Famine
רָעָבStrong’s H7458raav (ra-av)
Appears in 88 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Raav is the Hebrew word usually translated “famine” and “hunger”. It appears in 88 verses of the Old Testament.
“And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.”
Meaning
- Famine, hungerfamine (in land, nation) · hunger (of individuals)
How it's translated
- famine 22
- the famine 17
- by famine 10
- a famine 9
- and famine 8
- and by famine 8
- and the famine 7
- by hunger 3
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Jeremiah 30
- Genesis 17
- Ezekiel 12
- 2 Kings 5
- 2 Chronicles 3
- Isaiah 3
17 books in all.
Related words
Explore in Scripture
- Genesis 26:1And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
- Genesis 41:27And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.
- Genesis 41:30And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
- Genesis 41:31And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.
- Genesis 41:36And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.
- Genesis 41:50And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.
All 88 verses, by book
Hebrew dictionary
רָעָב raav · famine
1) famine, hunger 1a) famine (in land, nation) 1a1) of Jehovah's word (fig) 1b) hunger (of individuals)
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “famine” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
FAM'INE, noun
[Latin fames.]
- 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 12:10
- Want; destitution; as a famine of the word of life.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.