Leviticus 26:29 is set within the context of famine as a result of war. Due to the lack of food, the Israelites turn to cannibalism. Consuming children is a common curse in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 28:53–57; Isaiah 49:26; Jeremiah 19:9). The actual record of cannibalism is found in 2 Kings 6:28–29 and Lamentations 4:10. The intensity of this judgement is highlight by the antithetical parallelism in the Hebrew:
A You shall eat B the flesh of your sons
B’ The flesh of your daughters A’ you shall eat
29 Vous mangerez la chair de vos fils, et vous mangerez la chair de vos filles.