1 And Elisha saith, `Hear ye a word of Jehovah: thus said Jehovah, About this time to-morrow, a measure of fine flour `is' at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.'
2 And the captain whom the king hath, by whose hand he hath been supported, answereth the man of God and saith, `Lo, Jehovah is making windows in the heavens -- shall this thing be?' and he saith, `Lo, thou art seeing it with thine eyes, and thereof thou dost not eat.'
3 And four men have been leprous, at the opening of the gate, and they say one unto another, `What -- we are sitting here till we have died;
4 if we have said, We go in to the city, then the famine `is' in the city, and we have died there; and if we have sat here, then we have died; and now, come and we fall unto the camp of Aram; if they keep us alive, we live, and if they put us to death -- we have died.'
5 And they rise in the twilight, to go in unto the camp of Aram, and they come in unto the extremity of the camp of Aram, and lo, there is not a man there,
6 seeing Jehovah hath caused the camp of Aram to hear a noise of chariot and a noise of horse -- a noise of great force, and they say one unto another, `Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Egypt, to come against us.'
7 And they rise and flee in the twilight, and forsake their tents, and their horses, and their asses -- the camp as it `is' -- and flee for their life.
8 And these lepers come in unto the extremity of the camp, and come in unto one tent, and eat, and drink, and lift up thence silver, and gold, and garments, and go and hide; and they turn back and go in unto another tent, and lift up thence, and go and hide.
9 And they say one unto another, `We are not doing right this day; a day of tidings it `is', and we are keeping silent; and -- we have waited till the light of the morning, then hath punishment found us; and now, come and we go in and declare to the house of the king.'
10 And they come in, and call unto the gatekeeper of the city, and declare for themselves, saying, `We have come in unto the camp of Aram, and lo, there is not there a man, or sound of man, but the bound horse, and the bound ass, and tents as they `are'.'
11 and he calleth the gatekeepers, and they declare to the house of the king within.
12 And the king riseth by night, and saith unto his servants, `Let me declare, I pray you, to you that which the Aramaeans have done to us; they have known that we are famished, and they are gone out from the camp to be hidden in the field, saying, When they come out from the city, then we catch them alive, and unto the city we enter.'
13 And one of his servants answereth and saith, `Then let them take, I pray thee, five of the horses that are left, that have been left in it -- lo, they `are' as all the multitude of Israel who have been left in it; lo, they are as all the multitude of Israel who have been consumed -- and we send and see.'
14 And they take two chariot-horses, and the king sendeth after the camp of Aram, saying, `Go, and see.'
15 And they go after them unto the Jordan, and lo, all the way is full of garments and vessels that the Aramaeans have cast away in their haste, and the messengers turn back and declare to the king.
16 And the people go out and spoil the camp of Aram, and there is a measure of fine flour at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, according to the word of Jehovah.
17 And the king hath appointed the captain, by whose hand he is supported, over the gate, and the people tread him down in the gate, and he dieth, as the man of God spake, which he spake in the coming down of the king unto him,
18 yea, it cometh to pass, according to the speaking of the man of God unto the king, saying, `Two measures of barley at a shekel, and a measure of fine flour at a shekel are, at this time to-morrow, in the gate of Samaria;'
19 and the captain answereth the man of God, and saith, `And lo, Jehovah is making windows in the heavens -- it is according to this word?' and he saith, `Lo, thou art seeing with thine eyes, and thereof thou dost not eat;'
20 and it cometh to him so, and the people tread him down in the gate, and he dieth.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Kings 7
Commentary on 2 Kings 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 7
2Ki 7:1-16. Elisha Prophesies Incredible Plenty in Samaria.
1. Hear ye the word of the Lord—This prediction, though uttered first to the assembled elders, was intimated to the king's messengers, who reported it to Jehoram (2Ki 7:18).
To-morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, &c.—This may be estimated at a peck of fine flour for 2s. 6d., and two pecks of barley at the same price.
in the gate of Samaria—Vegetables, cattle, all sorts of country produce, are still sold every morning at the gates of towns in the East.
2. a lord on whose hand the king leaned—When an Eastern king walks or stands abroad in the open air, he always supports himself on the arm of the highest courtier present.
if the Lord would make windows in heaven—The scoffing infidelity of this remark, which was a sneer against not the prophet only, but the God he served, was justly and signally punished (see 2Ki 7:20).
3. there were four leprous men—The account of the sudden raising of the siege and the unexpected supply given to the famishing inhabitants of Samaria, is introduced by a narrative of the visit and discovery, by these poor creatures, of the extraordinary flight of the Syrians.
leprous men at the entering in of the gate—living, perhaps, in some lazar house there (Le 13:4-6; Nu 5:3).
5. they rose up in the twilight—that is, the evening twilight (2Ki 7:12).
the uttermost part of the camp of Syria—that is, the extremity nearest the city.
6, 7. the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots—This illusion of the sense of hearing, whereby the besiegers imagined the tramp of two armies from opposite quarters, was a great miracle which God wrought directly for the deliverance of His people.
8-11. these lepers … did eat and drink—After they had appeased their hunger and secreted as many valuables as they could carry, their consciences smote them for concealing the discovery and they hastened to publish it in the city.
10. horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were—The uniform arrangement of encampments in the East is to place the tents in the center, while the cattle are picketed all around, as an outer wall of defense; and hence the lepers describe the cattle as the first objects they saw.
12-15. the king … said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done—Similar stratagems have been so often resorted to in the ancient and modern wars of the East that there is no wonder Jehoram's suspicions were awakened. But the scouts, whom he despatched, soon found unmistakable signs of the panic that had struck the enemy and led to a most precipitate flight.
2Ki 7:17-20. The Unbelieving Lord Trodden to Death.
17. the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned,—&c. The news spread like lightning through the city, and was followed, as was natural, by a popular rush to the Syrian camp. To keep order at the gate, the king ordered his minister to keep guard; but the impetuosity of the famishing people could not be resisted. The lord was trodden to death, and Elisha's prophecy in all respects accomplished.