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.
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"]
Gen 12:10, Gen 12:10, Gen 26:1, Gen 26:1, Gen 41:27, Gen 41:30, Gen 41:30, Gen 41:31, Gen 41:36, Gen 41:50, Gen 41:54, Gen 41:54 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
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"]
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…