He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.
Parallel Translations
-
He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.
-
Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.
-
And He called a famine upon the land; He broke the whole staff of bread.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to Psalms 105:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezekiel 4:16 Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They will eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness. They will drink water by measure, and in dismay;
- Isaiah 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water;
- Genesis 41:54 The seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
- Leviticus 26:26 When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight. You shall eat, and not be satisfied.
- Acts 7:11 Now a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction. Our fathers found no food.
- Genesis 47:13 There was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
- 2 Kings 8:1 Now Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise, and go, you and your household, and stay for a while wherever you can; for Yahweh has called for a famine. It will also come on the land for seven years.”
- Psalms 104:15 wine that makes the heart of man glad, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart.
- Genesis 41:25-32 Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh. The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one. The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine. That is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Behold, seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt are coming. Seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous. The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
- Genesis 42:5-6 The sons of Israel came to buy among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. Joseph was the governor over the land. It was he who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed themselves down to him with their faces to the earth.
- Genesis 47:19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land won’t be desolate.”
- Amos 3:6 Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city, without the people being afraid? Does evil happen to a city, and Yahweh hasn’t done it?
- Amos 7:1-4 Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest. When they finished eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.” Yahweh relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” says Yahweh. Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me and behold, the Lord Yahweh called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land.
- Haggai 1:10-11 Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on that which the ground produces, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of the hands.”
- Haggai 2:17 I struck you with blight, mildew, and hail in all the work of your hands; yet you didn’t turn to me,’ says Yahweh.
- Matthew 8:8-9 The centurion answered, “Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
- Revelation 6:8 And behold, a pale horse, and the name of he who sat on it was Death. Hades followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 16. And he called a famine upon the land…
16. And he called a famine upon the land Here the inspired writer recounts a most illustrious proof of divine providence towards the chosen people, at the time when the covenant might seem to be void and disannulled. The inheritance of the land of Canaan (as has been stated above) was added, as an earnest or pledge for confirmation. The descent of Jacob into Egypt, which deprived his house of the sight of the land, could not make the covenant to perish. In this the constancy of God shone forth the brighter; yea, by this trial he manifested more plainly how provident a father he was in preserving the seed of Abraham. But it is better to consider each particular in the verse. In the first place, it is taught, that the famine which drove Jacob into Egypt did not happen by chance. Although only one particular famine is here treated of, it is to be held as a general principle, that there is no other cause of any scarcity of sustenance except this, that God, in withdrawing his hand, takes away the means of support. The curse of God is expressed more emphatically, when it is said, that the famine was called; as if it were ready at his command, as a minister of his wrath. By this we are instructed, that famine, pestilence, and other scourges of God, do not visit men by chance, but are directed by his hand whither it pleases him, and are obedient to his will. The manner in which the famine was called is next stated, namely, when he brake the staff of bread The metaphor of staff is very appropriate; for God has put into bread the power and property of strengthening man, by a secret virtue which fits it to sustain us. So long as it pleases him to nourish us by such means, a staff as it were lies hidden within it. This staff is broken in two ways; either, first, when he takes away the supply of grain necessary for our nourishment, the sense in which it seems to be used in Ezekiel
“Moreover, he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment;” Ezekiel 4:16
Read full note →
or, secondly, when he breathes in anger upon the bread itself, so that those who would satisfy themselves by devouring it, instead of having their hunger thereby removed, remain famished still. And certainly to the barrenness of the earth this second is commonly added, namely, that he takes away the sustaining power which is in bread; for, as it is declared in Deuteronomy 8:3, bread does not give life of itself, but borrows its secret virtue from the mouth of God.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Either by sending scarcity, or by taking away the…
Either by sending scarcity, or by taking away the strength and nourishment thereof.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 105:16 Moreover he called for a famine upon…
Psa 105:16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.
Ver. 16. Moreover he called for a famine] How easy is it with God soon to starve us all by denying us a harvest or two! If he do but call for a famine it is done.
Read full note →
He brake the whole staff of bread] Either by withdrawing bread, that staff of man’s life, or his blessing from it; for man liveth not by bread alone (or at all), but by every word, &c., Mat 4:4, without which bread can no more nourish us than a clod of clay, In pane conclusus est quasi baculus, qui nos sustineat. See Hag 1:6. {See Trapp on "Hag 1:6"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain He called for, i.e. he effectually procured, as this…
He called for, i.e. he effectually procured, as this word is used, 2Ki 8:1; Isa 47:1,5; 56:7; Rom 4:17.
The whole staff of bread, i.e. bread, which is the staff or support of our animal lives. See Lev 26:26; Psa 104:15; Eze 4:16.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land,....…
Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land,.... On the land of Egypt; or rather on the land of Canaan, where Jacob and his sons sojourned; and which reached to all lands, Gen 41:56 and calling for it, it came, being a servant at the command of the Lord; see Kg2 8:1.
He brake the whole staff of bread; so called, because it is the support of man's life, the principal of his sustenance: as a staff is a support to a feeble person, and which, when broke, ceases to be so. The staff of bread is broken, when either the virtue and efficacy of it for nourishment is taken away or denied; or when there is a scarcity of bread corn; which latter seems to be intended here; see Isa 3:1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Staff of bread - Bread, which is the staff…
Staff of bread - Bread, which is the staff or support of our lives.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 105:16-18. He called for a famine — That…
Psa 105:16-18. He called for a famine — That is, he brought a famine upon the land. He brake the whole staff of bread — Bread, which is the staff or support of men’s lives. He sent a man before them — Who was to nourish them in the famine: sent him, by the direction of his secret providence, many years before the famine began. Such are the foresight and timely care of Divine Providence. Whose feet they hurt with fetters — Being unjustly charged with a most heinous crime. He was laid in iron — Hebrew, נפשׁו ברזל באה, the iron entered his soul, which seems to be added emphatically, to aggravate the misery of his imprisonment, and to show how grievous it was to his very soul. Undoubtedly the false accusation, which was the cause of his imprisonment, the injury which was done him, and the foul and public scandal which lay upon him, must have pained him extremely.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land…
Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land - It was not by chance; not by the mere operation of physical laws, but it was because God “ordered” it. The famine here referred to, as the connection shows, was that which occurred in the time of Jacob, and which was the occasion of the migration into Egypt. There was also a famine in the time of Abraham Gen 12:10; but the design of the psalmist here is to refer to that period of the Jewish history which pertained to their residence in Egypt, and to the dealings of God with the nation when there, as furnishing an occasion for gratitude. Gen. 41; 42.
He brake the whole staff of bread - That which supports life, as a staff does a feeble man. See the notes at Isa 3:1.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. Famine—Recorded Gen_41:54-57.
16. Famine—Recorded Gen_41:54-57.
Staff of bread—That is, support of bread, their reliance for sustentation. This famine extended over Arabia, Palestine, Syria, and the surrounding nations.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. And he called] So 2Ki_8:1; Amo_5:8; Amo_7:4; Amo_9:6;…
16. And he called] So 2Ki_8:1; Amo_5:8; Amo_7:4; Amo_9:6; Hag_1:11. Observe the emphasis upon direct Divine agency in Psa_105:16,
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) Called for a famine.—Comp. 2Ki_8:1; and in Ezekiel…
(16) Called for a famine.—Comp. 2Ki_8:1; and in Ezekiel 14 we see how famine, with war and pestilence and noisome beasts, were regarded as Divine emissaries to be summoned and sent on His missions.
Staff of bread.—Lev_26:26. (See, too, Note on Psa_104:15.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Moreover he called for a famine upon the land.…
Moreover he called for a famine upon the land. To "call for a famine" is the same thing as to create a famine. What God "calls for" immediately exists. (see Gen_1:3) "The land" intended is the land of Canaan. He brake the whole staff of bread. (comp. Lev_26:26 Isa_54:1) Bread is called a "staff," as the great support of life. (For the severity of the famine in Canaan, see Gen_41:1 Gen_42:5 Gen_43:1)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 16. Moreover he called for a famine upon…
Ver. 16. Moreover he called for a famine upon the land. He had only to call for it as a man calls for his servant, and it came at once. How grateful ought we to be that he does not often call in that terrible servant of his, so meagre and gaunt, and grim, so pitiless to the women and the children, so bitter to the strong men, who utterly fail before it.
He brake the whole staff of bread. Man's feeble life cannot stand without its staffif bread fail him he fails. As a cripple with a broken staff falls to the ground, so does man when broad no longer sustains him. To God it is as easy to make a famine as to break a stall He could make that famine universal, too, so that all countries should be in like case: then would the race of man fall indeed, and its staff would be broken for ever. There is this sweet comfort in the matter, that the Lord has wise ends to serve even by famine: he meant his people to go down into Egypt, and the scarcity of food was his method of leading them there, for "they heard that there was corn in Egypt."
Read full note →
Ver. 16. He called for a famine. As a master calls for a servant ready to do his bidding. On the contrary, God says (Eze 36:29), "I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you." Compare the centurion's words as to sickness being Christ's servant, ready to come or go at his call, Mt 8:8, 9. A.R. Fausset.
Ver. 16.
1. All things come at the call of God. He called for plenty, and it came, for famine, and it came; for captivity, and it came; for deliverance, and it came.
2. The most unlikely means of accomplishing an end with man is often the direct way with God. He fulfilled the promise of Canaan to Abraham by banishing him from it; of plenty, by sending a famine; of freedom, by bringing into captivity. G.R.
Psalms 105:17*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 He called for
He called for
"He sent." This means that caused a famine to happen in the land. (See: Idiom)
Read full note →
the whole supply of bread
Here "bread" refers to food in general. AT: "the whole supply of food" (See: Synecdoche)
He sent a man ahead of them; Joseph
It may be helpful to state that he sent him ahead of them to Egypt. AT: "He sent a man ahead of them to Egypt; he sent Joseph who" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Joseph was sold as a servant
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
call
famine
cut off
send
Joseph (OT)
servant
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 105:16-22 These verses tell the story of Joseph (see…
105:16-22 These verses tell the story of Joseph (see Gen 37–41).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.