Psalm 105:16-18
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What's easy to miss here is how the text personifies famine, presenting it as a servant God "calls for." This isn't just a natural disaster; it's a divine summons, highlighting God's direct authority even over such devastating events. The "staff of bread" being "broken" vividly portrays the utter collapse of life's most fundamental support system under God's decree.
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. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;
English Standard Version (ESV)
This psalm is recounting God’s faithfulness to Israel, specifically how He orchestrated events leading to their dwelling in Egypt and then their eventual deliverance. Here, the focus shifts to the severe famine God brought upon the land of Canaan, which was so devastating it broke the very sustenance of life and set the stage for Jacob's family to journey to Egypt. The verses immediately following reveal God's surprising plan to send Joseph ahead to Egypt, which appears to be a direct response to this crisis.
Ever feel like natural disasters just 'happen'? This verse reveals something profound about who's truly in charge.
It's not just about a bad harvest; it's about divine authority.
The wording here, 'he summoned a famine,' is powerful. It’s not that God merely allowed a famine to occur or passively observed it. The original language implies a direct call, as if a servant waiting for a command.
Think of it like this: God doesn't just use the world; He rules it. When He 'calls for' something like a famine, it means His decree brings it into being. This isn't about chance or blind fate; it's about the Creator exercising sovereign authority over His creation, including its sustenance.
Bread is more than just food; it's a symbol of security and life itself.
What happens when that fundamental support is shattered?
The phrase 'broke all supply of bread' uses a striking metaphor: bread as a 'staff.' A staff is a support, something you lean on, especially when weak or in difficult terrain. For ancient people, bread was the primary support for life.
When God 'breaks the staff of bread,' it means He removes the very foundation of their physical well-being. This isn't just an inconvenience; it's a profound crisis that shakes people to their core. It signifies the complete removal of sustenance, leaving people utterly dependent and vulnerable. This imagery highlights the severity of famine and God's power to dismantle the things we rely on for survival.
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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.
kebhel · Hebrew Noun
Instruments of binding, representing physical confinement, restriction, and the state of being restrained from one's own will or calling.
This verse points to the severe famine that drove Jacob's family into Egypt. It highlights that such devastating events are not random but orchestrated by God, often as a prelude to His protective and redemptive actions for His people.
c. 1805 BC
Joseph is sold into slavery
Joseph's jealous brothers sell him into slavery, an event that seems like a tragedy but is framed by Scripture as divine providence.
c. 1790 BC
Joseph imprisoned in Egypt
Falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, Joseph is thrown into prison, suffering greatly in chains while awaiting his release.
c. 1770 BC— this verse
Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams
After years in prison, Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams, revealing a coming seven-year famine that will devastate the land.
c. 1770 BC
Famine strikes Egypt and Canaan
The prophesied famine begins, first affecting Egypt and then spreading throughout the region, including Canaan.
c. 1770 BC
Jacob's sons travel to Egypt for food
Facing starvation, Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain, unknowingly setting them on a path to encounter Joseph.
c. 1770 BC
Jacob and his family move to Egypt
Guided by Joseph, Jacob and his entire family relocate to Egypt, settling in the land of Goshen.
This passage directly describes the famine that God summoned on Egypt and Canaan, which is the historical event alluded to in Psalms 105:16.
Leviticus 26:26This verse warns that if Israel disobeyed God, He would 'break the staff of bread,' directly paralleling the language and consequence described in Psalms 105:16.
Ezekiel 4:16Ezekiel prophesies God 'breaking the staff of bread' in Jerusalem, showing that famine is a divine judgment that God can 'call for' and execute.
Matthew 8:8The centurion's statement that he has soldiers who 'come' and 'go' at his command provides a parallel to God 'calling for' a famine, treating it as a servant ready to obey.
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.)
What's easy to miss here is how the text personifies famine, presenting it as a servant God "calls for." This isn't just a natural disaster; it's a divine summons, highlighting God's direct authority even over such devastating events. The "staff of bread" being "broken" vividly portrays the utter collapse of life's most fundamental support system under God's decree.
This psalm is recounting God’s faithfulness to Israel, specifically how He orchestrated events leading to their dwelling in Egypt and then their eventual deliverance. Here, the focus shifts to the severe famine God brought upon the land of Canaan, which was so devastating it broke the very sustenance of life and set the stage for Jacob's family to journey to Egypt. The verses immediately following reveal God's surprising plan to send Joseph ahead to Egypt, which appears to be a direct response to this crisis.
This psalm is recounting God’s faithfulness to Israel, specifically how He orchestrated events leading to their dwelling in Egypt and then their eventual deliverance. Here, the focus shifts to the severe famine God brought upon the land of Canaan, which was so devastating it broke the very sustenance of life and set the stage for Jacob's family to journey to Egypt. The verses immediately following reveal God's surprising plan to send Joseph ahead to Egypt, which appears to be a direct response to this crisis.
"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. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;" — What's easy to miss here is how the text personifies famine, presenting it as a servant God "calls for." This isn't just a natural disaster; it's a divine summons, highlighting God's direct authority…
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Last reviewed October 2026
