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Texts -- 2 Kings 6:24--7:20 (NET)

Context
The Lord Saves Samaria
6:24 Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked and besieged Samaria . 6:25 Samaria’s food supply ran out . They laid siege to it so long that a donkey’s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver and a quarter of a kab of dove’s droppings for five shekels of silver . 6:26 While the king of Israel was passing by on the city wall , a woman shouted to him, “Help us, my master , O king !” 6:27 He replied , “No , let the Lord help you. How can I help you? The threshing floor and winepress are empty.” 6:28 Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered , “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son ; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow .’ 6:29 So we boiled my son and ate him. Then I said to her the next day , ‘Hand over your son and we’ll eat him.’ But she hid her son !” 6:30 When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes . As he was passing by on the wall , the people could see he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes . 6:31 Then he said , “May God judge me severely if Elisha son of Shaphat still has his head by the end of the day !” 6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders . The king sent a messenger on ahead , but before he arrived , Elisha said to the leaders , “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head ?” Look , when the messenger arrives , shut the door and lean against it . His master will certainly be right behind him.” 6:33 He was still talking to them when the messenger approached and said , “Look , the Lord is responsible for this disaster ! Why should I continue to wait for the Lord to help?” 7:1 Elisha replied , “Hear the word of the Lord ! This is what the Lord says , ‘About this time tomorrow a seah of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria .’” 7:2 An officer who was the king’s right-hand man responded to the prophet , “Look , even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky , could this happen so soon?” Elisha said , “Look , you will see it happen with your own eyes , but you will not eat any of the food!” 7:3 Now four men with a skin disease were sitting at the entrance of the city gate . They said to one another , “Why are we just sitting here waiting to die ? 7:4 If we go into the city , we’ll die of starvation , and if we stay here we’ll die ! So come on , let’s defect to the Syrian camp ! If they spare us, we’ll live ; if they kill us– well, we were going to die anyway.” 7:5 So they started toward the Syrian camp at dusk . When they reached the edge of the Syrian camp , there was no one there . 7:6 The Lord had caused the Syrian camp to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a large army . Then they said to one another , “Look , the king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and Egypt to attack us!” 7:7 So they got up and fled at dusk , leaving behind their tents , horses , and donkeys . They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives . 7:8 When the men with a skin disease reached the edge of the camp , they entered a tent and had a meal . They also took some silver , gold , and clothes and went and hid it all. Then they went back and entered another tent . They looted it and went and hid what they had taken. 7:9 Then they said to one another , “It’s not right what we’re doing ! This is a day to celebrate , but we haven’t told anyone. If we wait until dawn , we’ll be punished . So come on , let’s go and inform the royal palace .” 7:10 So they went and called out to the gatekeepers of the city . They told them , “We entered the Syrian camp and there was no one there . We didn’t even hear a man’s voice . But the horses and donkeys are still tied up , and the tents remain up.” 7:11 The gatekeepers relayed the news to the royal palace . 7:12 The king got up in the night and said to his advisers , “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know we are starving , so they left the camp and hid in the field , thinking , ‘When they come out of the city , we will capture them alive and enter the city .’” 7:13 One of his advisers replied , “Pick some men and have them take five of the horses that are left in the city. (Even if they are killed , their fate will be no different than that of all the Israelite people– we’re all going to die !) Let’s send them out so we can know for sure what’s going on.” 7:14 So they picked two horsemen and the king sent them out to track the Syrian army . He ordered them, “Go and find out what’s going on.” 7:15 So they tracked them as far as the Jordan . The road was filled with clothes and equipment that the Syrians had discarded in their haste . The scouts went back and told the king . 7:16 Then the people went out and looted the Syrian camp . A seah of finely milled flour sold for a shekel , and two seahs of barley for a shekel , just as the Lord had said they would. 7:17 Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man at the city gate . When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate . This fulfilled the prophet’s word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him. 7:18 The prophet told the king , “Two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel , and a seah of finely milled flour for a shekel ; this will happen about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria .” 7:19 But the officer replied to the prophet , “Look , even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky , could this happen so soon?” Elisha said , “Look , you will see it happen with your own eyes , but you will not eat any of the food!” 7:20 This is exactly what happened to him. The people trampled him to death in the city gate .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Elisha

    [ebd] God his salvation, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, who became the attendant and disciple of Elijah (1 Kings 19:16-19). His name first occurs in the command given to Elijah to anoint him as his successor (1 Kings 19:16). ...
    [isbe] ELISHA - e-li'-sha 'elisha`, "God is salvalion"; Septuagint Eleisaie; New Testament Elisaios, Eliseus, (Lk 4:27 the King James Version)): I. HIS CALL AND PREPARATION 1. His Call 2. His Preparation 3. The Parting Gift of Elij...
    [smith] (God his salvation), son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah; the attendant and disciple of Elijan, and subsequently his successor as prophet of the kingdom of Israel. The earliest mention of his name is in the command to Elijah in th...
    [nave] ELISHA, successor to the prophet Elijah. Elijah instructed to anoint, 1 Kin. 19:16. Called by Elijah, 1 Kin. 19:19. Ministers to Elijah, 1 Kin. 19:21. Witnesses Elijah's translation, receives a double portion of his spirit...

  • Samaria

    [ebd] a watch-mountain or a watch-tower. In the heart of the mountains of Israel, a few miles north-west of Shechem, stands the "hill of Shomeron," a solitary mountain, a great "mamelon." It is an oblong hill, with steep but not i...
    [nave] SAMARIA 1. City of, built by Omri, 1 Kin. 16:24. Capital of the kingdom of the ten tribes, 1 Kin. 16:29; 22:51; 2 Kin. 13:1, 10; 15:8. Besieged by Ben-hadad, 1 Kin. 20; 2 Kin. 6:24-33; 7. The king of Syria is led into, by...

  • Ben-hadad

    [nave] BEN-HADAD 1. King of Syria, 1 Kin. 15:18-20; 2 Chr. 16:2-4. 2. A king of Syria, who reigned in the time of Ahab, son of Ben-hadad I, 1 Kin. 20; 2 Kin. 5; 6; 7; 8:7-15. 3. Son of Hazael and king of Syria, 2 Kin. 13:3, 24, 2...

  • JEHOAHAZ

    [isbe] JEHOAHAZ - je-ho'-a-haz, je-ho-a'-haz (yeho'achaz, "Yah has grasped"; Ioachas; 2 Ki 13:1-9): (1) Son of Jehu, and 11th king of Israel. He is stated to have reigned 17 years. 1. Chronology of Reign: Josephus was already aware...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Armies

    [nave] ARMIES Who of the Israelites were subject to service in, Num. 1:2, 3; 26:2; 2 Chr. 25:5; who were exempt from service in, Num. 1:47-50; 2:33; Deut. 20:5-9; Judg. 7:3. Enumeration of Israel's military forces, Num. 1:2, 3; 26...

  • Prophecy

    [nave] PROPHECY Concerning Jesus, See: Jesus. Concerning church, See: Church, Prophecies Concerning Prosperity of. Relating to various countries, nations, and cities, see under their respective titles. Respecting individuals, see...

  • JEHORAM

    [ebd] Jehovah-exalted. (1.) Son of Toi, king of Hamath, sent by his father to congratulate David on the occasion of his victory over Hadadezer (2 Sam. 8:10). (2.) A Levite of the family of Gershom (1 Chr. 26:25). (3.) A priest sen...
    [smith] (whom Jehovah has exalted). Son of Ahab king of Israel, who succeeded his brother Ahaziah B.C. 896, and died B.C. 884. The alliance between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, commenced by his father and Jehoshaphat, was very ...

  • Joram

    [nave] JORAM 1. A son of Toi, 2 Sam. 8:9, 10. Called Hadoram, 1 Chr. 18:10. 2. Called also Jehoram. King of Israel, 2 Kin. 1:17; 3:1. King of Syria sends Naaman to, that he may be healed of his leprosy, 2 Kin. 5:1-27. Has war w...

  • Famine

    [ebd] The first mentioned in Scripture was so grievous as to compel Abraham to go down to the land of Egypt (Gen. 26:1). Another is mentioned as having occurred in the days of Isaac, causing him to go to Gerar (Gen. 26:1, 17). But...
    [isbe] FAMINE - fam'-in (ra`abh; limos): 1. Natural Causes 2. Famines Mentioned 3. Divine Relations 4. Figurative Uses The common Old Testament word for "famine" is ra`abh; re`abhon also occurs (Gen 42:19,33; Ps 37:19), and kaphan ...
    [nave] FAMINE Pharaoh forewarned of, in dreams, Gen. 41. Described, Deut. 28:53-57; Isa. 5:13; 9:18-21; 17:11; Jer. 5:17; 14:1-6; 48:33; Lam. 1:11, 19; 2:11-22; 4:4-10; Joel 1:17-20. Sent as a judgment, Lev. 26:19-29; Deut. 28:23...

  • Siege

    [isbe] SIEGE - sej (matsor (Dt 28:52,53; 1 Ki 15:27; 2 Ki 25:2; Isa 29:3; Ezek 4:2); "to be besieged," "to suffer siege," ba-matsor bo' (Dt 20:19; 2 Ki 24:10; 25:2)): 1. In Early Hebrew History 2. In the Monarchy 3. Preliminaries t...
    [nave] SIEGE Offer of peace must be made to the city before begiing, Deut. 20:10-12. Conducted by erecting embankments parallel to the walls of the besieged city, Deut. 20:19, 20; Isa. 29:3; 37:33. Battering-rams used in, See: Ba...

  • Measure

    [nave] MEASURE The following modern equivalents of ancient measurements are based upon the latest researches, and are probably as nearly correct as is possible at this time: Dry 1. Bushel, about a peck, Matt. 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luk...

  • MEASURE; MEASURES

    [isbe] MEASURE; MEASURES - mezh'-ur, Several different words in the Hebrew and Greek are rendered by "measure" in English Versions of the Bible. In Job 11:9 and Jer 13:25 it stands for madh, middah, and it is the usual rendering of...

  • WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

    [smith] A. WEIGHTS. --The general principle of the present inquiry is to give the evidence of the monuments the preference on all doubtful points. All ancient Greek systems of weight were derived, either directly or indirectly, from ...

  • Conscience

    [nave] CONSCIENCE. Job 15:21, 24; Job 27:6; Prov. 20:12; Matt. 6:22, 23; Luke 11:33 [Matt. 5:15, 16.] Luke 11:34 [Matt. 6:22.] Luke 11:35, 36; Acts 23:1; Acts 24:16; Rom. 2:14, 15; Rom. 7:15-23; Rom. 9:1; Rom. 14:1-23; 1 Cor. 8:7,...

  • Prudence

    [nave] PRUDENCE. Job 34:3, 4; Psa. 39:1; Psa. 112:5; Prov. 6:1, 2; Prov. 8:12; Prov. 11:13, 15, 29; Prov. 12:8, 23; Prov. 13:16; Prov. 14:8, 15, 16, 18; Prov. 15:5, 22; Prov. 16:20, 21; Prov. 17:2, 18; Prov. 18:15, 16; Prov. 19:2;...

  • ASS

    [ebd] frequently mentioned throughout Scripture. Of the domesticated species we read of, (1.) The she ass (Heb. 'athon), so named from its slowness (Gen. 12:16; 45:23; Num. 22:23; 1 Sam. 9:3). (2.) The male ass (Heb. hamor), the c...
    [isbe] ASS - as (chamowr or chamor, compare Arabic chamar, apparently connected with Arabic root 'achmar, "red," but referred by some to root hamal, "to carry"; also, but less commonly, both in Hebrew and in Arabic, 'athon, Arabic ...

  • Women

    [nave] WOMEN Creation of, Gen. 1:27; 2:21, 22. Named, Gen. 2:23. Fall of, and curse upon, Gen. 3:1-16; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14. Promise to, Gen. 3:15. Had separate apartments in dwellings, Gen. 24:67; 31:33; Esth. 2:9, 11. Ve...

  • HOUSE

    [isbe] HOUSE - hous (bayith; oikos, in classical Greek generally "an estate," oikia, oikema (literally, "habitation"), in Acts 12:1, "prison"): I. CAVE DWELLINGS II. STONE-BUILT AND MUD/BRICK-BUILT HOUSES 1. Details of Plan and Con...

  • Hittites

    [isbe] HITTITES - hit'-its (bene cheth, chittim; Chettaioi): One of the seven nations conquered by Israel in Palestine. I. OLD TESTAMENT NOTICES 1. Enumeration of Races 2. Individuals 3. Later Mention II. HISTORY 1. Sources 2. Chro...
    [nave] HITTITES A tribe of Canaanites. Children of Heth, Gen. 10:15; 23:10. Sell a burying-ground to Abraham, Gen. 23. Esau intermarries with, Gen. 26:34; 36:2. Dwelling place of, Gen. 23:17-20; Num. 13:29; Josh. 1:4; Judg. 1:26...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The point of this section is the importance of maintaining purity in the marriage relationship to preserve God's blessing on Israel.In verses 11-15 the writer explained the first steps an Israelite man who suspected his wife ...
  • In one sense verses 1-9 are a preamble to the whole book. They contain the basic principles that were to guide Joshua and Israel so they could obtain all that God had promised their forefathers.1:1 The first word of the book ...
  • Keilah was about three miles southeast of Adullam in the Shephelah, the foothills between the coastal plain on the west and the hill country of Judah on the east. The Philistines were plundering the threshing floors there. Th...
  • Hadad hated Solomon because of Joab's severe treatment of the Edomites. He may have been a relation of Solomon's by marriage. Pharaoh Siamun apparently gave his daughter to Solomon in marriage and his sister-in-law to Hadad (...
  • (Continued from notes on 1 Kings)3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:184. Jehoram's evil reign in Israel 2:1-8:155. Jehoram's evil reign in Judah 8:16-246. Ahaziah's evil reign in Judah 8:25-9:29C. The ...
  • The Gilgal in view may have been the one between Jericho and the Jordan, or it may have been one about seven miles north of Bethel since Elijah and Elisha went down to Bethel (v. 2).10This account presupposes previous revelat...
  • The king of Aram was probably Ben-Hadad II though the writer did not mention him by name (v. 8). Perhaps since he only identified Elisha and Yahweh by name, he wished to focus attention on them as the main characters in this ...
  • Aram's cessation of hostilities resumed after some time (v. 24; cf. v. 23), perhaps between 845 and 841 B.C.43The famine in Samaria resulted from the siege that was a punishment from the Lord for Israel's apostasy (cf. Lev. 2...
  • Several details in this incident hinge on timing that God supernaturally controlled to bring blessing on the woman as God had promised. God directed her away from the famine before it came on Israel for the nation's apostasy ...
  • Hazael was the governor of Damascus.50The Gentile King of Aram had more interest in inquiring of Yahweh than Jehoram's predecessor did (v. 8; cf. 1:2). It was customary in the Near East to make a great show of giving gifts. I...
  • Jehoash (Joash) had respect and affection for Elisha. He anticipated the loss that the death of God's spiritual warrior would be to Israel (v. 14). He recognized that Israel's real defense lay in Yahweh's angelic army and in ...
  • This message to the people involved another symbolic act (cf. 13:1-11). This incident may have occurred between 609 and 605 B.C.19:1 Yahweh told Jeremiah to take some of Judah's elders and senior priests and to go and purchas...
  • Jeremiah's symbolic act of wearing a yoke led to another symbolic act, the breaking of that yoke. Jeremiah's act brought a false prophet into direct confrontation with the true prophet.28:1 The following event took place in t...
  • 31:15 The Lord described the Israelite mothers, under the figure of Rachel, weeping for their children who had died because of the Assyrian invasion.404Rachel was the mother of Joseph, the father of Ephraim and Manasseh, and ...
  • This last pericope is a prayer to the Lord.2:20 Jeremiah responded to this call to prayer by asking the Lord to consider who was suffering so greatly that women were cannibalizing their own newborn children to stay alive in t...
  • This section of the poem consists of two parallel parts (vv. 1-6, 7-11). The Judahites had become despised (vv. 1-2, 7-8), and both children and adults (everyone) suffered (vv. 3-5, 9-10). This calamity was the result of Yahw...
  • Evidently Ezekiel's verbal explanation of this drama came at the very end of the drama, at the time of the real destruction of Jerusalem. Ezekiel was no longer silent then.5:5-6 The Lord explained that the center of the drama...
  • 21:8 The people where acknowledging Jesus as a King by spreading their garments on the road before Him (cf. 2 Kings 9:13). Likewise throwing small branches before Him symbolized the same thing (cf. 1 Macc. 13:51; 2 Macc. 10:7...
  • 9:7 John proceeded to describe the creatures he saw from head to tail. Some interpreters view these beings as natural locusts while others believe they represent an army of men. Locusts resemble horses when viewed with magnif...
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