Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 7:2
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.
2. Then a lord ] R.V. the captain. This is the usual rendering except in this narrative. The same change is made by R.V. in verses 17 and 19. The word is originally the title of some military officer. Hence the greater fitness of ‘captain’.
on whose hand the king leaned ] For the expression cf. 2Ki 5:18, where Naaman describes himself as attending in this capacity. By taking the hand of any one as they walked by their side royal persons shewed their friendship and confidence.
Behold, if the Lord would [R.V. should ] make windows in heaven ] There is no mark of the hypothesis in the Hebrew, as is shewn by the italic ‘if’ of A.V. But the sense is hypothetical. Literally the words are ‘Behold the Lord [is] making &c.’ This is said in derision. Almost as if the captain had said, ‘I suppose then the Lord is going to make &c.’ and then he follows his scorn with a question. ‘Even then, could [R.V. might ] this thing be?’ For ‘windows of heaven’ cf. Gen 7:11.
thou shalt see it with thine eyes ] The answer to this mocking captain would be as hard for him to comprehend as was the promise of abundance which he was deriding. He, a person in close attendance on the king, to see the store which was promised and not partake of it was inconceivable. Doubtless his mockery grew louder still.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A lord – Rather, the captain, as in Exo 14:7; 1Ki 9:22; etc. The term itself, shalysh (derived from shalosh, three,) may be compared with the Latin tribunus.
Windows – Rather, sluices (compare Gen 7:11). The lord means to say If Yahweh were to open sluices in heaven, and pour down grain as He poured down rain in the time of the Deluge, even then could there be such abudnance as thou speakest of?
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Ki 7:2
Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned, answered the man of God.
Rationalism
Around Samaria is drawn the fiery girth of Assyrian vindictiveness. Siege is laid to the city, and soon famine, most ghastly and horrible, appears. In the modern bombardment of a city, there is a grandeur mingled with the terror. The toss and burst of a bomb-shell kindles the eye of the artist, while the citizens perish. But there is no imagining the desolation of a city approached by an old-time siege, through years of starvation. The judgment-day only can reveal the anguish endured when Hamilcar besieged Utica, and Titus Jerusalem. Alas, for Samaria! What a crowd of hollow-eyed and staggering wretches filled the streets, crying for bread. So great was the scarcity of food that an asss head was sold for twenty-five dollars. Mothers cooked their children, and fought for the disgusting fragments. And still hunger pinched and drank up the life of the great city and lifted its wolfish howl in the market-place, and shovelled its victims into the grave. In the midst of all this, Elisha, in the name of God, said, Tomorrow the famine will be gone, and you will get a peck of flour for five shillings. A nobleman, who was the confidential friend of the king, stood by and laughed at the idea. He said, If a window shutter could be opened in the sky, and a lot of corn pitched out, you might expect it. Hal ha! you silly prophet; you cannot fool me! The prophet replied to the taunt by saying, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. Before we come to the more cheerful phase of the subject, let us attend the funeral of that scoffer who was trod on in the gates. The obsequies shall be brief, for we have not much respect for him. I knew him well. You all knew him. He was an out-and-out Rationalist. Elisha, at Gods command, had prophesied plenty of fine flour on the morrow. Preposterous! said the sceptical nobleman. Where is it to come from? Why, every hole and corner of the city has been ransacked for flour. We have eaten up the horses. There is no prospect that the Assyrians will lift the siege; and yet, Elisha, you insult my common sense, and my reason, by telling me that to-morrow the market will be glutted with bread supplies. Away with your nonsense! Yet, notwithstanding it seemed unreasonable, the fine flour came; and, because of his unbelief, the Rationalist of Samaria perished. At this point the great battle of Christianity is to be fought. The great foe of Christianity to-day is Rationalism, that comes out from our schools, and universities, and magazines, and newspapers, to scoff at Bible truth, and caricature the old religion of Jesus. It says, Jesus is not God, for it is impossible to explain how He can be Divine and Human at the same time. The Bible is not inspired, for there are in it things that they dont like. Regeneration is a farce; there is good enough in us, and the only thing is to bring it out. Development is the word–development. What is still more alarming, is that Christian men dare not meet this ridicule. Christian men try to soften the Bible down to suit the sceptics. The sceptics sneer at the dividing of the Red Sea, and the Christian goes to explaining that the wind blew a hurricane from one direction a good while until all the water piled up; and, besides that, it was low water, anyhow, and so the Israelites went through without any trouble. Why not be frank, and say, I believe the Lord God Almighty came to the brink of the Red Sea, and with His right arm swung back the billows on the right side, and with His left arm swung back the billows on the left side; and the abashed water stood up hundreds of feet high, while through their glassy walls the sea-monsters gazed with affrighted eyes on the passing Israelites? Oh, you say, these Rationalists would laugh at me. Then let them laugh. The Samaritan sceptic laughed at Elisha; but when, under the rush of the people to get their bread, the unbeliever was trampled to death, whose turn was it to laugh then? The moment you begin to explain away the miraculous and supernatural, you surrender the Bible. Compromise nothing! Trim off nothing to please the sceptics. If you cannot stand the jeer of your business friends you are not worthy to be one of Christs disciples. You can afford to wait. The tide will turn. Gods Word will be vindicated; and though it may seem to be against the laws of nature and the rules of reason, to-morrow a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel; and then as the people rush out of the gates to get the bread, alas, for the Rationalist! he will be trodden under foot, and will go down to shame and everlasting contempt. You know that all the nations are famine struck by sin. They are dying for bread. Here comes through the gates a precious supply–not one loaf, but an abundance for all; pardon for all, strength for all, sympathy for all comfort for all! Will you have this bread that came down from heaven and which, if a man eat, he shall never hunger? Glorious gospel! So wide in its provisions. Whosoever! Mark you that God stopped Samarias famine, not with coarse meal, but, the text says, with fine flour. So the Bread of Life, with which God would appease our hunger, is made of the best material. Jesus was fine in His life, fine in His sympathies, fine in His promises. It means no coarse supply when Jesus offers Himself to the people saying, I am the Bread of Life.–Fine flour for a shekel. That day when the gates of Samaria were opened, why did they make such excitement about the flour? Why did they not bring in some figs, or pastry, or fragrant bouquets instead? The people would have run down the bouquets, and thrown away the figs, and trampled upon the pastry in the rush for bread. Effort has been made to feed those spiritually dying with the poesies or rhetoric, and the confectionary of sentimentalism. Our theology has been sweetened and sweetened until it is as sweet as ipecacuanha, and as nauseating to the regenerated soul. What the people need is bread, just as God mixes it–unsweetened, plain, homely, unpretending, yet life-sustaining bread. (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
Presumptiveness of unbelief
What surprises me, what stumbles me, what frightens me, is to see a diminutive creature, a little ray of light glimmering through a few feeble organs, controvert a point with the Supreme Being; oppose the Intelligence that sitteth at the helm of the world; question what He affirms, dispute what He determines, appeal from His decisions, and, even after God has given evidence, reject all doctrines that are beyond his capacity! Enter into thy nothingness, mortal creature! What madness animates thee? How darest thou pretend, thou who art but a point, thou whose essence is but an atom, to measure thyself with the Supreme Being–with Him whom the heaven of heavens could not contain? (J. Saurin.)
A Divine teacher and a haughty sceptic
Here are two objects not only to be looked at, but to be studied:–
I. A divine teacher. Two circumstances connected with this promise will apply to the Gospel.
1. It was a communication exactly suited to the condition of those to whom it was addressed. People were starving, and the one great necessity was food, and here it is promised. Mankind are morally lost, what they want is spiritual restoration, and the Gospel proclaims it.
2. It was a communication made on the authority of the Eternal. Thus saith the Lord. That the Gospel is a Divine message is a truth too firmly established even to justify debate.
II. A haughty sceptic. Here is one of the most contemptible of all classes of men, a courtier, a sycophant in relation to his king, a haughty despot in regard to all beneath him. When he heard the prophets deliverance, he, forsooth, was too great a man, and thought himself, no doubt, too great a philosopher to believe it. It was the mans Self importance that begot his incredulity, and this perhaps is the parent of all scepticism and unbelief. (Homilist.)
The sin of unbelief
One wise man may deliver a whole city; one good man may be the means of safety to a thousand others. The holy ones are the salt of the earth, the means of the preservation of the wicked. Without the godly as a conserve, the race would be utterly destroyed. In the city of Samaria there was one righteous man–Elisha, the servant of the Lord. Piety was altogether extinct in the court. The king was a sinner of the blackest dye, his iniquity was glaring and infamous. Jehoram walked in the ways of his father Ahab, and made unto himself false gods. The people of Samaria were fallen like their monarch. In this awful extremity the one holy man was the medium of salvation. The one grain of salt preserved the entire city; the one warrior for God was the means of the deliverance of the whole beleaguered multitude. To-morrow, would they shout, to-morrow our hunger shall be over, and we shall feast to the full. However, the lord on whom the king leaned expressed his disbelief. We hear not that any of the common people, the plebeians, ever did so; but an aristocrat did it. Strange it is, that God has seldom chosen the great men of this world. High places and faith in Christ do seldom well agree. This great man said, Impossible! and, with an insult to the prophet, he added, If the Lord should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be. His sin lay in the fact that, after repeated seals of Elishas ministry, he yet disbelieved the assurances uttered by the prophet on Gods behalf. He had, doubtless, seen the marvellous defeat of Moab; he had been startled at tidings of the resurrection of the Shunam-mites son; he knew that Elisha had revealed Benhadads secrets and smitten his marauding hosts with blindness; he had seen the bands of Syria decoyed into the heart of Samaria.
I. The sin. His sin was unbelief. He doubted the promise of God. In this particular case unbelief took the form of a doubt of the Divine veracity, or a mistrust of Gods power. Either he doubted whether God really meant what He said, or whether it was within the range of possibility that God should fulfil His promise. Unbelief hath more phases than the moon, and more colours than the chameleon. Common people say of the devil, that he is seen sometimes in one shape, and sometimes in another. I am sure this is true of Satans firstborn child–unbelief, for its forms are legion. At one time I see unbelief dressed out as an angel of light. It calls itself humility, and it saith, I would not be presumptuous; I dare not think that God would pardon me; I am too great a sinner. It is the devil dressed as an angel of light; it is unbelief after all. A fearful form of unbelief is that doubt which keeps men from coming to Christ; which leads the sinner to distrust the ability of Christ to save him, to doubt the willingness of Jesus to accept so great a transgressor. But the most hideous of all is the traitor, in its true colours, blaspheming God, and madly denying His existence. Infidelity, deism, and atdeism are the ripe fruits of this pernicious tree; they are the most terrific eruptions of the volcano of unbelief. Unbelief hath become of full stature, when quitting the mask and laying aside disguise, it profanely stalks the earth, uttering the rebellious cry, No God, striving in vain to shake the throne of the divinity, by lifting up its arm against Jehovah. I am astonished, and I am sure you will be, when I tell you that there are some strange people in the world who do not believe that unbelief is a sin. Strange people I must call them, because they are sound in their faith in every other respect; only, to make the articles of their creed consistent, as they imagine, they deny that unbelief is sinful.
1. And first the sin of unbelief will appear to be extremely heinous when we remember that it is the parent of every other iniquity. There is no crime which unbelief will not beget. I think that the fall of man is very much owing to it. It was in this point that the devil tempted Eve.
2. Unbelief not only begets, but fosters sin. If man did but believe that the law is holy, that the commandments are holy, just, and good, how he would be shaken over hells mouth; there would be no sitting, and sleeping in Gods house; no careless hearers; no going away and straightway forgetting what manner of men ye are. Oh! once get rid of unbelief, how would every ball from the batteries of the law fall upon the sinner, and the slain of the Lord would be many. Again, how is it that men can hear the wooings of the Cross of Calvary, and yet come not to Christ? What is the reason? Because there is unbelief between you and the Cross. If there were not that thick veil between you and the Saviours eyes, His looks of love would melt you. But unbelief is the sin which keeps the power of the Gospel from working in the sinner., and it is not till the Holy Ghost strikes that unbelief out, it is not till the Holy Spirit rends away that infidelity and takes it altogether down, that we can find the sinner.
3. Unbelief disables a man for the performance of any good work. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin, is a great truth in more senses than one. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith fosters every virtue; unbelief murders every one. Thousands of prayers have been strangled in their infancy by unbelief. Unbelief has been guilty of infanticide; it has murdered many an infant petition; many a song of praise that would have swelled the chorus of the skies has been stifled by an unbelieving murmur; many a noble enterprise conceived in the heart has been blighted ere it could come forth, by unbelief. Many a man would have been a missionary; would have stood and preached his Masters Gospel boldly; but he had unbelief. Once make a giant unbelieving, and he becomes a dwarf.
4. Our next remark is–unbelief has been severely punished. Turn you to the Scriptures, I see a world all fair and beautiful; its mountains laughing in the sun, and the fields rejoicing in the golden light. I see maidens dancing, and young men singing. How fair the vision! But lo! a grave and reverend sire lifts up his hand, and cries, A flood is coming to deluge the earth-the fountains of the great deep will be broken up, and all things will be covered See yonder ark. One hundred and twenty years have I toiled with these my hands to build it; flee there, and you are safe. Aha! old man; away with your empty predictions! Aha! let us be happy while we may! when the flood comes, then we will build an ark; but there is no flood coming; tell that to fools; we believe no such things. See the unbelievers pursue their merry dance. Hark! Unbeliever. Dost thou not hear that rumbling noise? Earths bowels have begun to move, her rocky ribs are strained by dire convulsions from within; lo! they break with the enormous strain, and forth from between them torrents rush unknown since God concealed them in the bosom of our world. Heaven is split in sunder! it rains. Not drops, but clouds descend. A cataract, like that of old Niagara, rolls from heaven with mighty noise. Both firmaments, both deeps–the deep below and the deep above–do clasp their hands. Now, unbelievers, where are you now? There is your last remnant. A man–his wife clasping him round the waist–stands on the last summit that is above the water. See him there! The water is up to his loins even now. Hear his last shriek! He is floating–he is drowned. And as Noah looks from the ark he sees nothing. Nothing! It is a void profound. Sea monsters whelp and stable in the palaces of kings. All is overthrown, covered, drowned. What hath done it? What brought the flood upon the earth? Unbelief. By faith Noah escaped from the flood. By unbelief the rest were drowned.
5. And now you will observe the heinous nature of unbelief in this–that it is the damning sin. There is one sin for which Christ never died; it is the sin against the Holy Ghost. There is one other sin for which Christ never made atonement. Mention every crime in the calendar of evil, and I will show you persons who have found forgiveness for it. But ask me whether the man who died in unbelief can be saved, and I reply there is no atonement for that man.
II. Conclude with the punishment. Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. It is so often with Gods own saints. When they are unbelieving, they see the mercy with their eyes, but do not eat it. Now, here is corn in this land of Egypt; but there are some of Gods saints who come here on the Sabbath, and say, I do not know whether the Lord will be with me or not. Some of them say, Well, the Gospel is preached, but I do not know whether it will be successful. They are always doubting and fearing. Listen to them when they get out. Well, did you get a good meal this morning? Nothing for me. Of course not. Ye could see it with your eyes, but did not eat it, because you had no faith. If you had come up with faith, you would have had a morsel. But, let me apply this chiefly to the unconverted. They often see great works of God done with their eyes, but they do not eat thereof. A crowd of people have come here this morning to see with their eyes, but I doubt whether all of them eat. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Faith taunted
In this comparatively trifling event we see the end of the whole economy of nature as we know it. Tragical facts have overpowered us, have indeed almost blinded us as to the possibility of spiritual presences being in the universe, and we have said deliverance is impossible, and out of all this chaos God Himself could scarcely bring order. Looking upon the nations of the earth with their moral darkness, their barbarities, idolatries, cruelties, superstitions; observing how men hate one another, and delight in the shedding of blood; studying the whole map and plan of wickedness all but infinite, we have again and again said, though the Lord should open the windows of heaven–though the Lord should come in all His great might, yet surely this chaos could not be brought into order and peace even by the voice of Omnipotence. Looking upon the Cross of Jesus Christ as the medium of the salvation of the world, we have not wondered that men should account it foolishness. There seems to be no proportion between the cause and the effect, the means and the end. To the last, men passing by the cross shall wag their heads, and say to him who expires upon it, If Thou be the king or Saviour of the world, save Thyself, and come down. We are quite aware that the scoffer has an ample ground for mockery, if attention be limited by visible boundaries. It is not surprising that gibers should taunt believers, and that the prophets of Baal should turn round upon the Elijahs of the world, and in their turn enjoy the use of ironical appeal, saying, Cry aloud to your Christ, for he is king of the Jews; cry mightily to his God in heaven, for he has espoused him as his father; pray on still,–perhaps if you are not answered in the morning, you may be answered at night; cry lustily with growing energy to the supposed God of the heavens, and let him come out in reply if he can. We must submit to the taunt for the present. In our impatience we desire a manifest and decisive answer, yet all things proceed calmly as they were from the beginning. But our faith has been sustained by a doctrine corresponding to the prophecy,–namely, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness: for a thousand years are in his sight as one day, and one day as a thousand years. We are the victims of miscalculated time. We do not know the meaning of to-day or to-morrow: my soul, wait thou upon God; yea, wait patiently for Him, and comfort thyself with the truth that things are not what they seem: that immediately after human extremity there arises a light in heaven, and that in the midday of despair angels are sent with special messages from God. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 2. Then a lord] shalish. This word, as a name of office, occurs often, and seems to point out one of the highest offices in the state. So unlikely was this prediction to be fulfilled, that he thought God must pour out wheat and barley from heaven before it could have a literal accomplishment.
But shalt not eat thereof.] This was a mere prediction of his death, but not as a judgment for his unbelief; any person in his circumstances might have spoken as he did. He stated in effect that nothing but a miracle could procure the plenty predicted, and by a miracle alone was it done; and any person in his place might have been trodden to death by the crowd in the gate of Samaria.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
On whose hand the king leaned, when he walked. See 2Ki 5:18.
If the Lord would make windows, through which he could rain down corn, as once he did manna.
Shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof; a just punishment for such peremptory unbelief, whereby he made not only the prophet, but even God himself, (in whose name it was evident Elisha said and did this and other things,) a liar.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. a lord on whose hand the kingleanedWhen an Eastern king walks or stands abroad in the openair, he always supports himself on the arm of the highestcourtier present.
if the Lord would makewindows in heavenThe scoffing infidelity of this remark, whichwas a sneer against not the prophet only, but the God he served, wasjustly and signally punished (see 2Ki7:20).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then a lord, on whose hand the king leaned,…. Not figuratively, in whom the king confided, but literally, on whose hand he rested, and by whom he was supported, being a form and matter of state, while he and Elisha were talking together, or on whom he leaned as he came to him; this was a principal lord, the third to the king, as his title seems to denote; the word by which the Septuagint renders it is by Suidas u interpreted of such that held three spears in the hand together; and this was an honourable post, for a king to lean on him; such state was used by the king of Syria, 2Ki 5:18 and by the kings and queens of Persia; so Gorionides w says of Esther, that on the third day; she put on her beautiful garments and glorious ornaments, and took two of her maidens with her, and put her right hand on one of them, and leaned upon her in a royal manner, or as was the manner of kings: the same
answered the man of God; the prophet of the Lord, as the Targum:
and said, behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? it is impossible it should be, if he was to open the windows of heaven as at the flood, and let down showers of wheat and barley, in like manner as he rained manna in the wilderness:
and he said; the prophet in reply to him:
behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof; wheat and barley sold at the above price, but should not taste of it, as a punishment of his unbelief.
u In voce . w Heb. Hist. l. 2. c. 4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(2) Then a lord.And the adjutant (shlsh: comp. 2Sa. 23:8; 1Ki. 9:22; 1Ch. 11:11), or aide-de-camp or esquire (equerry).
On whose hand . . . leaned.Comp. the similar expression in reference to Naaman (2Ki. 5:18).
Leaned.Was leaning.
Behold, if the Lord . . . this thing be?This may be correct. Even granting the very unlikely supposition that Jehovah is about to make windows (Gen. 7:11) in the sky, to rain down supplies through them, the promised cheapness of provisions can hardly ensue so soon. Or we may render, Behold, Jehovah is going to make windows in the sky [i.e., to pour down provisions upon us]. Can this thing come to pass? In any case, the tone is that of scoffing unbelief. Reuss renders, with French point, Voyez donc. Iaheweh en fera pleuvoir! Est ce que cest chose possible?
Behold, thou shalt see.Literally, Behold, thou art about (i.e., destined) to see. Elisha partly imitates the speech of the scoffer, which begins in the Hebrew with Behold, Jehovah is about to make windows. (Comp. 2Ki. 5:26.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. A lord on whose hand the king leaned Rather, the lord. , third man, was the name of one of the highest officers of state, and one of the nearest attendants upon his person. He was to the king of Israel what Naaman was to the king of Syria prime minister. See 2Ki 5:18.
If the Lord Literally, Behold, Jehovah making windows in heaven! Can this thing be? It is the language of scornful unbelief. The prime minister looks upon the thing foretold as a sheer impossibility, and treats the prophet’s words with contemptuous scorn. Only think, he says, of Jehovah opening the heavens and showering down meal and grain! Can such a thing be?
Thou shalt see but shalt not eat How this came to pass is told in 2Ki 7:17-20. Such scornful unbelief deserved a signal punishment.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
YHWH’s Deliverance From The Siege Of Samaria ( 2Ki 7:2-20 ).
This second subsection is within an inclusio which commences with the captain’s comment about the ‘windows of Heaven’, followed by the warning of his demise (2Ki 7:2), and closes with a repetition of the same comment and a description of his actual death (2Ki 7:19-20). It is also connected with the first subsection as the thought of the closing verse of the first subsection (2Ki 7:1) is paralleled at the end of the second subsection (2Ki 7:18).
The story commences with four skin-diseased men who were really unwelcome anywhere due to their disease. While not totally excluded from the city (they were not lepers and therefore would have been subject to certain death from the enemy if caught) they were expected to remain outside the gate (with the right to enter when necessary) where they were no doubt even worse provided for than everyone else, probably only receiving occasional ‘food’ from relatives who were themselves starving. It may well be that they were stirred into action precisely because their supplies had literally dried up. Thus they were left with a choice between going into the starving city in order to see what they could forage, knowing how unwelcome they would be, or approaching the enemy camp and pleading for help because of their condition. Neither alternative appeared much better than the other, but at least an approach to the enemy would solve their problem in one way or another once and for all. Things had got that desperate.
But when they arrived at the enemy camp it was to discover that it had been abandoned. And the reason was because YHWH had caused the Aramaeans to hear the sound of the approach of chariots, horses and armoured troops, with the result that they had panicked and fled thinking that they were about to be attacked from the south by the Egyptians, and from the north by the Hittites, by mercenaries who had been hired in order to raise the siege. It may well be that the long siege, and stories about what Elisha had done in the past, had already set their nerves on edge as they wondered what would happen next, with the result that the noise that they heard, which may have been the wind whistling through the mountains, became the final straw.
The four skin-diseased men, unable to believe their good fortune, first satisfied their own hunger from the nearest tents, and then plundered two of the tents for some of the spoils of gold and silver gathered by the invaders, hiding it away, probably in a hole in the ground. Once they had done that they recognised that if they did not immediately report what they had found they might be called to account in the future. So they hurried back to the city and reported to the gatekeeper at the gate what they had found. The gatekeeper then immediately sent the message to the king’s household. But the king was suspicious that it was a ruse of the enemy and sent out scouts in two chariots in order to discover whether the enemy had really left the country, and sure enough they discovered on the road to the Jordan that there was all the evidence of an army fleeing in panic, with clothing and equipment tossed everywhere.
Once the news arrived back at the city the starving people understandably streamed out to the Aramaean camp and plundered it for food and goods, with the result that food once again became readily available at a reasonable price, as Elisha had forecast. And what was more, the important official who had despised Elisha’s words, and who had been put in charge of the gate, was trampled in the rush, just as Elisha had prophesied.
Analysis.
a
b Now there were four skin-diseased men at the entrance of the gate, and they said one to another, “Why do we sit here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter into the city,’ then the famine is in the city, and we will die there, and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall to the host of the Aramaeans, if they save us alive, we will live, and if they kill us, we will but die” (2Ki 7:3-4).
c And they rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Aramaeans, and when they were come to the outermost part of the camp of the Aramaeans, behold, there was no man there (2Ki 7:5).
d For the Lord had made the host of the Aramaeans to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host, and they had said one to another, “Lo, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come on us.” For which reason 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 (2Ki 7:6-7).
e And when these skin-diseased men came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drink, and carried from there silver, and gold, and clothing, and went and hid it, and they came back, and entered into another tent, and carried from there also, and went and hid it (2Ki 7:8).
f Then they said one to another, “We are not doing well. This day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace. If we linger until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household” (2Ki 7:9).
g So they came and called to the porter of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Aramaeans, and, behold, there was no man there, nor the voice of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were. And he called the porters, and they told it to the king’s household within (2Ki 7:10-11).
f And the king arose in the night, and said to his servants, “I will now show you what the Aramaeans have done to us. They know that we are hungry, therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the countryside, saying, “When they come out of the city, we will take them alive, and get into the city” (2Ki 7:12).
e And one of his servants answered and said, “Let some take, I pray you, five of the horses which remain, which are left in the city (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it, behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel which are consumed); and let us send and see” (2Ki 7:13).
d They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the host of the Aramaeans, saying, “Go and see.” And they went after them to the Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of clothing and vessels, which the Aramaeans had cast away in their hurry. And the messengers returned, and told the king (2Ki 7:14-15).
c And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Aramaeans. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in accordance with the word of YHWH (2Ki 7:16).
b And the king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate, and the people trod on him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him (2Ki 7:17).
a And it came about 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, will be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.” And that captain had answered the man of God, and said, “Now, look, if YHWH should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be?” and he had said, “Behold, you will see it with your eyes, but will not eat of it.” It came about even so to him, for the people trod on him in the gate, and he died (2Ki 7:18-20).
Note that in ‘a’ the king’s high official declared that even if the windows of Heaven were opened YHWH’s word would not be fulfilled, and Elisha informed him that he would see it but not enjoy it, and in the parallel the high official’s comment is repeated and his death is described. In ‘b’ the four skin-diseased determined to go out from the gate to the enemy camp, and in the parallel the people trod on the official at the gate as they went out to the camp. In ‘c’ the skin-diseased men discovered no one at the Aramaean camp, and in the parallel the crowds went out and plundered it. In ‘d’ the enemy heard the sound of chariots and horses and fled leaving their spoils and equipment behind them, including spare chariot horses, and in the parallel Israelite chariots and horses followed and discovered spoils and equipment discarded along the way. In ‘e’ the skin-diseased men checked that the camp was truly empty and recovered spoil, and in the parallel the Israelite scouts discovered that the enemy had truly fled, and recovered spoil. In ‘f’ the skin-diseased men recognised that they must inform the king that the camp was deserted, and in the parallel the king suspected that it might be an ambush. Centrally in ‘g’ the announcement was made, and passed on to the king, that the camp was empty and that the enemy had fled.
2Ki 7:2
‘Then the aide on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, “Look, if YHWH should make windows in heaven, might this thing be?” And he said, “Behold, you will see it with your eyes, but you will not eat of it.” ’
The important messenger, the king’s right hand man (the description does not indicate the king’s presence. It simply meant the man of his right hand on whom he depended), considered this suggestion to be ridiculous, and exclaimed, “Look, if YHWH should make windows in heaven, might this thing be?” In other words, in his view, even YHWH could not achieve this. For where would He obtain the supplies from?
‘Windows in Heaven’ was a phrase indicating abundant supplies from above. Compare Gen 7:11; Mal 3:10. The phrase is found in the Baal myths and there may be a hint here that even if he reached Baal’s level YHWH could not achieve that. That would serve to explain the severity of Elisha’s reply that although he would see such provision, he himself would not partake of it, an indication of his soon-coming death.
2Ki 7:3-4
‘Now there were four skin-diseased men at the entrance of the gate, and they said one to another, “Why do we sit here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter into the city,’ then the famine is in the city, and we will die there, and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall to the host of the Aramaeans, if they save us alive, we will live, and if they kill us, we will but die.” ’
The men were probably not lepers, but suffering from a skin disease similar to that of Naaman. Apparently they were still not allowed to mix with the ordinary people, because to touch them would be to be rendered ritually unclean. Thus they were ‘at the entrance of the gate’. In view of the fact that they were able to slip away unseen to the Aramaean camp it suggests that they were in fact stationed outside the gate, although allowed in if the enemy approached the gate.
They recognised the parlousness of their position. They were dying of starvation, and their supplies from the city may well have totally dried up. If they obtained entry into the city in order to forage for food they would do so to an unwelcoming people who themselves were starving, without any assurance of finding anything, and would simply die more slowly. On the other hand if they approached the enemy camp they would either be slain, which would simply mean a slightly quicker death, or possibly, in view of their condition, given food and then asked to leave. It was simply a toss up as to which was best, but approaching the camp appeared to offer the best odds.
2Ki 7:5
‘And they rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Aramaeans, and when they were come to the outermost part of the camp of the Aramaeans, behold, there was no man there.’
So as darkness descended they arose and went with some trepidation towards the camp of the Aramaeans. But on arrival at the edge of the camp they discovered to their astonishment that it appeared to be deserted. There was no one there.
2Ki 7:6
‘For the Lord had made the host of the Aramaeans to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host, and they had said one to another, “Lo, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come on us.” ’
And it was learned later that this was because ‘the Lord of creation’ (adonai – Sovereign Lord) had made the host of the Aramaeans hear a noise of chariots, horses and armed men, like the sound of a great host, which they assumed could only be a combined mercenary army raised by the Egyptians and the Hittites, approaching from two different directions, which had somehow been called on to deliver the city and were almost on them. It was what they would have done themselves. (The Aramaeans had once performed a similar thing for the Ammonites (2Sa 10:6), and for Ahaz of Judah (1Ki 15:18-20)). We must remember that, once a siege had settled in, life became very tedious, and imaginations could begin to run riot, especially when all knew that there was a wonder-working prophet of fearsome reputation known to be in the city. The noise may have been due to the sound of a powerful wind, sweeping through the hills, and echoing across the valley, sounding, as night approached, very much like the advance of a large army. They may also have seen dust dimly swirling up among the mountains. Or it may simply have been caused directly by God. We may also see it as very possible that YHWH had previously been disturbing their dreams in the same way as in Jdg 7:13-14, with rumours spreading through the camp, but in this case caused by thoughts of Elisha, who must certainly have become a legendary figure in Aramaean eyes after his numerous exploits, including the healing of their former commander-in-chief and the blinding of their host. Indeed they must have known that Elisha was in Samaria, and may well have feared what amazing thing he intended to do. (It was a very superstitious age).
In some ways we can see this as similar to what had happened to their previous raiding army, but there it had been their vision which had been disturbed, whereas here it was their hearing organs.
2Ki 7:7
‘For which reason 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.’
Thus at the eerie sound which they could not understand, coming at them as it began to approach darkness, they panicked, and fled, leaving behind all that was not easily manageable. This included spare chariot horses, asses, and much of their spoil. They did not want to be caught in a pincer movement between two large nocturnal armies.
2Ki 7:8
‘And when these skin-diseased men came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drink, and carried from there silver, and gold, and clothing, and went and hid it, and they came back, and entered into another tent, and carried from there also, and went and hid it.’
The result was that when the skin-diseased men came to the edge of the camp they were able to enter the first two tents that they came to, eat and drink enough to satisfy their hunger and thirst, and then pile up silver, and gold and expensive clothing, carrying it off and burying it, thus ensuring for themselves a prosperous future..
2Ki 7:9
‘Then they said one to another, “We are not doing well. This day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace. If we linger until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
After that, their initial heady period over, they began to think more carefully about the situation, and recognised that they should really be reporting this back to the famine-stricken city. Indeed they recognised that if they should be found there when morning came without having done so, they would be called on to account for why they had not immediately reported the situation back to the king’s household, for it was a situation that would be good tidings to all in the stricken city.
2Ki 7:10
‘So they came and called to the gatekeeper of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Aramaeans, and, behold, there was no man there, nor the voice of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were.’
So they returned to the city and informed the gatekeeper on the gate of the city about the situation, explaining to him (and through him to the authorities – ‘them’) that they had been to the camp of the Aramaeans and had found it devoid of life. The tents were still there, there were horses and asses still tied up, but there was no voice to be heard, or person to be seen. All appeared to have vanished.
2Ki 7:11
‘And he called the porters, and they told it to the king’s household within.’
The gateman then in turn hurriedly called the watch on duty and reported what had been told to him, and they sent an urgent message to the king’s household. The news was too important to keep until morning.
2Ki 7:12
‘And the king arose in the night, and said to his servants, “I will now show you what the Aramaeans have done to us. They know that we are hungry, therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the countryside, saying, “When they come out of the city, we will take them alive, and get into the city.” ’
The news was considered to be of such importance that they felt it wise to wake the king himself, and he arose in the night and suggested to his courtiers whom he had hurriedly gathered together that this may well be a ruse, by which the enemy hoped to be able to lure them out of the city. The idea was that the Aramaeans would be hiding in the surrounding countryside, and as soon as the townsfolk entered their camp they would swoop down on them, capture them alive, and then take possession of the city.
2Ki 7:13
‘And one of his servants answered and said, “Let some take, I pray you, five of the horses which remain, which are left in the city (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it, behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel which are consumed), and let us send and see.” ’
One of his advisers then suggested that in that case what they should do was take five of the few horses which were left (most had perished and/or been eaten) and follow the trail that the Aramaean army would have taken if it really had set off back to Aram. In that way they would discover if there were any signs that they had really returned that way.
‘Behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it, behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel which are consumed.’ The horses were in a similar position to the residents of the city, either half-starving, or already dead through starvation, and eaten.
2Ki 7:14
‘They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the host of the Aramaeans, saying, “Go and see.” ’
The suggestion seemed a good one to the king, and he immediately despatched two chariots, along with their horses and charioteers, to check on the trail that would have been left by the Aramaeans if they had really fled. His command was, ‘Go and see.’
This may have been a slight change of plan from the five horses, or it may be that four drew the chariots and a fifth spare horse was taken on which a messenger could ride back once the truth was known.
2Ki 7:15
‘And they went after them to the Jordan, and, lo, all the way was full of clothing and vessels, which the Aramaeans had cast away in their hurry. And the messengers returned, and told the king.’
So the two chariots took the road to the Jordan, over which the army would have passed if it had fled, and all along the road they found signs of the retreat of a panic-stricken army, with clothing and equipment strewn everywhere, cast away by the Aramaeans in their desperate flight. Having reached the Jordan, the messengers, now totally satisfied that the Aramaeans really had fled, then returned and reported their findings to the king.
2Ki 7:16
‘And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Aramaeans. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in accordance with the word of YHWH.’
And the consequence was that the people of the city were able to go out and plunder the Aramaean camp, with the result that there was sufficient fine flour and barley for all, the consequence being that it was sold at normal prices that day (by the enterprising) to those who had not been able to go to the camp, in accordance with the word of YHWH which had made known to Elisha (2Ki 7:1).
2Ki 7:17
‘And the king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate, and the people trod on him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.’
In order to facilitate and organise as best as he could the streaming of the people out of the city in their desperate search after food and spoils, the king then appointed his right hand man (whom he had previously sent to Elisha) to have charge of the gate. But this turned out to be unfortunate for him, because in seeking to control the surging, maddened crowds he himself was knocked over and trampled under foot, dying as ‘the man of God’ had said (2Ki 7:2 b). All that Elisha, the man of God, had prophesied was taking place.
‘Who spoke when the king came down to him.’ Compare 2Ki 6:32-33. This may signify that the king himself did follow his messenger to see Elisha, or the idea may simply be that he came, as it were, in the form of his messenger. See on 2Ki 7:2 above.
2Ki 7:18
‘And it came about 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, will be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.” ’
Also fulfilled was the prophecy about the sale of food at normal prices, instead of the exorbitant prices which had been exacted during the siege. Supply and demand had returned to normal, with sufficient available for all, and all in the course of a day.
2Ki 7:19
‘And that captain who had answered the man of God, and said, “Now, look, if YHWH should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be?” and he had said, “Behold, you will see it with your eyes, but will not eat of it.” ’
The opening verse of this subsection (2Ki 7:2) is now repeated as an inclusio, its fulfilment having been demonstrated in 2Ki 7:17. All this repetition brings out that the whole purpose of the narrative is to bring out YHWH’s great deliverance, and the fulfilment of the Word that He had given Elisha. All had happened for the glory of YHWH.
2Ki 7:20
“It came about even so to him, for the people trod on him in the gate, and he died.’
The passage closes with the reminder that, just as Elisha had prophesied, the king’s right hand man died, the lesson being that it was not wise to make fun of the word of YHWH. The whole passage brings out that YHWH is always able to defend His people under any circumstances, even though He might often wait until the last moment in order to do so, in order that we might learn the lesson that He wants to teach us.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
What a solemn lesson is read to us in the short, but awful history of the unbelieving lord! Reader! depend upon it, that the grossest of all sins is this want of faith in God’s Christ. And John tells us the reason of it; he maketh God (says the apostle) a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 1Jn 5:10-11 . And what an awful thought, that after such rich and astonishing mercy and grace, with which the Lord Jehovah hath introduced his dear and only begotten Son, as the salvation of poor sinners, that any sinner should be so daringly wicked and ungrateful, as to disbelieve God, and slight his mercy. Think, Reader! and let the thought be rivetted on your whole soul; how impossible it will be to escape if you neglect so great salvation. Heb 2:3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 7:2 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.
Ver. 2. Behold, if the Lord would make windows. ] If he should rain down corn, as once he did manna. Thus he questioned not only the prophet’s truth, but also God’s power, like as those of old did, who said, “Can God prepare a table for us in the wilderness?” &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
leaned. Compare 2Ki 5:18.
man of God. See App-49.
thou shalt see it. Compare verses: 2Ki 7:19-20.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a lord: etc. or, a lord which belonged to the king, leaning on his hand, 2Ki 5:18
if the Lord: Gen 18:12-14, Num 11:21-23, Psa 78:19-21, Psa 78:41
windows: Gen 7:11, Mal 3:10
thou shalt see it: 2Ki 7:17-20, Deu 3:27, 2Ch 20:20, Isa 7:9, Rom 3:3, 2Ti 2:13, Heb 3:17-19
Reciprocal: Gen 18:14 – Is Exo 6:1 – Now shalt Lev 25:20 – General Num 11:22 – General Num 11:23 – thou shalt 2Ki 7:18 – as the man Job 20:17 – shall not see Psa 78:23 – opened Isa 24:18 – for the Jer 17:6 – and shall Jer 29:32 – behold Jer 35:4 – a man Hos 9:8 – with Zec 8:6 – should Mat 4:4 – but Mat 6:34 – for Mar 6:37 – Shall Mar 8:4 – From Mar 10:27 – With men Luk 1:18 – for Luk 1:20 – because Luk 24:11 – idle Rom 4:20 – staggered
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 7:2. A lord on whose hand the king leaned When he walked; said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven Through which he should rain down corn, as once he did manna; might this thing be? He could not conceive, considering the prodigious famine that then reigned in Samaria, and their being surrounded by a powerful army, that it was possible there should be such a change wrought by any means in a few hours, as that there should be such plenty to-morrow, where there was such want and distress to-day. He judged, as we too generally do, according to the visible appearance of natural and instrumental causes, and did not consider that with God all things are possible. Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof A just punishment for his unbelief, by which he made not only the prophet, but God himself, (in whose name Elisha had long given full proof that he spoke and acted,) a liar. Here we see, as we have often seen elsewhere, that unbelief of Gods declarations and promises is a sin whereby men both greatly displease him, and deprive themselves of the favours he designed for them. The murmuring Israelites saw Canaan, but could not enter in because of unbelief. Such, says Bishop Patrick, will be the portion of those who believe not the promise of eternal life; they shall see it at a distance, but never taste it. Take care, reader, that this be not thy case! that a promise being left thee of entering into his rest, thou do not fall short of it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
7:2 Then a lord on whose hand the king {b} leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, [if] the LORD would make {c} windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see [it] with thine eyes, but shalt not {d} eat thereof.
(b) To whom the king gave the charge and oversight of things as in 2Ki 7:17.
(c) He mocked at the prophets words saying, that if God rained down corn from heaven, yet this could not come to pass.
(d) Your infidelity will be punished in this when you see this miracle, and yet not partake of it.