Amidst a severe famine in Samaria, Elisha prophesied that abundant food would be available by the next day. Four desperate lepers, venturing to the besieging Syrian camp, discovered it miraculously deserted. The Lord had caused the Syrians to flee in panic, leading to the city's deliverance and the fulfillment of Elisha's prophecy.
¶ Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.
Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.
For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.
Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.
So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.
¶ And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.
And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.
And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.
And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.
And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:
And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
Study Notes for 2 Kings 7
Verse 1
Elisha delivers an oracle contrasting the extreme famine (2 Ki 6:25) with God’s immediate and radical provision. A shekel was a standard unit of weight/currency, indicating that basic staples would be sold at normal, affordable prices by the next day.
Verse 2
The officer’s skepticism echoes unbelief regarding divine power; 'windows in heaven' is a metaphor for a miracle that overturns natural possibility (cf. Gen 7:11). Elisha pronounces a judgment that the officer will witness the salvation but not benefit from it.
Verse 3
These four lepers, ritually outcast and living outside the city gate, become the unlikely agents of Israel’s salvation. Their desperate situation forces them to choose action over passive demise.
Verse 4
This verse illustrates the ultimate hopelessness of the famine; death was certain whether they stayed or entered the city. Their decision to surrender to the Syrians is a calculated risk based on pure desperation.
Verse 6
The deliverance is entirely supernatural. The Lord caused the Syrians to hear a terrifying phantom army, leading them to believe Israel had hired powerful allies (Hittites and Egyptians) to attack them.
Verse 7
The terror was so great that the Syrians fled immediately, leaving behind all their supplies and equipment, confirming the panic was divinely induced.
Verse 8
The lepers' initial response is self-preservation and hoarding (eating and hiding valuables), typical of people recovering from trauma and starvation.
Verse 9
The lepers experience a moral awakening, recognizing that withholding the 'good tidings' of salvation from the starving city is a sin. This realization shifts the focus from personal gain to communal responsibility.
Verse 12
The king's immediate reaction is suspicion, assuming the report is a Syrian trap. The prolonged siege had led to deep paranoia and an inability to trust in sudden good fortune.
Verse 13
The servant argues logically that the remaining horses are already nearly dead from starvation (as are the people), so risking them for reconnaissance is a necessary measure to confirm the truth.
Verse 15
The trail of discarded garments and vessels stretching to the Jordan confirms the Syrians’ desperate, headlong flight. They had thrown away anything slowing their escape, validating the lepers' report.
Verse 16
The people immediately rush out to plunder the camp, leading to the fulfillment of Elisha's exact prophecy (v. 1) regarding the cheap price of grain.
Verse 17
The king places the skeptical officer in charge of maintaining order at the gate. Ironically, this position during the rush of desperate people ensures his death, fulfilling Elisha's prophecy (v. 2).
Verse 18
This verse serves as a summary and emphatic restatement, reminding the reader that the entire sequence of events—from economic reversal to the officer's death—occurred precisely according to the prophetic word.
Verse 19
Elisha’s words are repeated here to emphasize the officer's sin: not just doubt, but outright mocking disbelief in God’s ability to act outside of natural means.
Verse 20
The officer's death confirms the theological principle that failure to believe and honor the word of God brings swift judgment, even amid national deliverance.
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