Psalm 105:16-19
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It's easy to read "called for a famine" and just think of a bad harvest, but this phrasing suggests God is actively summoning it, like a commander dispatching a soldier. This highlights that even the most devastating natural events aren't random; they are instruments in God's sovereign hand. The "staff of bread" is not just food, but life's very support, emphasizing the completeness of the deprivation and God's direct action in breaking that essential lifeline.
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; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This Psalm is recounting God's faithfulness to Israel, tracing their story from Abraham to their exodus from Egypt. The verses immediately preceding this one celebrate God's promise and provision for Abraham and his descendants, while the verses that follow describe how God orchestrated Joseph's hardship and rise to power to ultimately save his family from this famine.
Ever feel like the world is just happening to you? This verse reminds us that the weather, the harvests, and even the availability of food are not random occurrences.
The psalmist declares, "he called for a famine... he brake all the supply of bread." This isn't just a poetic description; it's a profound statement about God's sovereignty. The ancient Israelites understood that God wasn't just in control, He was the controller. When a famine struck, it wasn't a cosmic accident. It was a deliberate act, a summoned event, like calling a servant to attention.
Think about it: the very things we rely on for survival – the grain that makes bread, the water that nourishes the land – are held in God's hands. When He 'breaks the staff of bread,' He's disabling the fundamental support of life itself. This is a powerful reminder that our ultimate security doesn't lie in bumper crops or economic stability, but in the One who orchestrates them.
Scarcity can be terrifying. But what if God sometimes uses that scarcity, not just as punishment, but as a powerful, albeit harsh, lesson?
The phrase 'brake the whole staff of bread' speaks to the severity and totality of the famine. Bread was the absolute staple, the very 'staff' that held up life. When it's gone, everything crumbles.
This wasn't just about making people hungry. Historically and theologically, famines in Scripture often serve as a divine tool to:
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While we rightly pray against famine, understanding it as a potential instrument in God's hand, used for His purposes (even if painful), changes how we view such crises. It points to a God who is actively involved, even in judgment.
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.
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
The personal name of the self-existent God of the covenant, the One who is faithful to His promises and enters into a relationship with His people.
'imrah · Hebrew Noun
The spoken or revealed will of God; it is active, powerful, and always accomplishes the purpose for which it is sent.
tsaraph · Hebrew Verb
The process of refining, proving, or demonstrating the quality or validity of a person's faith, character, or obedience, often through hardship or delay.
This verse highlights God's sovereign hand, not just in miraculous acts, but in orchestrating historical events like the famine and Joseph's rise, which preserved Israel's lineage.
c. 2070 BC
Joseph sold into slavery
Joseph's jealous brothers sell him into slavery, initiating a chain of events that leads him to Egypt.
c. 2070-2060 BC
Joseph imprisoned in Egypt
False accusations lead to Joseph's unjust imprisonment for years, testing his faith and character.
c. 2060 BC
Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams
Joseph gains Pharaoh's favor by accurately interpreting dreams predicting seven years of plenty followed by seven years of severe famine.
c. 2053 BC
Joseph placed in charge of Egypt
Pharaoh appoints Joseph as second-in-command to oversee the storage of grain during the years of plenty.
c. 2046 BC— this verse
Great Famine begins in Canaan
The prophesied famine strikes the land of Canaan, severely impacting Jacob and his sons, breaking their food supply.
c. 2046 BC
Jacob's family journeys to Egypt
Driven by starvation, Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain, where they eventually encounter Joseph.
This passage directly parallels the event described in Psalm 105:16, detailing the seven-year famine that gripped the land of Egypt and Canaan, a clear demonstration of God's sovereign control over natural resources.
Leviticus 26:26This verse from the Law illustrates the consequence of disobedience, where God 'breaks the staff of bread,' highlighting the spiritual truth that famine and scarcity are often divine judgments, just as Psalm 105:16 describes.
Ezekiel 4:16The prophet Ezekiel receives a command from God to illustrate the severity of Jerusalem's coming famine by 'breaking the staff of bread,' showing that this imagery of sustenance being destroyed was a prophetic symbol for divine judgment and distress.
Matthew 8:8In the New Testament, the centurion's statement that Jesus need only speak the word and his servant would be healed uses similar language to Psalm 105:16, depicting God's sovereign power to 'call for' or command natural elements and events, like sickness or famine.
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.)
It's easy to read "called for a famine" and just think of a bad harvest, but this phrasing suggests God is actively summoning it, like a commander dispatching a soldier. This highlights that even the most devastating natural events aren't random; they are instruments in God's sovereign hand. The "staff of bread" is not just food, but life's very support, emphasizing the completeness of the deprivation and God's direct action in breaking that essential lifeline.
This Psalm is recounting God's faithfulness to Israel, tracing their story from Abraham to their exodus from Egypt. The verses immediately preceding this one celebrate God's promise and provision for Abraham and his descendants, while the verses that follow describe how God orchestrated Joseph's hardship and rise to power to ultimately save his family from this famine.
This Psalm is recounting God's faithfulness to Israel, tracing their story from Abraham to their exodus from Egypt. The verses immediately preceding this one celebrate God's promise and provision for Abraham and his descendants, while the verses that follow describe how God orchestrated Joseph's hardship and rise to power to ultimately save his family from this famine.
"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; until wha…" — It's easy to read "called for a famine" and just think of a bad harvest, but this phrasing suggests God is actively summoning it, like a commander dispatching a soldier. This highlights that even the…
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Last reviewed October 2026
