Famines and droughts in the Bible

33 passages of the Berean Standard Bible, line by line, from Nave’s Topical Bible.

In Genesis

Abram went down to Egypt because the famine was severeGen 12:10
The verses
Gen 12:10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
In another famine Isaac went to Gerar, not to EgyptGen 26:1–2
The verses
Gen 26:1–2Now 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.
In Egypt seven years of abundance, then seven years of famineGen 41:29–30, Gen 41:54
The verses
Gen 41:29–30Behold, 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.
Gen 41:54the 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.
Joseph stored up grain like the sand of the seaGen 41:48–49
The verses
Gen 41:48–49During those seven years, Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities. In every city he laid up the food from the fields around it. So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance, like the sand of the sea, that he stopped keeping track of it; for it was beyond measure.
Every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grainGen 41:56–57
The verses
Gen 41:56–57When 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.
Ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grainGen 42:1–3
The verses
Gen 42:1–3When 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.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
Two years of famine, and five more without plowing or harvestingGen 45:6
The verses
Gen 45:6For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.
The Egyptians paid for food with money, then with their livestockGen 47:13–17
The verses
Gen 47:13–17There 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. Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were buying, and he brought it into Pharaoh’s palace. When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our funds have run out!” “Then bring me your livestock,” said Joseph. “Since the money is gone, I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock.” So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. Throughout that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
Then they sold their fields, and the land became Pharaoh'sGen 47:19–20
The verses
Gen 47:19–20Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Purchase us and our land in exchange for food. Then we, along with our land, will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.” 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,
From then on a fifth of the harvest went to PharaohGen 47:23–24
The verses
Gen 47:23–24Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land. At harvest time, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and food for yourselves and your households and children.”

In Israel

In the days of the judges a Bethlehem family moved to MoabRuth 1:1
The verses
Ruth 1:1In 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.
Naomi went home when she heard there was food againRuth 1:6
The verses
Ruth 1:6When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had attended to His people by providing them with food, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab.
Under David a famine lasted three successive years2 Sam 21:1
The verses
2 Sam 21:1During 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.”
Elijah to Ahab: neither dew nor rain except at my word1 Kgs 17:1
The verses
1 Kgs 17:1Now 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!”
Ravens brought Elijah bread and meat morning and evening1 Kgs 17:6
The verses
1 Kgs 17:6The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook.
A widow's jar of flour and jug of oil did not run out1 Kgs 17:14–16
The verses
1 Kgs 17:14–16for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’” So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household. The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.
In the third year the famine was severe in Samaria1 Kgs 18:1–2
The verses
1 Kgs 18:1–2After 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,
Ahab sent Obadiah to search for grass for the horses and mules1 Kgs 18:5
The verses
1 Kgs 18:5Then 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.”
Later recalled: no rain for three and a half yearsLuke 4:25, Jas 5:17
The verses
Luke 4:25But 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.
Jas 5:17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
A famine at Gilgal: wild gourds in the stew, 'death in the pot'2 Kgs 4:38–40
The verses
2 Kgs 4:38–40When 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.” One of them went out to the field to gather herbs, and he found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment could hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. And they poured it out for the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they cried out, “There is death in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not eat it.
The Shunammite woman lived seven years among the Philistines in a famine2 Kgs 8:1–3
The verses
2 Kgs 8:1–3Now 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. At the end of seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to the king to appeal for her house and her land.
Four men with leprosy found the Aramean camp outside Samaria empty2 Kgs 7:3–5
The verses
2 Kgs 7:3–5Now 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.
Then a seah of fine flour sold for a shekel2 Kgs 7:16
The verses
2 Kgs 7:16Then 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.
In Jerusalem's siege the people of the land had no food2 Kgs 25:3, Jer 52:6
The verses
2 Kgs 25:3By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
Jer 52:6By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
Jeremiah: the ground cracked; a doe deserts her fawn for lack of grassJer 14:4–5
The verses
Jer 14:4–5The 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.
Lamentations: little children beg for breadLam 4:4
The verses
Lam 4:4The nursing infant’s tongue clings in thirst to the roof of his mouth. Little children beg for bread, but no one gives them any.
In Nehemiah's day people mortgaged fields and homes to buy grainNeh 5:3
The verses
Neh 5:3Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.”

In the New Testament

In Jesus' story a severe famine leaves the younger son in needLuke 15:14
The verses
Luke 15:14After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need.
Agabus foretold a great famine; it came under ClaudiusActs 11:28
The verses
Acts 11:28One 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.)
The disciples sent relief to Judea with Barnabas and SaulActs 11:29–30
The verses
Acts 11:29–30So 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.

Sources

From Nave’s Topical Bible (Orville J. Nave, 1896; public domain): subjects chosen, lines shortened and put into modern words, lines of interpretation left out; each verse checked.

Berean Standard Bible · Public domain