Famine, a severe shortage of food resulting in widespread hunger, is a recurring theme in the Bible, often depicted as a consequence of divine judgment or natural calamities. During such desperate times, the Bible records instances where the extremity of hunger led people to consume human flesh, a practice that underscores the severity of the situation and the depths of human despair.

One of the most harrowing accounts of cannibalism during a famine is found in the siege of Samaria, as recorded in 2 Kings 6:24-29. The Aramean army besieged the city, leading to a dire scarcity of food. The situation became so desperate that two women made a pact to eat their own children. The text states: "So we boiled my son and ate him, and the next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him.’ But she had hidden her son" (2 Kings 6:29). This narrative highlights the extreme conditions and moral degradation that can occur during a famine.

The Book of Lamentations also reflects on the horrors of famine during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. Lamentations 4:10 poignantly describes the desperation: "The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people" . This verse illustrates the profound sorrow and unnatural acts that famine can drive people to commit.

In Deuteronomy 28, Moses warns the Israelites of the curses that would befall them if they disobeyed God's commandments. Among these curses is the threat of cannibalism during a siege: "You will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress with which your enemies will afflict you" (Deuteronomy 28:53). This prophecy serves as a stark warning of the consequences of turning away from God.

Jeremiah 19:9 echoes this warning, as God declares through the prophet: "I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh during the distress and siege inflicted by their enemies who seek their lives" . This passage underscores the severity of divine judgment and the extreme conditions that can arise from disobedience.

These biblical accounts of cannibalism during famine serve as a sobering reminder of the potential depths of human desperation and the severe consequences of turning away from divine guidance. They reflect the historical realities faced by ancient peoples and the moral and spiritual lessons conveyed through Scripture.Leviticus 26:29
And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall you eat.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Kings 6:28,29
And the king said to her, What ails you? And she answered, This woman said to me, Give your son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

A Book for Boys and Girls Or, Temporal Things Spritualized.
... beauty 'twould abound, If then none worm-eaten should there ... of low esteem before
the rod Of famine smites the ... and springs be good, And all things else, unless ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/a book for boys and.htm

Book ii. Jerome Answers the Second, Third, and Fourth Propositions ...
... think nothing which lives and moves should be eaten, and look ... we worship our Creator
Who made all things for the ... in his treatise on Simples, that human dung is ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/book ii jerome answers the.htm

The Doom of the Antichrist
... it, and the meaning of the famine of hearing ... of its treasures of gold, silver, and
precious things. ... ignominiously slaughtered; some hanged; some eaten up of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/the doom of the antichrist.htm

Works and Letters of St. Ambrose
... never be expelled the city in a time of famine.? ... The statement of the Apostle, that
all things are of the ... flesh given to Satan for destruction is eaten by the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/

Of Justification by Faith. Both the Name and the Reality Defined.
... hold that, in the supper, Christ is eaten substantially ... from regeneration, though
the two things are distinct ... or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 11 of justification by.htm

Letter xxxix. To Paula.
... with devils, covered with leprosy, and eaten up with ... Naomi, fleeing because of famine
to the land of Moab ... who displeases my Lord." Many other things does she ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter xxxix to paula.htm

The Book of Jubilees
... departure from his native land.2. The famine which occasioned ... the last third of the
day, and eaten within the ... Some things were obscure; he would make them clear ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the book of jubilees.htm

Letter xxii. To Eustochium.
... to labor the more diligently not to lose good things to come ... loveth it." [444] It
is hard for the human soul to ... make his words our own: "I have eaten ashes like ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter xxii to eustochium.htm

the Legendary History of Egypt
... of the legends concerning them"The famine stela"The ... that clothe him, all useful things
which he ... During this same period, moreover, the most distinguished ...
/.../chapter iii -the legendary history of.htm

Against Jovinianus.
... to sum up and renew in Christ Jesus all things which are ... and the ending." At the
beginning of the human race we ... the body of Christ, might not be eaten by those ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/against jovinianus.htm

What does the Bible say about famine? | GotQuestions.org

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Who was Rizpah in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Famine: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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