רָעָב101 H7458
Famine or hunger; a severe widespread food shortage affecting a land, or the personal physical sensation of being hungry.
Ra'av appears throughout the Old Testament narrative as one of the great trials of covenant life. The patriarchal famines (Gen 12:10; 26:1; 41:27-57) drive the plot of Genesis forward, and famine serves as a covenant curse alongside sword and pestilence in the prophets (Jer 14:12; Ezek 5:12). In its less frequent but important personal sense, ra'av describes the gnawing physical sensation of hunger felt by individuals, as when Israel is disciplined 'with hunger and thirst' (Deut 28:48). German distinguishes well between 'Hungersnot' (famine as national disaster) and 'Hunger' (personal hunger), a distinction the Hebrew word carries within a single lexeme. French 'famine' and Spanish 'hambre' each cover both senses.
Senses
1. famine (widespread food shortage) — A prolonged, severe food shortage afflicting a land or region, often a specific historical famine driving the biblical narrative. The patriarchal famines of Genesis (12:10; 26:1; 41:27-57), the famine of David's reign (2 Sam 21:1), and the siege famines of Kings and Jeremiah all use ra'av this way. German 'Hungersnot' and Spanish 'el hambre' (with article, as a known calamity) capture this collective, national dimension. 90×
AR["الجوعِ", "الْ-جُوعُ", "الْ-جُوعِ", "الْ-مَجَاعَةُ", "الْجُوعَ", "الْجُوعِ", "الْمَجَاعَةُ", "الْمَجَاعَةِ"]·ben["-দুর্ভিক্ষ", "-দুর্ভিক্ষের", "-সেই-দুর্ভিক্ষ", "দুর্ভিক্ষ", "দুর্ভিক্ষ-সেই", "দুর্ভিক্ষের"]·DE["Hungersnot", "der-Hunger", "der-Hungersnot", "der-famine", "die-Hungersnot", "ist-die-Hungersnot", "war-die-Hungersnot"]·EN["the-famine"]·FR["la-famine", "le-famine"]·heb["ה-רעב"]·HI["अकल", "अकाल", "अकाल-का", "अकाल-के", "ह-अकाल"]·ID["kelaparan", "kelaparan-itu"]·IT["il-carestia", "la-carestia", "la-fame"]·jav["kelaparan", "kelaparan-punika", "keluwen", "keluwen-punika", "paceklik"]·KO["그-기근", "그-기근과", "그-기근에서", "그-기근을", "그-기근의", "그-기근이", "기근의", "기근이"]·PT["a-fome"]·RU["-голод", "голод", "голода"]·ES["el-hambre"]·SW["iliendelea", "kwa-sababu", "miwili", "njaa", "njaa-ya"]·TR["-kıtlık", "-kıtlıktan", "-kıtlığın", "kıtlık", "kıtlığı", "kıtlığı-o", "kıtlığın"]·urd["قحط", "قحط-اس", "قحط-نے", "قحط-وہ", "قحط-کا", "قحط-کے", "کال"]
2. hunger (physical sensation) — The personal physical sensation of being hungry, or starvation as individual suffering. Deuteronomy 28:48 pairs it with thirst as covenant discipline; Isaiah 5:13 and Lamentations 5:10 describe hunger consuming individuals. German 'Hunger' (without '-not'), Spanish 'de hambre' (partitive), and French 'par la famine' reflect the shift from a societal event to a bodily state affecting persons directly. 11×
AR["الْجُوعِ", "بِ-جُوعٍ", "بِالْجُوعِ", "جُوعٍ", "لِ-جُوعِهِمْ", "مَجَاعَةٍ"]·ben["ক্ষুধায়", "ক্ষুধার", "তাদের-ক্ষুধার-জন্য", "দুর্ভিক্ষের"]·DE["Hunger", "Hungersnot", "famine", "in-Hunger", "in-Hungersnot"]·EN["by-famine", "famine", "for-their-hunger", "from-hunger", "hunger", "in-hunger", "of-hunger"]·FR["dans-hunger", "famine", "par-la-famine"]·heb["ב-רעב", "ל-רעבם-ם", "רעב"]·HI["अकाल-के", "उनकी-भूख-के-लिए", "भूख", "भूख-की", "भूख-में", "भूख-से", "भूखे", "में-जातियों"]·ID["dalam-kelaparan", "karena-kelaparan", "kelaparan", "oleh-kelaparan", "untuk-lapar-mereka"]·IT["carestia", "con-la-fame", "fame", "famine", "in-fame"]·jav["amargi-luwe", "kaliyan-keluwen", "kangge-luwe-nipun", "keluwen", "luwe", "mawi-luwe", "paceklik"]·KO["(전)-굶주림으로", "굶주림의", "그들-이", "그들의-배고픔-을-위하여", "기근의", "배고픔-으로", "배고픔-의", "에-기근"]·PT["com-fome", "de-fome", "fome", "fome;", "para-fome-deles", "pela-fome"]·RU["в-голоде", "голода", "голодом", "от-голода", "от-голода-их"]·ES["de-hambre", "el-hambre", "en-hambre", "hambre", "para-hambre-de-ellos"]·SW["bּraab", "kwa-njaa", "kwa-njaa-yao", "njaa"]·TR["aclik", "açlık", "açlıkla", "açlıkları-için", "açlıkta", "açlıktan", "kıtlığın"]·urd["اُن-کی-بھوک-کے-لیے", "بھوک-سے", "بھوک-میں", "بھوک-کی", "بھوک-کے", "بھوکھ-سے", "قحط-سے", "قحط-کی"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
רָעָב101 n.m. Gn 26:1 famine, hunger;—abs. ר׳ Gn 12:10 +; sf. רְעָבָם Ne 9:15; 1. famine (in land, nation or city), Gn 12:10; 26:1; 41:30, 31 Ex 16:3 2 S 21:1; 24:13 = 2 K 4:38; 6:25 +; שְׁנֵי(הָ)ר׳ Gn 41:27, 30, 36, שְׁנַת ר׳ v 50, but also שָׁנִים ר׳ [שָׁלוֹשׁ] שֶׁבַע 2 S 24:13 (on gender v. AlbrZAW xvi (1896), 103) = 1 Ch 21:12; c. חזק (be) severe Gn 41:56, 57 1 K 18:2; 2 K 25:3 = Je 52:6, חזק…