Greek word · G3042

λιμός

limos

hunger

Hunger; famine, a shortage of food across a region. It is masculine in classical Attic but often feminine in Koine and the NT (Luke 15:14; Acts 11:28).

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

λιμός, -οῦ, ὁ

(so in Att..; in Dor. ἡ, and so sometimes in LXX, see Th., Gr., 146; in NT: Luke 15:14, Acts 11:28; cf. M, Pr., 60), [in LXX chiefly for רָעָב ;]

hunger, famine: Luke 4:25 15:14, 17, Acts 7:11" (LXX) Acts 11:28, Romans 8:35, Revelation 6:8 18:8; λ. καὶ δίψος, 2 Corinthians 11:27; pl., Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:11.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Matthew 24:7

Range of meaning

Hunger; famine, a shortage of food across a region. It is masculine in classical Attic but often feminine in Koine and the NT (Luke 15:14; Acts 11:28).

Against the English

'Famine' is accurate. The textual tradition behind the KJV adds λοιμός ('pestilence'), which differs from it by a single vowel.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hesiod (Works and Days 243) already pairs λιμὸν… καὶ λοιμόν as Zeus' punishment on an unjust city. Thucydides (2.54) reports Athenians arguing over whether an old oracle had said limos or loimos. In the prophets, 'sword, famine and pestilence' is a fixed set of judgments (Jer 14:12; 21:7; Ezek 5:12). Acts 11:28 and Suetonius (Claudius 18) record grain shortages under Claudius, around AD 41–54.

From the study of Luke 15:17

Range of meaning

Both "famine" (a land-wide food shortage) and "hunger" (one person's lack of food). Greek uses one word for both.

Against the English

English has to choose: "famine" in v.14, "hunger" or "starving" here. That hides the fact that Luke uses the identical word in both places.

Used elsewhere in the period

Famine is a classic biblical crisis that drives people away from or back to the land: Abraham goes down to Egypt (Gen 12:10), Jacob's sons go to Egypt for grain (Gen 41–43), and Elimelech's family leaves Bethlehem for Moab (Ruth 1:1). Naomi returns when she hears the LORD has given his people bread. Luke mentions the famine in Elijah's day (Luke 4:25) and lists famines among end-time distresses (21:11).

From the study of Acts 11:28

Range of meaning

Hunger, famine. It covers both the physical state of hunger and a general food crisis caused by crop failure, drought, war or broken supply lines (BDAG s.v. λιμός).

Against the English

Most versions say 'famine'. KJV and YLT say 'dearth', which in 1611 meant a famine or a time of scarcity and high prices.

How it drifted

'Dearth' has shrunk in modern English to a mild 'lack of' something ('a dearth of evidence'), so the KJV can now sound much softer than the Greek.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in the LXX for the famines of Genesis 41–47, Ruth 1:1 and 1 Kings 18. Jesus lists famines (limoi) among the 'beginning of birth pains' (Luke 21:11; Mark 13:8). Josephus calls the famine in Judea under Claudius 'the great famine' (Antiquities 20.101) and says grain sold at extreme prices (Antiquities 3.320).

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 24:7 λιμοὶ famines

    Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

    Here: Plural: famines, that is, repeated food shortages. In the ancient Mediterranean these regularly followed war, drought and failed harvests.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 13:8 λιμοί famines

    Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, as well as famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

Luke · 4

  1. Luke 4:25 λιμὸς a famine

    But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land.

    Here: Famine: hunger across a whole society. In Israel's covenant thinking it was a recognised sign of divine judgment.

  2. Luke 15:14 λιμὸς a famine

    After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need.

  3. Luke 15:17 λιμῷ with hunger

    Finally he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have plenty of food, but here I am, starving to death!

    Here: "By hunger". This is the same word as the "severe famine" over the land in v.14. The famine of the country has become his own body's hunger.

  4. Luke 21:11 λιμοὶ famines

    There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

    Here: Famines, meaning failed harvests and food shortages. In the ancient world these often followed war, drought or a disrupted grain supply.

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 7:11 λιμὸς a famine

    Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.

  2. Acts 11:28 λιμὸν a famine

    One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)

    Here: A food crisis: failed harvests, scarce grain and soaring prices, the kind of disaster that killed the poor first.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 8:35 λιμὸς famine

    Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

    Here: This can mean a famine across a whole region (as in Acts 11:28) or one person going hungry (as in 2 Cor 11:27). Both were real possibilities for travelling missionaries and poor city believers.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:27 λιμῷ hunger

    in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.

    Here: Real hunger from lack of food. The same word is used for famine.

Revelation · 2

  1. Revelation 6:8 λιμῷ famine

    Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.

    Here: Famine. It follows on from the third rider's scales and grain prices (6:5–6), and the shortage there now becomes death.

  2. Revelation 18:8 λιμός, famine,

    Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”

    Here: Famine. This is ironic for a city whose markets overflowed with imported grain (18:13 lists 'fine flour and wheat' among her cargoes).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.