What does "Famine" mean in the Bible?

What does the Bible say about Famine?

FAM'INE. We have an account of at least 8 famines in Palestine and the neighboring countries. They were among the judgments of God for national sins, and were often prophetically announced. Two famines occurred in the lifetimes of Abraham and Isaac, Gen 12:10; Ex 26:1; another in Jacob's time, Gen 41:56; and the most remarkable one was that of 7 years while Joseph was governor in Egypt. But in severity it was surpassed by the famine of 2 Kgs 7, when people resorted to the dunghills for food. Two very severe and prolonged seasons of famine in Egypt have been noted by Arabian historians — one in a.d. 1200, the other lasting from a.d. 1064-1071. Famine was produced by a variety of causes, as when the Nile did not overflow in Egypt, or rains did not fall in Judaea, at the customary season, or when caterpillars, locusts, or other insects destroyed the fruits.

What is the Hebrew word for Famine?

Where does Famine appear in the Bible?

Famine is referenced in 71 verses across 14 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

• 1 Chronicles 21:12
• 1 Kings 8:37
• 2 Chronicles 6:28
• 2 Chronicles 20:9
• 2 Chronicles 32:11
• 2 Kings 4:38
• 2 Kings 6:25
• 2 Kings 7:4
• 2 Kings 8:1
• 2 Kings 25:3
• 2 Samuel 24:13
• Amos 8:11
• Ezekiel 5:12
• Ezekiel 5:16
• Ezekiel 5:17
• Ezekiel 6:11
• Ezekiel 6:12
• Ezekiel 7:15
• Ezekiel 12:16
• Ezekiel 14:13
• Ezekiel 14:21
• Ezekiel 34:29
• Ezekiel 36:29
• Ezekiel 36:30

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Famine.