Famine

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

‘Famine’ is used throughout in the Revised Versionto translate λιμός, having taken the place of ‘dearth’ In  Acts 7:11;  Acts 11:28 (Authorized Version). The remaining passages are  Romans 8:35,  Revelation 6:8;  Revelation 18:8. The most important of these references is  Acts 11:28, where μεγάλην, followed by ἤτις, the reading of the best Manuscripts, proclaims the noun as feminine. In  Luke 15:14 it is of the same gender, but in  Luke 4:25 it is masculine. In Josephus, Ant . XX. v. 2, τὸν μέγαν λιμόν appears.

We deal first with the great famine which seems to be common to Josephus and the Book of Acts. As it is spoken of in both places in the same terms, so both passages are taken to refer to one and the same event. Uncertainty attaches to the scope of the famine, which, according to St. Luke, was spread over the whole world as then known, but which, according to Josephus, was restricted to Judaea . Schürer ( GJV [Note: JV Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes (Schürer).]3 i. [1901] 567) is inclined to regard the statement of Acts as unhistorical generalization, and for this he compares  Luke 2:1. The Bible historian is defended by W. M. Ramsay ( St. Paul the Traveller , 1895, p. 49): ‘he merely says that famine occurred over the whole (civilized) world in the time of Claudius: of course the year varied in different lands.’ As a matter of fact, local famines did frequently occur during that reign (see Schürer, loc. cit. , and Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) , s.v . ‘Claudius’) in lands other than Judaea . The date of the Judaea n famine may be approximately determined by Herod Agrippa i.’s death, which took place in a.d. 44 (cf.  Acts 11:29-30;  Acts 12:23;  Acts 12:25). The dates assigned by chronologists range from that year up to a.d. 46 (see Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) v. 480, and Ramsay, op. cit. 63, 254). For the actual situation in Palestine compare Josephus, Ant . III. xv. 3, xx. ii. 5, v. 2; in the last two paragraphs the succour given by Queen Helena is detailed.

St. Luke, while careful to maintain the position of Agabus as a prophet, here in the sense of one foretelling the future (cf.  Acts 21:11), himself reviews the situation from a point outside the reign of Claudius, which terminated in a.d. 54. He therefore could survey the general feature of that reign, viz. as being an age of famine, and at the same time give particular attention to the local famine in Judaea , which involved Barnabas and Saul.

The whole position during the Apostolic Age may be regarded as perilous to the food supply. It was so for the Empire, owing to State policy, and for Palestine because of the insecurity of the times, culminating in the siege of Jerusalem, during which famine was extreme. Natural causes may have added to the straits, as the allusions of classical writers show. This matter has been considered from a novel point of view, viz. the relation between famine and the rainfall, by Ellsworth Huntington, who concludes that ‘the second half of the first century may have been slightly drier than the first half, for at that time famines prevailed to an unusual extent’ ( Palestine and its Transformation , 1911, p. 327). He supports his main theory of pulsatory changes in climate by calling in the evidence of inscriptions, and he finds that the decades a.d. 61-70, 91-100, are without inscriptions (true for Syria), and these are taken to be intervals of desiccation and consequent scarcity. While illuminating the general situation, this does not bring us nearer than the historians do to fixing the date of Specific famines.

The condition pictured in  Revelation 6:5-6 is one of scarcity, when wheat and barley are to be weighed out with care to prevent a worse condition arising. In the next vision (v. 8) this worse condition is described, when death results from famine, among other evils.

In the rhetorical appeal addressed by St. Paul to the Christians in Rome famine appears in the catalogue of afflictions ( Romans 8:35). Assuming that Babylon the Great is to be identified with Rome, it is a fitting sequel to the probable experience of the Christiana there, that famine should be one of the plagues by which the Imperial city is to be finally overtaken ( Revelation 18:8).

Famines of OT times are recalled: (1) in Egypt and Canaan ( Acts 7:11); (2) in Israel ( James 5:17-18, the absence of rain implying Tack of earth’s fruit; cf.  Luke 4:25, where famine is named).

Literature.- Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) , article‘Claudius’; Encyclopaedia Biblica , article‘Chronology’ (§ 76): E. Schürer. GJV [Note: JV Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes (Schürer).]3 i [1901] 567, History of the Jewish People (Eng. tr. of GJV).] i. ii. [1890) 169 n.[Note: . note.]; W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller , 1895, pp. 48-51; J. B. Lightfoot, Biblical Essays , 1893, p. 216f.; A. Hausrath, A History of NT Times , ii [1895] 186ff.; O. Pfleiderer, Primitive Christianity , ii [1909] 227f.; G. A. Smith. Jerusalem , ii. [1908] 563.

W. Cruickshank

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

Is one of God's four sore judgments which the Lord threatened to send upon Jerusalem; the sword, and the famine, the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast. (See  Ezekiel 14:22) And though it may be said by some, that famine may be induced by natural causes, yet it must be allowed by those who believe the Scripture, that natural causes are but the agents and instruments of divine appointment. Who can doubt but that the plenty in Egypt, which was succeeded by seven years famine, was to bring about the gracious purposes of the Lord concerning Joseph and his family, that Israel might be led out of Egypt? Who can question that the famine in the days of Elisha was the same, when we are told, that the Lord called for it seven years. ( 2 Kings 8:1) And who will put down to natural causes what the Lord accomplished lay instruments, in themselves so feeble, when in the days of Joel the Lord's great army ate up the whole produce of the land? ( Joel 1:1-20; Joe 2:1-32, etc.)

But reader! how dreadful soever a famine in a land may be, when for the wickedness of the people the Lord sends it, yet the word of God speaks of a famine yet more alarming. How very solemn are the words of the Lord, by the prophet, on this subject,  Amos 8:11-12 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, 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 the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even unto the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." What an awful sentence is this! And by as much as the soul is infinitely more important in value than the body, by so much must be the famine of living bread here threatened. But to what period of the church are we to look for its accomplishment? Was it not eminently fulfilled in the instance of the house of Israel, when, after their rejecting the Lord of life and glory, the Lord scattered them over the face of the earth, and left the nation to a wandering state, "without a king, without a prince, without a sacrifice, without an image, without an ephod, and without teraphim?" Yea, are they not still in this awful state? Oh! that that sweet promise may be hastening for its accomplishment, which the prophet who related the famined state of Israel declared also, by the same authority, should be at length fulfilled. "Afterward" (said he,) "shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness many days." ( Hosea 3:4-5) But let not the reader close up his view of this spiritual famine as it relates to the Jews, without going farther, and enquiring whether the threatening may not belong equally to the Gentile church? yea, and whether it is not now in the present hour accomplishing in the earth? Is there not a famine of hearing the word of the Lord in numberless places which are called Christian countries, as well as idolatrous lands? Are there not multitudes who call themselves after Christ, but yet know no more of him than the name? Yea, to come nearer home, are there not villages and country places in this kingdom where the spiritual famine prevails, notwithstanding our land is called, a land of Bibles, and societies for disseminating the word of God are every where opening? Alas! while the grand and distinguishing principles of the faith of Christ are so openly and impudently denied; while God the Father's gracious purposes in the gift of salvation by his dear Son, is thought nothing of; while the Godhead of Christ, and redemption wholly by his blood, is daringly opposed; and while the person, work, and influence of God the Holy Ghost is not made the very foundation of a sinner's hope, in reading the sacred word to make wise unto salvation; while these things are kept in the back ground, and the object with many in teaching is but to introduce a flimsy system of morality to supply the place of vital godliness, is there not still a famine, yea, with many, with the Bible in their hand? Pious regenerated Christians see this, and find cause to mourn in secret over it; while they can only pray the Lord to take away the reproach of our land, and remove this spiritual famine from our people. Oh, for Jesus, the living bread, to feed his people with true understanding and knowledge!

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Famine . In Palestine, famine is usually due to failure of the rainfall (  Leviticus 26:19 ,   Amos 4:6-7 ). Both crops and pasturage depend on the proper amount falling at the right time, the ‘early rain’ in Oct. Nov., the ‘latter’ in March April. Its importance and uncertainty caused it to be regarded as the special gift of God (  Deuteronomy 11:11;   Deuteronomy 11:14 ). Accordingly famine is almost always a direct judgment from Him (  1 Kings 17:1 ,   Ezekiel 5:1-17 , and continually in the Prophets;   James 5:17 ). Hence we find it amongst the terrors of the eschatological passages of NT (  Mark 13:8 ,   Revelation 18:8 ). The idea is spiritualized in   Amos 8:11 ‘a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.’ In Egypt, famine is due to the failure of the annual inundation of the Nile, which is ultimately traceable to lack of rain in the Abyssinian highlands of the interior.

Crops may be destroyed by other causes hail and thunder-storms. ( Exodus 9:31 ,   1 Samuel 12:17 ); locusts and similar pests (  Exodus 10:15 ,   Joel 1:4 ,   Amos 4:9 ). Further, famine is the usual accompaniment of war, the most horrible accounts of famines being connected with sieges ( 2Ki 6:25;   2 Kings 25:3 ,   Jeremiah 21:9 ,   Lamentations 4:10 ).

These passages should be compared with the terrible description of  Deuteronomy 28:49-57 , and with Josephus’ account of the last siege of Jerusalem ( BJ V. x. 3). So in   Revelation 6:5 scarcity, connected with the black horse, follows on bloodshed and conquest; but a maximum price is fixed for wheat and barley, and oil and wine are untouched, so that the full horrors of famine are delayed. A natural result of famine is pestilence, due to improper and insufficient food, lack of water, and insanitary conditions. The two are frequently connected, especially in Ezk. and Jer. (  1 Kings 8:37 ,   Jeremiah 21:9 ,   Luke 21:11 [not   Matthew 24:7 ]).

Famines are recorded in connexion with Abraham ( Genesis 12:10 ) and Isaac (  Genesis 26:1 ). There is the famous seven years’ famine of   Genesis 41:1-57 ff., which included Syria as well as Egypt. It apparently affected cereals rather than pasturage, beasts of transport being unharmed (cf. per contra   1 Kings 18:5 ). The device by which Joseph warded off its worst effects is illustrated by Egyptian inscriptions. In one, Baba, who lived about the time of Joseph, says: ‘I collected corn, as a friend of the harvest-god, and was watchful at the time of sowing. And when a famine arose, lasting many years, I distributed corn to the city each year of famine’ (see Driver, Genesis , p. 346). Other famines, besides those already referred to, are mentioned in   Ruth 1:1 ,   2 Samuel 21:1 . The famine of   Acts 11:28 is usually identified with one mentioned by Josephus ( Ant. XX. ii. 5, v. 2), which is dated a.d. 45. But famines were characteristic of the reign of Claudius (Suetonius mentions ‘assiduae sterilitates’), so that the exact reference remains uncertain.

C. W. Emmet.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

A. Noun.

Râ‛âb ( רָעָב , Strong'S #7458), “famine; hunger.” This word appears about 101 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. Râ‛âb means “hunger” as opposed to “thirst”: “Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things …” (Deut. 28:48).

Another meaning of the word is “famine,” or the lack of food in an entire geographical area: “And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt …” (Gen. 12:10—the first occurrence). God used a “famine” as a means of judgment (Jer. 5:12), of warning (1 Kings 17:1), of correction (2 Sam. 21:1), or of punishment (Jer. 14:12), and the “famine” was always under divine control, being planned and used by Him. Râ‛âb was also used to picture the “lack of God’s word” (Amos 8:11; cf. Deut. 8:3).

B. Verb.

Râ‛êb ( רָעֵב , Strong'S #7456), “to be hungry, suffer famine.” This verb, which appears in the Old Testament 14 times, has cognates in Ugaritic ( rgb ), Arabic, and Ethiopic. The first biblical occurrence is in Gen. 41:55: “And when all the land of Egypt was famished.…”

C. Adjective.

Râ‛êb ( רָעֵב , Strong'S #7456, רָעֵב , Strong'S #7457), “hungry.” This word appears as an adjective 19 times. The first biblical occurrence is in 1 Sam. 2:5: “… And they that were hungry ceased: …”

Smith's Bible Dictionary

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,  Genesis 12:10, the second in the days of Isaac,  Genesis 26:1, seq. We hear no more of times of scarcity until the great famine of Egypt, which "was over all the face of the earth."  Genesis 41:53-57.

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  2 Kings 8:1-2 affords another instance of one of seven years. In Arabia, famines are of frequent occurrence.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Often sent as visitations from God for sin.  2 Kings 8:1; "the Lord hath called for a famine" ( Psalms 105:16), as a master calls for a servant ready to do his bidding. Compare  Matthew 8:8-9; contrast  Ezekiel 36:29. So associated with pestilence and the sword (2 Samuel 21; 1 Kings 17). The famine in  Ruth 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.  Isaiah 51:19;  Jeremiah 14:15;  Jeremiah 15:2;  Ezekiel 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 ( Genesis 12:10;  Genesis 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 ( Genesis 41:25-36;  Genesis 41:42). 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.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Famine. Several famines are noted in the Scripture history. Two are mentioned as occurring in Canaan in the days of Abraham and Isaac, compelling those patriarchs to remove to Egypt and to Gerar.  Genesis 12:10;  Genesis 26:1. Then succeeded that remarkable famine which Joseph was enabled to predict, and which extended widely over Egypt and various other regions.  Genesis 41:53-57. A scarcity in Palestine was once occasioned,  Judges 6:4-6, by the invasion of the Midianites, and another (or the same) is referred to in  Ruth 1:1. Others are noted, sometimes caused by war or by locusts.  2 Samuel 21:1;  1 Kings 17:1;  1 Kings 17:7;  1 Kings 18:2;  2 Kings 4:38;  2 Kings 8:1-2;  Lamentations 5:10;  Joel 1:10-12;  Joel 1:17-18. We read in the New Testament,  Acts 11:28, of a famine predicted by a Christian prophet named Agabus. Famine is sometimes used in a figurative sense; as when a worse destitution is described than that of bread, a sorer thirst than that for water—even a famine of the divine word, a thirst because the living streams of mercy flow out no more.  Amos 8:11-14.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Λιμός (Strong'S #3042 — Noun Masculine — limos — lee-mos' )

is translated "hunger" in  Luke 15:17;  2—Corinthians 11:27; elsewhere it signifies "a famine," and is so translated in each place in the RV; the AV has the word "dearth" in  Acts 7:11;  11:28 , and "hunger" in  Revelation 6:8; the RV "famine" is preferable there; see  Matthew 24:7;  Mark 13:8;  Luke 4:25;  15:14;  21:11;  Romans 8:35;  Revelation 18:8 . See Hunger.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Scripture records several famines in Palestine, and the neighboring countries,  Genesis 12:10   26:1   Ruth 1:1   2 Kings 6:25   Acts 11:27 . The most remarkable one was that of seven years in Egypt, while Joseph was governor,  Genesis 41:1-57 . 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,  2 Kings 8:1-2   Ezekiel 6:1   Matthew 24:7 . The worst famine is a spiritual one,  Amos 8:11 .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 26:1 Genesis 26:1,17 Genesis 4145-45

Famines were sent as an effect of God's anger against a guilty people ( 2 Kings 8:1,2;  Amos 8:11;  Deuteronomy 28:22-42;  2 Samuel 21:1;  2 Kings 6:25-28;  25:3;  Jeremiah 14:15;  19:9;  42:17 , etc.). A famine was predicted by Agabus ( Acts 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.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

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.  Genesis 41:27-57;  2 Kings 8:1,2 : cf.  Ezekiel 14:21;  Matthew 24:7;  Luke 21:11;  Revelation 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.  Amos 8:11,12 .

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Amos 8:11 (a) This is symbolical of the lack of the Word of GOD as the Bread of Life. When the Scriptures are ruled out, then the people perish, the vision is gone, hope fades, and there is a general declension.

 Luke 15:14 (b) The gifts of GOD may be used up, but the love of GOD never fails. This boy left his father's home, which is a type of walking with and loving our Lord, to seek his pleasures in the far-off country, which represents the world. He found that all that the world offered him soon failed. Nothing that the world gives can satisfy the craving of the human heart. The world with its pleasures and its pursuits fails to satisfy the craving of the heart. The person must return to GOD, he must come again under the protection of the sacrifice of the Lamb of GOD, and thus enjoy fellowship with GOD.

King James Dictionary

FAM'INE, n. L. fames.

1. Scarcity of food dearth a general want of provisions sufficient for the inhabitants of a country or besieged place.

There was a famine in the land.  Genesis 26 .

2. Want destitution as a famine of the word of life.

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) General scarcity of food; dearth; a want of provisions; destitution.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(properly רָעָב , Raab', Λιμός , Hunger, whether of individuals or of nations). "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. Further, the pastoral tribes rely on the scanty herbage of the desert-plains and valleys, for their flocks and herds; for the desert is interspersed in spring-time with spontaneous vegetation, which is the product of the preceding rain-fall, and fails almost totally without it. It is therefore not difficult to conceive the frequent occurrence and severity of famines: in ancient times, when the scattered population, rather of a pastoral than an agricultural country, was dependent on natural phenomena which, however regular in, their season, occasionally failed, and with them the sustenance of man and beast.

"Egypt, again, owes all its fertility — a fertility that gained for it the striking comparison with the 'garden' of the Lord' — to its mighty river, whose annual rise inundates nearly the whole land, and renders its cultivation an easy certainty. But this very bounty of nature has not unfrequently exposed the country to the opposite extreme of drought. With scarcely any rain, and that only on the Mediterranean coast, and with wells only supplied by filtration from the river through a nitrous soil, a failure in the rise of the Nile almost certainly entails a degree of scarcity, although if followed by cool weather, and if only the occurrence of a single year, the labor of the people may in a great measure avert the calamity. The causes of dearth and famine in Egypt are occasioned by defective inundation, preceded, and accompanied, and followed by prevalent easterly and southerly winds. Both these winds dry up the earth, and the latter, keeping back the rain-clouds from the north, are perhaps the chief cause of the defective inundation, as they are also by their accelerating the current of the river — the northerly winds producing the contrary effects. Famines in Egypt and Palestine seem to be affected by drought extending from northern Syria, through the meridian .of Egypt, as far as the highlands of Abyssinia.

"It may be said of the ancient world generally that it was subject to periodical returns of dearth, often amounting in particular districts to famine, greatly beyond what is usually experienced in modern times. Various causes of a merely natural and economical kind contributed to this, apart from strictly moral considerations. Among these causes may more especially be mentioned the imperfect knowledge of agriculture which prevailed, in consequence of which men had few resources to stimulate, or in unfavorable seasons and localities to aid, the productive powers of nature; the defective means of transit, rendering it often impossible to relieve the wants of one region, even when plenty existed at no great distance in another; the despotic governments, which to so great an extent checked the free development of human energy and skill; and the frequent wars and desolations, in a great degree also the result of those despotic governments, which both interrupted the labors of the field and afterwards wasted its fruits. Depending, as every returning harvest does, upon the meeting of many conditions in the soil and climate, which necessarily vary from season to season, it was inevitable that times of scarcity should be ever and anon occurring in particular regions of the world; and from the disadvantages now referred to, under which the world in more remote times labored, it was equally inevitable that such times should often result in all the horrors of famine."

The Scriptures record several famines in Palestine and the neighboring countries. The first occurs in  Genesis 12:10, which is described as so grievous as to compel Abraham to quit Canaan for Egypt ( Genesis 26:1). Another occurred in the days of Isaac, which was the cause of his removal from Canaan to Gerar ( Genesis 26:17). The most remarkable one was that of .seven years in Egypt, while Joseph was governor. 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. The ordinary cause of famine in Egypt is connected with the annual overflow of the Nile. But it would appear that more than local causes were in operation in the case noticed in  Genesis 41:30, for it is said that "the famine was sore in all lands," that "the famine was over all the face of the earth." By the foresight and wisdom of Joseph, however, provision had been made in Egypt during the seven preceding years of plenty, so that the people of other parts sought and received supplies in Egypt — "all countries came into Egypt to buy corn." Among other lands, Canaan suffered from the famine, which was the immediate occasion of Jacob sending his sons down into Egypt, and of the settlement in that land of the descendants of Abraham; an event of the highest consequence in the sequel, and serving to illustrate the benignity and wisdom of divine Providence in bringing there a band of shepherds to prepare and qualify them for becoming ultimately the founders of the Hebrew nation.

The fruitfulness of Egypt depends upon the inundations of the Nile; but these are occasioned by the tropical rains which fall upon the Abyssinian mountains. These rains depend upon climatic laws of wide extent and great regularity. Yet there is scarcely a land on the earth in which famine has raged so often and so terribly as in Egypt, or a land that so very much needs the measures which Joseph adopted for the preservation of the people. The swelling of the Nile a few feet above or below what is necessary proves alike destructive. Particular instances of famine which history has handed down to us are truly horrible, and the accounts of them are worthy of notice also, inasmuch as they present the services of Joseph in behalf of Egypt in their true light. Abdollatif relates thus: "In the year 596 (A.D. 1199), the height of the flood was small almost without example. The consequence was a terrible famine, accompanied by indescribable enormities. Parents consumed their children; human flesh was, in fact, a very common article of food; they contrived various ways of preparing it. They spoke of it and heard it spoken of as an indifferent affair. Men-catching became a regular business. The greater part of the population were swept away by death. In the following year, also, the inundation did not reach the proper height, and only the lowlands were overflowed. Also much of that which was inundated could not be sown for want of laborers and seed; much was destroyed by worms which devoured the seed-corn; also of the seed which escaped this destruction, a great part produced only meagre shoots which perished." (See the account of this famine translated in the Am. Bibl. Repos. 1832, page 659 sq.) Compare with this account the "thin ears and blasted with the east wind" ( Genesis 41:6). "Of the horrors in this second year's famine, the year of the Flight, 597 (A.D. 1200), Abdollatif, who was an eye-witness, likewise gives a most interesting account, stating that the people throughout the country were driven to the last extremities, eating offal, and even their own dead, and mentions, as an instance of the dire straits to which they were driven, that persons who were burnt alive for eating human flesh were themselves, thus ready roasted, eaten by others. Multitudes fled the country, only to perish in the desert-road to Palestine.

"But the most remaikable famine was that of the reign of the Fatimi Khalifeh, 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). This famine exceeded in severity all others of modern times, and was aggravated by the anarchy which then ravaged the country. Vehement drought and pestilence (says Es-Suyuti, in his Hosn el- Mohdarah, MS.) continued for seven consecutive years, so that they [the people] ate corpses, and animals that died of themselves; the cattle perished; a dog was sold for 5 dinars, and a cat for 3 dinars ... and an ardebb (about 5 bushels) of wheat for 100 dinars, and then it failed altogether. He adds that all the horses of the Khalifeh, save three, perished, and gives numerous instances of the straits to which the wretched inhabitants were driven, and of the organized bands of kidnappers who infested Cairo, and caught passengers in the streets by ropes furnished with hooks and let down from the houses. This account is confirmed by El- Makrizi (in his Khitat; Quatremere has translated the account of this famine in the life of El-Mustansir, contained in his Memoires Geographiques et Historiques sur 'Egypte), from whom we further learn that the family, and even the women of the Khalifeh fled, by the way of Syria on foot, to escape the peril that threatened all ranks of the population. The whole narrative is worthy of attention, since it contains a parallel to the duration of the famine of Joseph, and at the same time enables us to form an idea of the character of famines in the East. The famine of Samaria resembled it in many particulars; and that very briefly recorded in  2 Kings 8:1-2, affords another instance of one of seven years: "Then spake Elisha unto the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the Lord hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years." Bunsen (Egypt's Place, etc., 2:334) quotes the record of a famine in the reign of Sesertesen 1, which he supposes to be that of Joseph; but it must be observed that the instance in point is expressly stated not to have extended over the whole land, and is at least equally likely, apart from chronological reasons, to have been that of Abraham.

"In Arabia, famines are of frequent occurrence. The Arabs, in such cases, when they could not afford to slaughter their camels, used to bleed them and drink the blood, or mix it With the shorn fur, making a kind of. black pudding. They ate also various plants and grains, which at other times were not used as articles of food. Thus the tribe of Hanifeb were taunted with having in a famine eaten their god, which consisted of a dish of dates mashed up with clarified butter asnd a preparation of dried curds of milk (Sihah, MS.)."

Famine is likewise a natural result, in the East, when caterpillars, locusts, or other insects destroy the produce of the earth. The prophet Joel compares locusts to a numerous and terrible army ravaging the land (chapter 1). Famine was also an effect of God's anger ( 2 Kings 8:1-2). The prophets frequently threaten Israel with the sword of famine, or with war and famine, evils that frequently go together. Amos threaten.s another sort of famine: "I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord" ( Amos 8:11). In ancient times, owing to the imperfect modes of warfare in use, besieged cities were more frequently reduced by famine than by any other means, and the persons shut up were often reduced to the necessity of devouring not only unclean animals, but also human flesh (compare  Deuteronomy 28:22-24; 2 Samuel 21;  2 Kings 6:25-28;  2 Kings 15:3,  Jeremiah 14:15;  Jeremiah 19:9;  Jeremiah 42:17;  Ezekiel 5:10-12;  Ezekiel 5:16;  Ezekiel 6:12;  Ezekiel 7:15).

The famine predicted by Agabus ( Acts 11:28) was the same with that which is related by Josephus (Ant. 20:2, 6) as having taken place in the fourth year of Claudius, and affected especially the province of Judaea. (See Kuinol, Comment. proleg.) (See Dearth).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fam´in ( רעב , rā‛ābh  ; λιμός , limós ):

1. Natural Causes

2. Famines Mentioned

3. Divine Relations

4. Figurative Uses

The common Old Testament word for "famine" is rā‛ābh  ; re‛ābhōn also occurs ( Genesis 42:19 ,  Genesis 42:33;  Psalm 37:19 ), and kāphān ( Job 5:22;  Job 30:3 ), all meaning "hunger" and "famine"; in the New Testament the word is limos , meaning primarily "failure," "want of food."

In early times, especially in lands dependent on their own productions, famines were not infrequent. They were generally caused by local irregularities of the rainfall, by destructive hail storms ( Exodus 9:23 ,  Exodus 9:11 ,  Exodus 9:32 ), by ravages of insects ( Exodus 10:15;  Joel 1:4 ) and by enemies ( Deuteronomy 28:51 ); in a city a famine might be caused by a siege ( 2 Kings 6:25 ); pestilence often followed in its wake, and the suffering was great.

Famines are recorded in the time of Abraham ( Genesis 12:10 , etc.), of Isaac ( Genesis 26:1 ), of Jacob, when Joseph was in Egypt - seven years of famine even in Egypt after seven of plenty ( Genesis 41:54 ), which also affected Canaan ( Genesis 42:1 ), and, indeed, "was over all the face of the earth" ( Genesis 41:56 ); in the time of the Judges (Rth 1:1), of David, for three years ( 2 Samuel 21:1 ), of Ahab and Elijah ( 1 Kings 17:1;  1 Kings 18:2; Ecclesiasticus 48:2, 3), of Elisha ( 2 Kings 4:38 ), during the siege of Samaria ( 2 Kings 6:25 ), the seven years foretold by Elisha ( 2 Kings 8:1 ), in the reign of Zedekiah in Jerusalem when besieged by Nebuchadnezzar ( 2 Kings 25:3;  Jeremiah 52:6; compare  Jeremiah 14:1 ), its great severity is referred to ( Lamentations 5:10; Baruch 2:25); a "dearth" is also mentioned after the return from Captivity ( Nehemiah 5:3 ); when the city was besieged by Antiochus Eupator (1 Macc 6:54), after the death of Judas (1 Macc 9:24), when Jerusalem was besieged by Simon (1 Macc 13:49), in the time of Claudius ( Acts 11:28 , in his reign there were frequent famines, one of which in 45 ad severely affected Palestine; Josephus, Ant , XX, v); Christ predicted "famines ... in divers places" as characterizing the end of the age ( Matthew 24:7;  Mark 13:8;  Luke 21:11 ); in the siege of Jerusalem by Titus a terrible famine raged, the consequences of which to the people have never been surpassed.

Famines are frequently said to be sent as punishments sometimes threatened as such ( Leviticus 26:19 f;   Deuteronomy 28:49-51;  2 Kings 8:1;  Psalm 105:16;  Isaiah 14:30;  Isaiah 51:19;  Jeremiah 14:12 ,  Jeremiah 14:15;  Jeremiah 18:21 , etc.;  Ezekiel 5:16 , etc.;  Amos 8:11; 2 Esdras 15:5, 49; 16:19; Tobit 4:13; Ecclesiasticus 39:29; 40:9).

The righteous or godly should be preserved by God in time of famine ( Job 5:20 , "In famine he will redeem thee from death";  Psalm 33:19 , "to keep them alive in famine";  Psalm 37:19 , "In the days of famine they shall be satisfied"); this was a special mark of the Divine favor and power.

A famine is used by Amos to indicate the absence of Divine communications as a punishment that should come on the people, a "famine ... of hearing the words of Yahweh" ( Amos 8:11; compare  1 Samuel 3:1;  1 Samuel 28:6;  2 Chronicles 15:3;  Ezekiel 7:26;  Micah 3:6 ); by Zephaniah of the destruction of heathen deities ( Zephaniah 2:11 ).

The Revised Version (British and American) has "dearth" for "famine" ( Job 5:22 ); "famine" for "dearth" ( Genesis 41:54;  2 Chronicles 6:28;  Acts 7:11;  Acts 11:28 ); for "hunger" ( Jeremiah 38:9;  Ezekiel 34:29;  Revelation 6:8 ); "famines" for "famines and pestilences" ( Matthew 24:7 ), "famines and troubles" ( Mark 13:8 ), revised texts.