Original Word: רָעֵב
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: ra`eb
Pronunciation: rah-AYV
Phonetic Spelling: (raw-abe')
KJV: hunger bitten, hungry
NASB: hungry, famished, hungry man
Word Origin: [from H7456 (רָעֵב - hungry)]

1. hungry (more or less intensely)

hunger bitten, hungry

From ra'eb; hungry (more or less intensely) -- hunger bitten, hungry.

see HEBREW ra'eb

Word Origin
from raeb
Definition
hungry
NASB Translation
famished (3), hungry (16), hungry man (1).

רָעֵב adjective hungry; — absolute ׳ר 2 Samuel 17:29 +; feminine singular רְעֵבָה Psalm 107:9; Proverbs 27:7; masculine plural רְעֵבִים 1 Samuel 2:5 +; — hungry (sometimes + צָמֵא, עָיֵף), 2 Samuel 17:29; 2 Kings 7:12; Isaiah 8:21; Proverbs 25:21; Psalm 107:5; נֶפֶשׁ רְעֵבָה Psalm 107:9; Proverbs 27:7; as substantive singular a hungry man Isaiah 29:8; Isaiah 32:6; Isaiah 58:7,10; Ezekiel 18:7,16; Job 5:5 (Bev^{JPhil. xxvi. 304} proposes רָעָב, compare Ezekiel 7:15) Ezekiel 22:7, plural 1 Samuel 2:5 (opposed to שְׂבֵעִים בַּלֶּחֶם), Job 24:10 ("" עָרוֺם), Psalm 107:36; Psalm 146:7; יְהִירָֿעֵב אֹנוֺ Job 18:12 (figurative) his strength grows hungry, i.e. fails (ᵑ9 Ew Di and others); ᵑ6 De Bu Du (reading אָוֶן) al. his trouble grows hungry (i.e. ravenous for him), but ׳ר never elsewhere in this sense.

Scope of the Word

רָעֵב describes the condition of being hungry or famished and, by extension, the person who endures that condition. The term appears 16 times across narrative, poetic, wisdom, and prophetic texts, giving it a broad theological reach that moves from literal physical lack to a rich metaphor for spiritual need.

Physical Hunger in Israel’s Story

Several historical texts show hunger as an everyday reality that God’s people must face, yet one never outside His providence. When David flees from Absalom, Barzillai’s party brings provisions “for the people to eat, for they said, ‘The people have become hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness’” (2 Samuel 17:29). In the famine-ridden siege of Samaria, the Aramean threat causes the king to fear that the inhabitants will “come out of the city, and we shall know that they are hungry” (2 Kings 7:12). Such passages ground רָעֵב in ordinary life and remind readers that Scripture never divorces faith from material realities.

Hunger as a Metaphor for Spiritual Need

Poetic and wisdom literature deepen the concept. Job laments that “hunger is at his side” (Job 18:12), an image portraying the relentless emptiness that afflicts the wicked. Psalm 107 uses hunger three times to track Israel’s experience of exile and redemption: “They were hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted within them” (Psalm 107:5); then, after crying to the Lord, “He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (Psalm 107:9); and finally, in restored inheritance, “There He lets the hungry dwell” (Psalm 107:36). The movement from need to satisfaction turns רָעֵב into a parable of salvation.

Proverbs 27:7 observes, “A satisfied soul loathes honey, but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet,” suggesting that physical appetite mirrors the posture of the heart: those keenly aware of lack perceive grace even in small mercies, while the complacent despise abundance.

Divine Provision for the Hungry

Yahweh’s character emerges in His consistent care for the famished. Hannah’s song contrasts human reversal: “Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but the hungry hunger no more” (1 Samuel 2:5). The psalmist proclaims, “The Lord gives food to the hungry” (Psalm 146:7), a refrain that anchors the covenant expectation that God upholds the vulnerable.

Ethical Mandate toward the Hungry

Law and prophets reiterate that Israel must mirror God’s generosity. Ezekiel indicts the unrighteous man who “does not give his bread to the hungry” (Ezekiel 18:7) and praises the righteous who “gives his bread to the hungry” (Ezekiel 18:16). Isaiah intensifies the demand: true fasting is “to share your bread with the hungry” (Isaiah 58:7) and to “extend your soul to the hungry” (Isaiah 58:10). These texts ground social ethics not in humanism but in covenant loyalty: neglecting the hungry is covenant breach.

Prophetic Warnings and Eschatological Hope

Isaiah employs רָעֵב to depict both judgment and hope. Rebels “will roam the land hard-pressed and hungry” (Isaiah 8:21), and a nation that dreams of satisfaction without God will wake “still hungry” (Isaiah 29:8). Yet the promised king will rule so that “a fool speaks nonsense… leaving the hungry empty” no longer (Isaiah 32:6). Hunger thus becomes a barometer of the kingdom’s presence: its abolition signals messianic restoration.

Ministry Implications

1. Compassionate action: Scripture binds spiritual authenticity to tangible generosity. Any ministry that ignores physical hunger undercuts its witness (Isaiah 58; Ezekiel 18).
2. Gospel proclamation: Physical hunger illustrates the soul’s void apart from God. Evangelism may begin with bread but must end with the Bread of Life.
3. Worship and gratitude: Psalm 107 and 1 Samuel 2 invite believers to remember past deliverance from “hunger and thirst” as motivation for praise.

Christological Trajectory

Though רָעֵב appears only in the Old Testament, its theology ripens in Jesus Christ. He feeds the multitudes, announces, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6), and identifies Himself as the true manna (John 6). The early church follows suit, organizing daily distribution to widows (Acts 6) and collecting famine relief for Judea (2 Corinthians 8–9), fulfilling the prophetic mandate first articulated in the word רָעֵב.

Summary

רָעֵב intertwines physical need, ethical responsibility, and eschatological promise. From Hannah’s praise to Isaiah’s visions, the term charts a moral geography in which God remembers the empty, calls His people to do likewise, and finally satisfies every longing in the Messiah.

הָרָעֵ֜ב הרעב וְרָעֵ֑ב וּרְעֵבִ֖ים ורעב ורעבים לְרָעֵ֣ב לָֽרָעֵב֙ לָרְעֵבִ֑ים לרעב לרעבים רְ֝עֵבָ֗ה רְ֝עֵבָה רְעֵבִ֑ים רְעֵבִ֣ים רְעֵבִ֥ים רָעֵ֔ב רָעֵ֛ב רָעֵ֥ב רעב רעבה רעבים hā·rā·‘êḇ hārā‘êḇ haraEv lā·rā·‘êḇ lā·rə·‘ê·ḇîm lārā‘êḇ laraEv lārə‘êḇîm lareeVim lə·rā·‘êḇ lərā‘êḇ leraEv rā‘êḇ rā·‘êḇ raEv rə‘êḇāh rə‘êḇîm rə·‘ê·ḇāh rə·‘ê·ḇîm Reevah reeVim ū·rə·‘ê·ḇîm ūrə‘êḇîm ureeVim veraEv wə·rā·‘êḇ wərā‘êḇInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts