100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
37. Famine in the Time of Claudius
In Acts 11:27-30 we read of a famine that took place in the Holy Land during the reign of Claudius, and of the early church’s relief efforts. The visit of Paul to Jerusalem for this purpose is also referred to by Paul himself in Galatians 2:2.
The historic evidence for the famine spoken of here is singularly well attested. The Roman historian Seutonius spoke of famine in the time of Claudius A, and Dio Cassius and Tacitus refer to two famines in Rome, which imply famine elsewhere in the empire since Rome received its grain from oversees. The fourth century historian Eusebuis B wrote of famine in Greece about this time and inscriptional evidence points to a famine in Asia Minor C. The evidence therefore points to a series of bad harvests during the reign of Claudius, which caused serious famine conditions. Such evidence also points to the accuracy of the New Testament record.
37. Famine in the Time of Claudius - Notes and References
A. Cited in J A Thompson, “Luke the Historian”, Melbourne: The Australian Institute of Archaeology, 1954, p. 7
B. “Gaius had not finished four years of rule when Claudius succeeded him as emperor. In his time, famine afflicted the whole world (as writers with purpose quite different from ours have recorded in their histories)…” Eusebius, “The Church History”, Translation by Paul L. Maier, Kregel Publications, 1999, p. 65. Maier notes, “Tacitus reports a famine during the reign of Claudius among the events of A.D. 51 (Annals 12.43), as does Dio Cassius (60.11).”
C. J.A. Thompson, “The Bible and Archaeology”, Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1962, p. 379