Psalm 105:16-17
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This verse highlights that "calling for" a famine isn't passive; it implies God's active command, just like summoning a servant ready to obey. The phrase "broke all supply of bread" emphasizes the complete destruction of life's fundamental support, showing God's utter control over even the most basic necessities.
When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This psalm is recounting God's faithfulness to Israel, and here it pivots to the story of Joseph. Before this famine, God had already providentially sent Joseph into Egypt, so that when disaster struck the land and broke all food supplies, there would be provision for Jacob's family. This divine foresight ensured their survival through a devastating period.
Ever felt like disasters just 'happen'? This verse reveals something powerful about who's really in charge, even when life gets tough.
The Bible presents God as sovereign over all circumstances, including natural disasters like famine. The phrase 'he called for a famine' isn't just poetic language; it suggests God actively summons or commands it into existence.
Think of it like a king issuing a decree. When God 'calls,' it means His word brings it about. This isn't about chance or random misfortune. The ancient writers saw famine, pestilence, and war as divine emissaries, sent on missions by God.
This perspective offers incredible comfort: even in the midst of scarcity and hardship, God is not absent. His hand is governing, His purpose is at work, and His people are not forgotten. It shifts our focus from helpless victim to a child of a sovereign Father.
Bread is more than just food; it's life itself. What does it mean when that fundamental support is 'broken'?
The 'staff of bread' is a powerful metaphor for the sustenance and security that bread provides. It’s what keeps people upright, strong, and alive.
When God 'breaks the whole staff of bread,' it means the very foundation of life’s support is gone. This can manifest in several ways:
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This imagery highlights the absolute dependence of humanity on God's provision. When that provision is removed, life itself is threatened.
Understand the original words
qara' · Hebrew Verb
The act of calling someone into service or presence; in Scripture, it often implies divine authority or providence directing the course of events.
ra'ab · Hebrew Noun
An extreme scarcity of food, often used in Scripture as a means of divine judgment, testing, or the impetus for movement toward God's providential plan.
matteh lechem · Hebrew Noun phrase
Basic sustenance; in a spiritual sense, it often represents the life-sustaining provision that comes from God, and the cessation of it highlights total dependence on Him.
'ish · Hebrew Noun
In the biblical context, an individual is often chosen by God to fulfill a specific role in His redemptive history, functioning as a bridge between God's promise and its fulfillment.
'ebed · Hebrew Noun
A condition of being owned by another, used in Scripture to describe social bondage, but also metaphorically to describe the state of being owned by God (servitude) or by sin.
This verse highlights that the devastating famine, which drove Jacob's family to Egypt, was not a random event but a divinely orchestrated famine, part of God's plan to preserve His chosen people through Joseph's forethought.
c. 1805 BC
Joseph sold into slavery
Joseph's jealous brothers sell him to slave traders, setting in motion the events that lead him to Egypt.
c. 1790 BC
Joseph imprisoned in Egypt
Falsely accused of attempted rape by Potiphar's wife, Joseph is thrown into prison.
c. 1770 BC
Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams
Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams, predicting seven years of abundance followed by seven years of severe famine.
c. 1770 BC
Joseph appointed governor of Egypt
Pharaoh places Joseph in charge of managing Egypt's grain stores in preparation for the coming famine.
c. 1763 BC— this verse
Famine strikes Canaan
A severe famine grips the region of Canaan, devastating the land and depleting food supplies.
c. 1763 BC
Jacob's sons travel to Egypt
Driven by hunger, Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain, unaware that Joseph is now in a position of power.
This passage directly describes the famine in Egypt that arose at God's command, illustrating the 'calling for' a famine mentioned in Psalms 105:16.
Leviticus 26:26This verse warns of God breaking the 'staff of bread' as a consequence of disobedience, echoing the imagery and divine action described in Psalms 105:16.
Ezekiel 14:13This passage presents famine as one of God's 'four dangerous judgments' that He can send, framing the famine in Psalms 105:16 as a divinely orchestrated event.
2 Kings 8:1Here, a famine is described as being sent by the Lord, reinforcing the concept of God 'calling for' such devastating events as stated in Psalms 105:16.
Genesis 45:5This verse shows Joseph explaining to his brothers that God sent him ahead to Egypt to preserve life during a famine, directly linking the divine purpose behind the events of scarcity described in Psalms 105:16.
pulpitPsalms 105:16: "Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread."
Verse 16. - 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 Genesis 1:3). "The land" intended is the land of Canaan. He brake the whole staff of bread (comp. Leviticus 26:26; Isaiah lit. 1). Bread is called a "staff," as the great support of life. (For the severity of the famine in Canaan, s…
ellicottPsalms 105:16: "Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread."
(16) Called for a famine. —Comp. 2Kings 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.—Leviticus 26:26. (See, too, Note on Psalm 104:15.)
This verse highlights that "calling for" a famine isn't passive; it implies God's active command, just like summoning a servant ready to obey. The phrase "broke all supply of bread" emphasizes the complete destruction of life's fundamental support, showing God's utter control over even the most basic necessities.
This psalm is recounting God's faithfulness to Israel, and here it pivots to the story of Joseph. Before this famine, God had already providentially sent Joseph into Egypt, so that when disaster struck the land and broke all food supplies, there would be provision for Jacob's family. This divine foresight ensured their survival through a devastating period.
This psalm is recounting God's faithfulness to Israel, and here it pivots to the story of Joseph. Before this famine, God had already providentially sent Joseph into Egypt, so that when disaster struck the land and broke all food supplies, there would be provision for Jacob's family. This divine foresight ensured their survival through a devastating period.
"When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave." — This verse highlights that "calling for" a famine isn't passive; it implies God's active command, just like summoning a servant ready to obey. The phrase "broke all supply of bread" emphasizes the co…
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Last reviewed October 2026
