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2 KINGS 7

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV   NJB
(MT versing)
Elisha Promises Food Syria Besieges Samaria in Famine
(6:24-7:2)		 Ben-Hadad's Siege of Samaria Repulsed by Divine Intervention
(6:24-7:20)		 The Siege of Samaria
(6:24-7:2)		 Elisha Foretells Imminent Relief
(6:32-7:2)
7:1-2 7:1-2 7:1-2 7:1-2 7:1-2
Four Lepers Relate Arameans' Flight The Syrians Flee The Syrian Army Leaves The Arameans Camp Is Found Abadnoned
7:3-8 7:3-8 7:3-8 7:3-7 7:3-8
7:8-10 The Siege At the End; The Famine Ceases
7:9-14 7:9-11 7:9-15 7:9-11
7:11-12
7:12-16 7:12-15
The Promise Fulfilled 7:13-15
7:15
7:16-20 7:16-20 7:16 7:16-20
7:17-20 7:17-20

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:1-2
  1Then Elisha said, "Listen to the word of the Lord; thus says the Lord, 'Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.'" 2The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, "Behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" Then he said, "Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it."

7:1 There is obviously a relationship between 2 Kgs. 6:32-33 and chapter 7, but the question is how!

  1. Is 2 Kgs. 6:32-33 viewed as the king speaking?
  2. Is Elisha's response positive or negative?

I do not see 2 Kgs. 6:32-33 as a positive response. The king planned to kill Elisha (2 Kgs. 6:31).

▣ "Listen to the word of the Lord" This is a key phrase in the historical books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. YHWH does

  1. have a spokesperson
  2. reveal His will
  3. expect obedience

The thoughts and plans of humans are not the same as the thoughts and plans of YHWH (i.e., Isa. 55:8-11). The siege will be broken by "tomorrow"!

▣ "a measure" This is literally "seah" (BDB 684).

SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE WEIGHTS AND VOLUMES

▣ "a shekel" The prophecy of verse 1 is fulfilled in v.16 and the prophecy of v. 2 is fulfilled in vv. 17,20.

Unbelief, like disobedience, is a serious and deadly form of spiritual rebellion.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE WEIGHTS AND VOLUMES

SPECIAL TOPIC: BELIEVE, TRUST, FAITH, AND FAITHFULNESS (OT)

SPECIAL TOPIC: KEEP

7:2 "The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning" This could be

  1. literal, like 2 Kgs. 2:18
  2. a title for a close counselor of the king

Literally the term (BDB 1026 III) is from the root "three," often used of a three stringed musical instrument. This person could be

  1. a royal counselor (2 Kgs. 7:2,17,19)
  2. a high military officer (2 Sam. 23:8; 2 Kgs. 9:25; 15:25, which may be related to the two chariots of v. 14)
  3. specifically the captain of three-man chariots (cf. Exod. 14:7)
  4. a title for the "third rank" in leadership (NIDOTTE, vol. 4, p.126)

If #2 is correct, as BDB suggests, it is unusual for a different name to be used of the king's close servant in v. 12 (BDB 713), which is a much more common term for "servant."

▣ "windows in heaven" Heaven refers to the atmosphere above the earth. The OT saw it as a hard dome with windows. Rain came from the windows (cf. Ps. 78:23-29; Mal. 3:10).

SPECIAL TOPIC: HEAVEN

▣ "you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it" Rejection of "the word of the Lord" was a serious offense. This royal official will pay with his life (vv. 17,20).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:3-8
  3Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why do we sit here until we die? 4If we say, 'We will enter the city,' then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they kill us, we will but die." 5They arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans; when they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, behold, there was no one there. 6For the Lord had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, "Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us." 7Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life. 8When these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they entered one tent and ate and drank, and carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and went and hid them; and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also, and went and hid them.

7:3 "leprous men" The term "leper" had a much wider meaning in the ANE than today (cf. Leviticus 13-14). But it did cause social isolation. These men were outside the walled city of Samaria, a locked gate on one side and a besieging enemy on the other.

7:5 "twilight" This term (BDB 676, KB 730) can refer to the low light time of morning or evening. It was usually accompanied by a breeze (Akkadian root, NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 191-194).

7:6 "the Lord had caused. . .to hear" This also occurs in the conquest of Canaan. YHWH (the MT has Adonai here) confuses the enemy. He is the Divine Warrior of the covenant people (i.e., Lord of hosts). A similar event occurs in 2 Sam. 5:24.

The horses and chariots are related to

  1. those who separated Elijah from Elisha ‒ 2 Kgs. 2:10-12
  2. those who the attendant to Elisha saw in 2 Kgs. 6:17

SPECIAL TOPIC: Lord OF HOSTS

▣ "the Hittites" This is an OT way of identifying the kingdom of Anatolia (i.e., modern Turkey). The name "Hittites" appeared only in the OT and many liberal scholars thought they were a legend or myth, but in the 1950's archaeologists found the royal library of this empire in central Turkey and saw from its documents that the empire went by two names. Again, the historicity of the OT was confirmed.

SPECIAL TOPIC: OT HISTORIOGRAPHY COMPARED WITH NEAR EASTERN CULTURES

SPECIAL TOPIC: OT HISTORICAL NARRATIVES

▣ "the Egyptians" The MT has "Mizraim" (BDB 595), which usually means Egypt, but in a few other texts it might be another group to the north.

  1. 1 Kings 10:28; 2 Chr. 1:16,17; 9:28 (see UBS Text Project, pp. 313-314) ‒ a place in northern Syria (BDB 596) called Musri (Tyndale OT Commentary, p. 212)
  2. Kue or Cilicia, just north of Cyprus on southern coast of Turkey
  3. See full note online at 2 Chr. 1:16 (freebiblecommentary.org).
  4. It may be an idiom for foreign mercenaries from the north to the south. There are historical questions about the term ever referring to anything but Egypt.
  5. The PLURAL "kings" is unusual in referring to Egypt, which had a united monarchy.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:9-14
  9Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household." 10So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and they told them, saying, "We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no one there, nor the voice of man, only the horses tied and the donkeys tied, and the tents just as they were." 11The gatekeepers called and told it within the king's household. 12Then the king arose in the night and said to his servants, "I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone from the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, 'When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and get into the city.'" 13One of his servants said, "Please, let some men take five of the horses which remain, which are left in the city. Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who are left in it; behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already perished, so let us send and see." 14They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the army of the Arameans, saying, "Go and see."

7:9 "punishment will overtake us" This is a personification. The OT often uses this kind of imagery. A good book on biblical imagery is G. B. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible.

There are real time consequences to our choices and actions!

7:10 "no one. . .man" These are two of the most common words for a human person. Here, they are synonymous (cf. Isa. 2:9; 5:15; Eccl. 5:19; 6:3).

  1. ish (BDB 35)
  2. Adam (BDB 9)

7:12-13 The king, like his servant, did not really believe Elisha's prophecy. His other servants (possibly believers in the prophecy) encouraged him to check out the message of the lepers. The horses, like the citizens, would all die of hunger soon anyway.

7:14
NASB, NKJV  "two chariots with horses"
NRSV, REB, LXX  "two mounted men"
TEV  "two chariot teams"
JPSOA  "two teams of horses"
Peshitta  "two couples of horsemen mounted"

The MT has "two mounted men" (three terms). The CONSTRUCT BDB 1040, "two"; BDB 939, "horsemen" or "charioteer," BDB 692.

This could mean

  1. two chariots
  2. two mounted horsemen (LXX, Josephus, and Tyndale OT Commentary, p. 212)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:15
  15They went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of clothes and equipment which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. Then the messengers returned and told the king.

7:15
NASB, NKJV, NRSV, REB, JPSOA, Peshitta  "in their haste"
NJB  "in their panic"
LXX  "in their alarm"

The MT has a Niphal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT (BDB 342, KB 339). The Masoretic scholars suggested an emendation to a Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT.

The Niphal stem means "hurry/run" away in alarm. The Qal stem implies "be in a hurry."

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:16-20
  16So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then 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. 17Now the king appointed the royal officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate; but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. 18It happene just 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 sold tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria." 19Then the royal officer answered the man of God and said, "Now behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?" And he said, "Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it." 20And so it happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.

7:17-20 This is the fulfillment of Elisha's short term prophecy that confirmed he was a true prophet of YHWH (cf. Deut. 13:1-5; 18:21-22).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. How is chapter 7 related to the end of chapter 6?
  2. What are "the windows of heaven"?
  3. Who are "the Egyptians" in v. 6?

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