A prolonged scarcity of food, accompanied by extreme hunger. It is sometimes viewed as an instance of divine judgment (Deut 28:48) and in Revelation is symbolized by the third horseman of the Apocalypse (Rev 6:5-8). In Gen 41, Joseph interprets the Pharaoh’s dream to predict a famine. Other periods of severe famine are recorded during the days of Abraham (Gen 12:10), Isaac (Gen 26:1), Elisha (1Kgs 7; 1Kgs 8:16), and Zedekiah after the siege of Jerusalem (2Kgs 25:3; Lam 5:10). Philistia was threatened with famine in an oracle from Isaiah (Isa 14:30). Famine may lead to disease (Jer 14:18) and cannibalism (Deut 28:47-57). (Acts 11:27-30) reports a famine at the time of the Roman emperor Claudius. The prophet Amos speaks of a famine not of bread, but “of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:1). Paul affirms that famine will not be able to separate believers from the love of God in Christ (Rom 8:35-38).
