Abraham, or Abram as he was called at the time.
Genesis 12:10
"Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land."
Abraham left Canaan (not Egypt) because of a famine. According to traditional chronology, this was in 1737 BCE.See also:Abraham's biographyTimeline
If you'res asking "where" they went, it was to Egypt. If you're asking "why" it was because famine causes starvation.
They weren't forced into Egypt; they went there because of famine (Genesis ch.42).
Because famine hit the land of Israel
Because of famine (Genesis ch.42).
The Israelites went to Egypt because there was a famine in the land of Canaan, where they were living. Joseph, one of the Israelites, had risen to a position of power in Egypt and invited his family to seek refuge there.
The famine was a test of faith. The famine came after he was where he was supposed to be. There is no mention of God telling Abram to leave because of the famine or to move to Egypt during that time. He was led by fear of starvation. When he went to Egypt he fear led him to compromise, telling the lie about Sarai being his sister.
Jacob took his family to Egypt to reunite with his son Joseph, who had become a powerful ruler in Egypt. There was a severe famine in the land, and Joseph had urged his family to come to Egypt where there was food and shelter available.
The famine was in the Land of Canaan (later called Israel), and they Hebrews migrated to Egypt.
The Israelites left Canaan and fled to Egypt because of famine. The famine was caused by a severe drought that left their crops dead and their people hungry.
Jacob and the other 68 people who migrated to Egypt with him did so because of the severe famine in Canaan.
Because there was a famine in Israel and the only place to get food was in Egypt. They went to Egypt and instead of becoming citizens they were forced into slavery.