A great famine for great dearth, A.V.; over for throughout, A.V.; Claudius for Claudius Caesar, A.V. and T.R. The world; ἡ οἰκουμένη, the inhabited earth, the common expression for the whole Roman empire.
But the expression must be taken bore as hyperbolical, just as Josephus says that Ahab sent messengers to search for Elijah, κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οικουμένην, where, of course, only the neighboring countries to Judaea can be meant, strictly speaking ('Ant.
Jud.,'8. 13.4). But there is no evidence to show that ἡ οικουμένη, is ever a technical term for Judaea. See the use of the word by Luke (Luke 2:1; Luke 4:5; Luke 21:26; Acts 17:6, Acts 17:31; Acts 19:27; Acts 24:5).
In point of fact, the predicted famine, which began in the fourth year of Claudius Caesar (A.D. 44) and lasted till A.D. 48, fell upon Judea exclusively, as far as appears from Josephus ('Ant. Jud.,' lit.
15.3; 20. 2.5, 5.2), and was very severe there. Ishmael was high priest at the time; and Helena, Queen of Adiahene, fetched large supplies of corn from Egypt and of figs from Cyprus to Jerusalem, to supply the wants of the people.
Eusebius ('Eccl. Hist.,' 2.8) speaks of this famine as having prevailed "over the world," and as being recorded by authors hostile to Christianity, but mentions no names and gives no particulars ('Eccl.
Hist.,' 2.8), but in the twelfth chapter of the same book he limits it to τὴν ιουδαίαν, Judaea. There were several other historical famines in the reign of Claudius, but they can hardly be included in the prophecy of Agabus.
The prophet Agabus is mentioned again in Acts 21:10, and again as coming from Judaea. Renan ascribes the poverty-stricken condition of the Jerusalem Christians to their communistic institutions.