Were some Jewish people cannibals? I found a passage, Lamentations 4:10, which says "With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children." This is shocking.
Cannibalism was practiced in some times of extreme hunger, as has been the case rarely throughout human history. Yet certainly it should not be taken as characterizing the Jews.
The books of the Law warned that if the people ignored God's commands, their enemies would come, besiege their cities, and drive them into dark places, including otherwise unthinkable actions (Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53-57). Later the prophets warned the covenant people, reminding them of what would await them if they ignored the Law (Jeremiah 19:9; Ezekiel 5:10). Sadly, when God gave them over to their enemies, his people on occasion did practice cannibalism (2 Kings 6:28), notably during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (Lamentations 2:20, 4:10).
