“[There was famine in the land] and Abram descended to Egypt to sojourn there.” There were ten famines that came to the world: one in the days of Adam the first man, and [so on,] the rest of the discussion [regarding famines], until: And one in the future – “Not a famine for bread, and not a thirst for water, but rather, to hear the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11), as cited above, [on the verse]: “From the ground, which the Lord has cursed…” (Genesis 5:29).4See Bereshit Rabba 25:3.
Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yirmeya in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzḥak: In reality, it [David’s famine] should not have occurred in the days of David, but rather, in the days of Saul.5The reason underlying the famine was relevant to Saul, not David (II Samuel 21:1). However, because Saul was [like] the shoot of a sycamore,6Easily broken and unable to withstand pressure, due to his lack of merit. the Holy One blessed be He postponed it and brought it about in the days of David. [As the saying goes:] Shilo sinned, but Yoḥana pays?
That is why they [the ten famines] all came about in the days of strong people, who were able to withstand them, and not in the days of downtrodden people, who were unable to withstand them. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great said: This is analogous to a glazier who had in his hand a basket filled with goblets and cut glass. When he would wish to hang his basket, he would [first] bring a peg, affix it, and suspend himself from it,7To check its sturdiness. and only then would he hang his basket.
That is why they did not come about in the days of downtrodden people, but rather, in the days of strong people, who were able to withstand them. Rabbi Berekhya would cite this verse in their regard: “He gives strength to the weary” (Isaiah 40:29). Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Ḥelbo: There were two [famines] that occurred in the days of Abraham. Rav Huna in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: One was in the days of Lemekh, and one in the days of Abraham.
The famine that came in the days of Elijah was a famine of drought. The famine that came in the days of Elisha was a famine of panic. The famine that was in the days that the judges judged,8See Ruth 1:1. Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Dosa: For the price for which one used to purchase forty-two se’a, they could purchase [only] forty-one.9According to a different reading: the price for which one used to purchase two se’a, they could purchase [only] one.
But is it not taught: A person should not depart and go outside the Land of Israel unless two se’a of wheat sells for one sela?10Double the ordinary price of wheat, which was four se’a for a sela (Mishna Pe’a 8:7). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: That is only when he does not find any [wheat] to buy, but if he can find to buy, even if it is one se’a for a sela, one should not depart and go outside the Land of Israel.