Albert Barnes Commentary Luke 15:14

"And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want." — Luke 15:14 (ASV)

A mighty famine. Famines were common in Eastern nations. They were caused by the failure of the crops—by a lack of timely rains, a genial sun, or sometimes by the prevalence of the plague or of the pestilence, which swept off numbers of the inhabitants. In this case it is very naturally connected with the luxury, the indolence, and the dissipation of the people in that land.