.
The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe, and the flax was budding.
They covered all the ground until it was black with them. They ate all the plants and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant anywhere in Egypt.
I will crush your arrogance. You will have no rain, and your land will be as hard as cement.
But the land you go to possess is a land of hills and valleys. It drinks water from the rain from the clouds in the sky.
I will send rain on your land at the proper time, both in the fall and in the spring. You will gather your own grain, new wine, and olive oil.
Jehovah will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. read more. They will eat the offspring of your animals and the crops from your fields until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, no new wine, no olive oil, no calves from your herds, and no lambs or kids from your flocks. They will continue to do this until you are completely desolate. They will blockade all your cities until the high, fortified walls you trust come down everywhere in your land. They will blockade all the cities everywhere in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you. Because of the hardships your enemies will make you suffer during the blockade, you will eat the flesh of your own children, the sons and daughters, whom Jehovah your God has given you. The kindest and most sensitive man among you will become stingy toward his brother, the wife he loves, and the children he still has left. He will give none of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all that he has left. These are hardships your enemies will make you suffer during the blockade of all your cities. The kindest and most sensitive woman among you, so sensitive and tender that she would not even step on an ant, will become stingy toward the husband she loves or toward her own son or daughter. She will not share with them the afterbirth from her body and the children she gives birth to. She will secretly eat them out of dire necessity. These are hardships your enemies will make you suffer during the blockade of your cities.
There was a famine in the land in the days when the judges ruled. And a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
When there is famine in the land or an epidemic or scorching winds or swarms of locusts, or when their enemies attack your people, or when disease or sickness among them destroys the crops,
Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: By the living Jehovah, the God of Israel, whose servant I am, there will be no dew or rain in these years, but only at my word.
Ahab said to Obadiah: Come! Let us go through all the country, to all the fountains of water and all the rivers. Let us see if there is any grass for the horses and the transport beasts. We must save some of the livestock.
The siege caused a great food shortage in the city. It was so severe that a donkey's head cost eighty pieces of silver, and half a pound of dove's dung cost five pieces of silver.
On the ninth day of the fourth month, the store of food in the town was almost gone. There was no food for the people of the land.
He who dwells in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence. He who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live. He will have his own life as booty.'
He who dwells in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence. He who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live. He will have his own life as booty.'
The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children. They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
That which the gnawing locust left the swarming locust ate. That which the swarming locust left the creeping locust ate. That which the creeping locust left other locusts ate.
I also gave you cleanness of teeth (kept food from your teeth) in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you have not returned to me, said Jehovah. I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I caused it to rain on one city, and caused it not to rain on another city. One received rain. The other did not receive rain and it dried up.
I struck you with scorching and mildew. The caterpillar has devoured the multitudes of your gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive-trees. Yet you have not returned to me, said Jehovah.
Behold, the day is coming, said the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many places.
Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. These things are the beginning of pain (sorrow) (trouble).
There will be great earthquakes. There will be famines and pestilences in various places. There shall be terrors and great signs from heaven.
One of them was named Agabus. He indicated through the Spirit that a great famine was about to come on the entire earth. He said it would come to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Elijah was a man of like passions with us. He prayed fervently that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
When he opened the third seal I heard the third beast say: Come! I saw a black horse; and he who sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand.
Therefore her plagues (literal and figurative) will overtake her in one day, death and mourning and famine; and she will be utterly burned with fire, for mighty is Jehovah God who judges her. (Jeremiah 50:34; 51:58)
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 thin, sickly cows that came up behind them are seven years. The seven empty heads of grain scorched by the east wind are also seven years. Seven years of famine are coming! It is just as I said to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is going to do. read more. Seven years are coming when there will be plenty of food in Egypt. Seven years of famine will follow. Then people will forget that there was plenty of food in Egypt. The famine will ruin the land. People will not remember that there was once plenty of food in the land, because the coming famine will be so severe. The reason Pharaoh has had a recurring dream is because the matter has been definitely decided by God. He will do it very soon. Pharaoh should look for a wise and intelligent man and put him in charge of Egypt. Make arrangements to appoint supervisors over the land. Take a fifth of Egypt's harvest during the seven good years. Have them collect all the food during these good years. Store up grain under Pharaoh's control, to be kept for food in the cities. This food will be a reserve supply for our country during the seven years of famine that will happen in Egypt. Then the land will not be ruined by the famine. The king and his officials approved this plan, and he said to them: We will never find a better man than Joseph. He is a man who has God's Spirit in him. The king said to Joseph: God has shown you all this. Therefore it is obvious that you have greater wisdom and insight than anyone else. I will put you in charge of my country. All my people will obey your orders. Your authority will be second only to mine. I now appoint you governor over all Egypt. Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand. He clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot. They proclaimed before him: Bow the knee! Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph: Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh named Joseph, Zaphenath-paneah. He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven years of plenty the land produced abundantly. He gathered all the food of these seven years that occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities. He placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields. Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea. He finally stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure. Before the year of famine came, there were born to Joseph two sons, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh, because God helped him forget all his troubles and all about his father's family. He named the second son Ephraim, because God made him fruitful in the land where he had suffered. The seven years when there was plenty of food in Egypt came to an end. The seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every other country, but there was food throughout Egypt. When the Egyptians became hungry, they cried out to the king for food. So he ordered them to go to Joseph and do what he told them. The famine grew worse and spread over the entire country. Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. People came to Egypt from all over the world to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.
This is what the Lord Jehovah says: 'I will surely send four terrible punishments against Jerusalem. I will send wars, famines, wild animals, and plagues. They will destroy people and animals.
Behold, the day is coming, said the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah. They will wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east. They will run to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, and will not find it.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many places.
There will be great earthquakes. There will be famines and pestilences in various places. There shall be terrors and great signs from heaven.
Therefore her plagues (literal and figurative) will overtake her in one day, death and mourning and famine; and she will be utterly burned with fire, for mighty is Jehovah God who judges her. (Jeremiah 50:34; 51:58)
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. Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while, because the famine was severe.
There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.
The seven years when there was plenty of food in Egypt came to an end. The seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every other country, but there was food throughout Egypt. read more. When the Egyptians became hungry, they cried out to the king for food. So he ordered them to go to Joseph and do what he told them. The famine grew worse and spread over the entire country. Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. People came to Egypt from all over the world to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.
Elisha told the woman who lived in Shunem, whose son he brought back to life: Jehovah is sending a famine on the land. It will last for seven years. Leave with your family and go live somewhere else. She followed his instructions and left with her family to live in Philistia for the seven years.