Conversation
Hunger in the Bible is more than a curse: it is a sign of change and a chance for a new beginning
The famine in Samaria was one of many described in the Bible. PHAS / Universal Images Group via Getty Images As the coronavirus spread rapidly around the world last year, the United Nations warned that the economic disruption of the pandemic could lead to famines of “biblical proportions.” The choice of words conveys more than just scale. Bible stories about devastating famines are familiar to many. As a scholar of the Hebrew Bible, I understand that the famine of Bible times was interpreted as more than just natural events. The authors of the Hebrew Bible used hunger as a mechanism of divine wrath and destruction – but also as a narrative device, a way to advance the narrative. When the heavens do not open At the heart of the Hebrew Bible texts on famine was the constant threat and recurring reality of famine in ancient Israel. Israel occupied the rocky mountains of Canaan – the area of present-day Jerusalem and the hills north of it – rather than the fertile coastal plains. Even in the best years, it took a huge effort to get enough food from the ground. The rainy seasons were short; any less than normal precipitation could be devastating. In the ancient Near East, drought and famine were feared. In the 13th century BC, almost all Eastern Mediterranean civilizations collapsed due to a prolonged drought. For biblical authors, rain was a blessing and drought a curse – literally. In the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, God proclaims that if Israel obeys the laws, “the Lord will open to you his rich reserves, the heavens, to give rain to your earth in time.” But disobedience will have the opposite effect: “The sky above your head will be copper and the earth beneath you iron. The LORD will rain the dust of your land, and the sand will fall on you from the sky until you are wiped out. ” For the ancient Israelites, nature did not exist as we understand it today, nor did it exist. If things were good, it was because God was happy. If things went wrong, it was because the deity was upset. For a national catastrophe like famine, sin had to spread either to the whole people or to the monarchs who represented them. And it was the task of the prophets and oracles to determine the cause of the divine wrath. Divine Wrath … and Punishment Hunger was seen as both a punishment and an opportunity. Suffering has opened the door to repentance and change. For example, when the famous sage King Solomon inaugurates the temple in Jerusalem, he prays that God will forgive when, in the future, a famine-stricken Israel returns to the newly built temple for mercy. The biblical association of famine and other natural calamities with divine wrath and punishment paved the way for leaders of the faith over the centuries to use their pulpits to blame those they found morally destitute. Preachers during the dust bowl of 1920 and 1930 America believed that alcohol and immorality were responsible for provoking God’s wrath. In 2005, television evangelist Pat Robertson blamed abortion for Hurricane Katrina. Today, some religious leaders have even blamed LGBTQ people for the coronavirus pandemic. In the book of Samuel, we read that Israel endured a three-year famine in the time of David, considered the greatest king of Israel. When David wonders about the cause of the famine, he is told that it is due to the sins of his predecessor and his mortal enemy, Saul. The story illustrates how biblical authors, like modern moral crusaders, used the occasion of famine to demonize their adversaries. For Bible writers interested in legislating and prophesying about Israel’s behavior, famine was both an end — the result of disobedience and sin — and a beginning, a potential turning point for a better and more faithful future. However, other Bible authors focused less on how or why the famine occurred and more on the opportunities that the famine offered to tell new stories. The search for refuge as a narrative device – rather than as a theological tool – is regularly found throughout the Bible. The writers of the Hebrew Bible used hunger as a motivating factor for major changes in the lives of its characters – no doubt reflecting the reality of the impact of hunger on the ancient world. We see this countless times in the book of Genesis. For example, famine leads the Bible characters of Abraham to Egypt, Isaac to the land of the Philistines, and Jacob and his entire family to Egypt. Similarly, the book of Ruth opens with a famine that forces Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, and her family to move first to Moab and then away from him. Naomi instructs her daughter-in-law Ruth to leave after she goes hungry. Hulton / Getty Images Archive Ruth’s story depends on her initial hunger; it ends with Ruth being the ancestor of King David. Neither the Exodus nor King David — the central story and main character of the Hebrew Bible — would exist without famine. All these stories share a common feature: hunger as an impetus for human movement. And with this movement, in the ancient world as today, comes vulnerability. Living in a foreign country meant abandoning social protections: land and relatives and maybe even deity. One was at the mercy of the local population. This is why Israel, at least, had a wide range of laws designed to protect the foreigner. It was understood that famine or plague or war were common enough for anyone to be forced to leave the land to seek refuge in another. The principle of hospitality, still common in the region, ensures that displaced people will be protected. [Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today.] Hunger was a constant threat and a very real part of life for the ancient Israelite world that produced the Hebrew Bible. The ways in which the Bible understood and approached hunger, in turn, have had a lasting impact to this day. Most people today may not see hunger as a manifestation of divine wrath. But they may recognize in hunger the same opportunities to consider how we treat displaced people and to imagine a better future. Yale Divinity School is a member of the Theological Schools Association. ATS is a funding partner of The Conversation US. This article is republished from The Conversation, a non-profit news site dedicated to exchanging ideas from university experts. It was written by: Joel Baden, Yale School of Divinity. Read more: Doesn’t the Christian Faith Just Say Disasters Are God’s Revenge Geomitology: Can Geologists Link Ancient Flood Stories to Real Events? Joel Baden does not work, consult, hold shares or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article and did not disclose any relevant affiliation beyond their academic appointment.