Topical Bible: Famine: Things Eaten During: Wild Herbs

◄ Famine: Things Eaten During: Wild Herbs ►

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In times of famine, the scarcity of food often led people to consume what was available in their natural surroundings, including wild herbs. The Bible provides several instances where wild herbs were used as sustenance during periods of extreme hunger and deprivation.

One notable reference to the consumption of wild herbs during famine is found in the Book of Job. Job, lamenting his suffering, compares his plight to those who are destitute and forced to forage for food in desolate places. In Job 30:4 , it is written: "They plucked mallow by the bushes, and the roots of the broom tree were their food." This verse highlights the desperate measures taken by those in dire need, resorting to eating wild plants such as mallow and the roots of the broom tree to survive.

The use of wild herbs during famine is also implied in the narrative of the prophet Elisha. In 2 Kings 4:38-41, there is an account of a "great famine in the land," during which the sons of the prophets gathered herbs to make a stew. One of them unknowingly picked wild gourds, which were poisonous. Elisha, through divine intervention, purified the stew, making it safe to eat. This account underscores the reliance on wild plants for sustenance and the potential dangers associated with consuming unfamiliar herbs.

The consumption of wild herbs during famine reflects the broader biblical theme of God's provision and the resilience of His people in times of trial. While wild herbs were not the preferred choice of food, they served as a means of survival when conventional food sources were unavailable. The Bible's accounts of famine and the use of wild herbs illustrate the resourcefulness required to endure such hardships and the faith in God's provision even in the most challenging circumstances.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Kings 4:39,40
And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Famine which Oppressed Them.
... shamelessness which was displayed during the famine toward inanimate things? ... But
even slavery is anticipated by the famine, and the ... Eat for I too have eaten. ...
/.../pamphilius/church history/chapter vi the famine which oppressed.htm

The Nile and Egypt
... or excessive, and in either case meant famine, and perhaps ... who accompany thee have
ordered all things,"the overflow ... up more or less quickly during the winter ...
/.../chapter i the nile and egypt.htm

Book ii. Jerome Answers the Second, Third, and Fourth Propositions ...
... of wild ducks and [4720] fig-peckers? ... If they are not eaten, all these creatures
were created by ... food, and the Apostle cries aloud [4721] All things are clean ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/book ii jerome answers the.htm

The Sibylline Oracles.
... in the rich, golden heaven, look upon moth-eaten robes, and ... on the fields of Phrygia;
of a famine in Egypt ... kings, and they shall renew many things therein, and ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the sibylline oracles.htm

Letter xxii. To Eustochium.
... where I had no companions but scorpions and wild beasts, I ... the more diligently not
to lose good things to come ... make his words our own: "I have eaten ashes like ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter xxii to eustochium.htm

Appendices
... Thou hast not eaten the fish in the brook of .... Thou hast not washed thyself in
it. ... I cause no famine. ... I extinguish not the lamp during its appointed time. ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/appendices.htm

the Legendary History of Egypt
... of the legends concerning them"The famine stela"The ... foam which fell from their mouths
during their attacks ... was all goodness, and persons or things which it ...
/.../chapter iii -the legendary history of.htm