A serious shortage of food caused by drought, war or natural disasters. Famine is seen as a sign of God's judgment on Israel. Passages gathered in the Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin H. Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham's time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.
When the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt. When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you." When the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.
Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab.
During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, "It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites."
After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth." So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD, for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.) Then Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock."
But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land.
When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting at his feet, he said to his attendant, "Put on the large pot and boil some stew for the sons of the prophets."
So there was a great famine in Samaria. Indeed, they besieged the city so long that a donkey's head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter cab of dove's dung sold for five shekels of silver.
These pairs have befallen you: devastation and destruction, famine and sword. Who will grieve for you? Who can comfort you?
I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem, by sword and famine and plague,
The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.
The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails. Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, palm, and apple— all the trees of the orchard—are withered. Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.
One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, as well as famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish.
After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth." So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,
This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought: "Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem. The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads. The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads. Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass. Wild donkeys stand on barren heights; they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail for lack of pasture." Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You. O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are You like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays but a night?
We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. Do not go out to the fields; do not walk the road. For the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side.
So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it. And the city was kept under siege until King Zedekiah's eleventh year. By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.
If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, as well as the produce of your land, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.
The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish. The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron. The LORD will turn the rain of your land into dust and powder; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.
You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because the locusts will consume it. You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but will neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your territory but will never anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off.
They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish.
Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you.
They will be wasted from hunger and ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague; I will send the fangs of wild beasts against them, with the venom of vipers that slither in the dust.
Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them, encamping against them as far as Gaza and destroying the produce of the land. They left Israel with no sustenance, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys. For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it.
So Gad went and said to David, "Do you choose to endure three years of famine in your land, three months of fleeing the pursuit of your enemies, or three days of plague upon your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should reply to Him who sent me."
So Gad went and said to David, "This is what the LORD says: 'You must choose between three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies and overtaken by their swords, or three days of the sword of the LORD—days of plague upon the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should reply to Him who sent me."
These pairs have befallen you: devastation and destruction, famine and sword. Who will grieve for you? Who can comfort you? Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God.
They will devour your harvest and food; they will consume your sons and daughters; they will eat up your flocks and herds; they will feed on your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust."
So this is what the LORD of Hosts says: "I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine.
Then the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they may fast, I will not listen to their cry; although they may offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will finish them off by sword and famine and plague." "Ah, Lord GOD!" I replied, "Look, the prophets are telling them, 'You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.'" "The prophets are prophesying lies in My name," replied the LORD. "I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds. Therefore this is what the LORD says about the prophets who prophesy in My name: I did not send them, yet they say, 'No sword or famine will touch this land.' By sword and famine these very prophets will meet their end! And the people to whom they prophesy will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out their own evil upon them. You are to speak this word to them: 'My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound. If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.'"
Therefore, hand their children over to famine; pour out the power of the sword upon them. Let their wives become childless and widowed; let their husbands be slain by disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
this is what the LORD of Hosts says: "I will send against them sword and famine and plague, and I will make them like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten. I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!
When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food. I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken."
This is what the Lord GOD says: Clap your hands, stomp your feet, and cry out "Alas!" because of all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by sword and famine and plague. He who is far off will die by the plague, he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains will die by famine. So I will vent My fury upon them.
"Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,
It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will devastate the land.
Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg. Then the firstborn of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root by famine, and your remnant will be slain.
Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.
Therefore her plagues will come in one day— death and grief and famine— and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her."
Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.
There was no food, however, in all that region, because the famine was so severe; the lands of Egypt and Canaan had been exhausted by the famine.
So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh's,
Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate, and they said to one another, "Why just sit here until we die? If we say, 'Let us go into the city,' we will die there from the famine in the city; but if we sit here, we will also die. So come now, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die."
Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine."
By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. He longed to fill his belly with the pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him a thing.
But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Look, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!'
Finally he came to his senses and said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have plenty of food? But here I am, starving to death! I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning. Moreover, the seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind—they are seven years of famine.
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!"
Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, "Arise, you and your household; go and live as a foreigner wherever you can. For the LORD has decreed a seven-year famine, and it has already come to the land."
Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. Under the authority of Pharaoh, let them collect all the excess food from these good years, that they may come and lay up the grain to be preserved as food in the cities. This food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine to come upon the land of Egypt. Then the country will not perish in the famine."
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why are you staring at one another?" "Look," he added, "I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die."
And there I will provide for you, because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you and your household and everything you own will come to destitution.'
Then they said to Pharaoh, "We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen."
He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food. He sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles and placed his neck in irons, until his prediction came true and the word of the LORD proved him right. The king sent and released him; the ruler of peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all his substance, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.
and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household. Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham's time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you. Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah: "Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook. Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.
I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and I will not bring famine upon you. I will also make the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer bear reproach among the nations on account of famine.
Then Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: 'About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.'" But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?" "You will see it with your own eyes," replied Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it." Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate, and they said to one another, "Why just sit here until we die? If we say, 'Let us go into the city,' we will die there from the famine in the city; but if we sit here, we will also die. So come now, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die." So they arose at twilight and went to the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the outskirts of the camp, there was not a man to be found. For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us." Thus the Arameans had arisen and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents and horses and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had run for their lives. When the lepers reached the edge of the camp, they went into a tent to eat and drink. Then they carried off the silver, gold, and clothing, and went and hid them. On returning, they entered another tent, carried off some items from there, and hid them.
Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. It was then that a seah of fine flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
Now therefore, about this city of which you say, 'It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword and famine and plague,' this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather My people from all the lands to which I have banished them in My furious anger and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them dwell in safety.
And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke the same message: "Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live! Why should you and your people die by sword and famine and plague, as the LORD has decreed against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?
"This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live. This is what the LORD says: This city will surely be delivered into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it."
But if you say, 'We will not stay in this land,' and you thus disobey the voice of the LORD your God, and if you say, 'No, but we will go to the land of Egypt and live there, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the ram's horn or hunger for bread,' then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'If you are determined to go to Egypt and reside there, then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow on your heels into Egypt, and you will die there. So all who resolve to go to Egypt to reside there will die by sword and famine and plague. Not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring upon them.'
I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are finished off.
Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, "Arise, you and your household; go and live as a foreigner wherever you can. For the LORD has decreed a seven-year famine, and it has already come to the land." So the woman had proceeded to do as the man of God had instructed. And she and her household lived as foreigners for seven years in the land of the Philistines.
So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.
When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance. When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemy besieges them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come, then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple— be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men— so that they may fear You all the days they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.
When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance. When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemies besiege them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come, then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple— be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of men— so that they may fear You and walk in Your ways all the days they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.