2 Kings 7

This chapter is one of the Elisha narratives in the first half of 2 Kings. At the end of 2 Kings 6, the Aramean army surrounds Samaria, a severe famine grips the city, and the king blames Elisha for it. This chapter continues directly from that scene.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 Elisha prophesies that by this time tomorrow, at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel. The officer on whose hand the king leaned scoffs, asking whether such a thing could happen even "if the LORD would make windows in heaven." Elisha replies that he will see it with his own eyes but will not eat of it.
• Verses 3–8 Four lepers at the entrance of the city gate, reasoning that they will die anyway, decide to surrender to the Aramean camp and set out at twilight. They find the camp deserted. The Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots and the noise of a great host, and the Arameans, supposing that the king of Israel had hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt against them, abandoned their tents, horses, and donkeys and fled. The lepers eat and drink, then carry off silver, gold, and clothing and hide them.
• Verses 9–11 Concluding that it is not right to keep silent on "a day of good tidings," they report to the gatekeepers of the city, and the news is relayed to the royal palace.
• Verses 12–15 The king suspects an Aramean ambush. On the advice of one of his servants, he sends out two chariots to reconnoiter, and the scouts return after finding garments and equipment discarded along the road all the way to the Jordan.
• Verses 16–20 The people plunder the Aramean camp, and the price of grain falls just as Elisha had said. The officer who had been put in charge of the gate is trampled to death by the crowd surging through it. The text repeats both the prophecy and the officer's reply, emphasizing that the word was fulfilled exactly.

Key Verses

• 2 Kings 7:2 "Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?" — These words display unbelief toward the word of God, and at the end of the chapter they become the very grounds for judgment.
• 2 Kings 7:9 "This day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace" — A self-rebuke for keeping good news to oneself rather than proclaiming it; this is the most widely quoted verse in the chapter.
• 2 Kings 7:16 "According to the word of the LORD" — This phrase sums up the theme of the whole chapter: the fulfillment of prophecy.

Characters and Places

• Elisha: The prophet, called "the man of God" in the text.
• The king of Israel: He is not named in this chapter. On the basis of the surrounding context, many identify him as Jehoram (Joram), the son of Ahab.
• The officer: An unnamed official "on whose hand the king leaned" (called "a lord" in the KJV).
• The four lepers: Men who stayed outside the city. Their situation reflects the law requiring those with skin diseases to live outside the camp (Leviticus 13). The Korean Revised Version renders the term with an older word for "leper," while the New Korean Revised Version uses "person with leprosy"; the underlying Hebrew term is understood to cover a broader range of skin diseases than modern Hansen's disease.
• Samaria: The capital of the northern kingdom of Israel and the besieged city.
• Aram: The neighboring nation that besieged Samaria.
• Egypt: Mentioned as one of the powers the Arameans mistakenly believed the king of Israel had hired.
• Jordan: The river to which the trail left by the fleeing Aramean army extended.

Points for Reflection

• The grain prices in verse 1 stand in contrast to the famine prices recorded in 2 Kings 6:25 (a donkey's head sold for eighty pieces of silver). This contrast underscores the dramatic nature of the prophecy.
• The phrase "when the king came down" in verse 17 connects with 6:33. Whether the one who came down to Elisha in 6:33 was the king or a messenger is understood differently depending on the translation and interpretation.
• Jewish rabbinic tradition holds that the four lepers were Gehazi and his sons. The text itself, however, does not name them.
• The "good tidings" of verse 9 translates the Hebrew besorah ("good news"). Christian readers have linked this verse to the proclamation of the gospel in the New Testament, and some read it alongside Romans 10:14–15, which speaks of those who bring glad tidings.

In the Korean Church

Verse 9, in which the four lepers go to report the news, is frequently used in Korean churches as a sermon text encouraging evangelism. The story of the officer is cited as a cautionary illustration against unbelief.