2 Kings 7


2 Kings 7 is the seventh chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter records the fulfillment of Elisha's prophecy during the siege of Arameans on Samaria.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 20 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis. Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, that is, 6Q4 with extant verses 8–10, 20.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus.

Elisha’s prophecy of plenty (7:1–2)

Facing the death threat from the Israelite king, Elisha attacked back using a prophecy from God that good-quality food would be available at normal prices within one day. When the king's adviser showed doubts over the hardly imaginable salvation under the circumstances, Elisha even proclaimed a woeful prophecy against him. The king's silence seems to indicate that he was ready to give Elisha one final chance.

Verse 1

  • "Seah": A third of an ephah, or about 8 gallons. Likely about 12 pounds or 5.5 kilograms of flour.
  • "Shekel": was about 0.4 ounce or 11 or 12 grams, also in verses 16 and 18.
  • "Two seahs": likely about 20 pounds or 9 kilograms of barley, also in verses 16 and 18.

Syrians flee (7:3–15)

The narrative's dramatic climax starts with four lepers, who stood daily at the city gates, rejected and avoided by other city inhabitants, going to the Aramean encampment and becoming the first to witness the sudden retreat of the big army, but instead of taking personal advantage of the situation they decided to announce the news to state officials. An information was supplied that God brought hallucinations to the Arameans, convincing them that great Egyptian and Hittite armies advanced to attack, thus forcing them to break off the siege immediately. The Israelite king suspected a trick, but finally sent people to investigate the situation and found the Arameans' eastward retreat toward the Jordan leaving their weapons and goods in panic.

Elisha’s prophecy fulfilled (7:16–20)

The report about Arameans' retreat triggered the people to enter the camp close to the city and take possession of their provisions, causing food prices to sink to the level forecast by Elisha. The story ended with the fate of the doubting adviser who saw the prophecy fulfilled but was trampled to death before he could enjoy the victory. Verse 19 quotes the words of the officer and the prophet Elisha to clarify the fulfillment of the prophecy.