2 ReyesCapítulo 7

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Then Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: By this time tomorrow a measure of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria." [Footnote: A measure (Hebrew seah) was about seven liters of dry goods; a shekel was a weight of silver, roughly a laborer's wages for several days.]

The officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, "Even if the LORD were to open windows in the heavens, could such a thing happen?" Elisha replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it."

Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the gate, and they said to one another, "Why should we sit here until we die?

If we say, 'Let us go into the city,' the famine is in the city and we will die there. And if we stay here, we will die too. So come, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, we die.

So they set out at dusk for the Aramean camp. But when they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there.

For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, and they had said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to attack us!"

So they had fled at dusk, abandoning their tents, their horses, and their donkeys. They left the camp just as it was and ran for their lives.

When the men with leprosy came to the edge of the camp, they entered one of the tents, ate and drank, and carried off silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid it. Then they came back, entered another tent, took what was there, and hid that too.

Then they said to one another, "What we are doing is not right. This is a day of good news, and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until morning light, we will be held guilty. Come, let us go and report this to the king's household."

So they went and called out to the gatekeeper of the city and told him, "We went to the Aramean camp, and there was no one there—not a sound of anyone—only the horses and donkeys tied up, and the tents left just as they were."

The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported inside the palace.

The king got up in the night and said to his servants, "Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, 'They will come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.'"

One of his servants answered, "Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. They will fare no worse than all the multitude of Israel left here—no worse than all the multitude of Israel who have already perished. Let us send them and see."

So they took two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army with the order, "Go and see."

They followed them as far as the Jordan, and found the whole road strewn with clothing and equipment that the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king.

Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a measure of fine flour sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, just as the LORD had said.

Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died—just as the man of God had said when the king came down to him.

It happened exactly as the man of God had told the king: "Two measures of barley will sell for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, by this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria."

The officer had answered the man of God, "Even if the LORD were to open windows in the heavens, could such a thing happen?" And Elisha had replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it."

And that is exactly what happened to him: the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.

Consulta

Resumen2

Capítulo 7

Main Theme: God intervenes to end the famine in Samaria and confirms His word through the prophet Elisha.

Content: During the Aramean siege of Samaria, Elisha prophesies that food prices will drop drastically the next day. Four leprous men at the city gate go to the enemy camp and find it abandoned—the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of a great army, so they fled in panic. The people plunder the camp, and prices fall as prophesied. An officer who doubted Elisha’s word is trampled to death at the gate—seeing the abundance but unable to eat, just as predicted.

Key Words/Images:

The Four Lepers: Outcasts who become instruments of God’s salvation—they bring the message of deliverance to the city.
The Sound of the Lord: God uses a supernatural sound to drive the enemy into flight, without Israel having to fight.
The Officer at the Gate: A symbol of the consequences of unbelief—he sees the fulfillment but does not share in the blessing.
The Fall of Food Prices: Concrete evidence that God’s word through the prophet is being fulfilled.

Contexto histórico

Historical and Cultural Context for 2 Kings 7

People

Shalish (שָׁלִישׁ) – The royal officer mentioned in verses 2, 17, and 19 bears the title shalish, which literally means "the third." This was likely a high-ranking military advisor or adjutant who stood close to the king. The title may refer to the third man in a chariot (after the driver and the warrior), or to an officer of the third rank. That he "leaned on the king's hand" indicates that he served as the king's personal attendant and most trusted confidant. His public skepticism toward the prophet's words, followed by the fulfillment of judgment upon him, underscores the text's theological point about the consequences of unbelief.

The Four Leprous Men (הַמְצֹרָעִים) – These unnamed men were stationed at the city gate because tsara'at (צָרַעַת) resulted in ritual impurity and social exclusion according to Leviticus 13–14. They could neither remain inside the city nor in the camp, and their desperate situation during the siege made them unlikely bearers of deliverance. Ironically, those whom society had cast out became instruments for the salvation of the entire city.

Places

The Gate of Samaria – The city gate was not merely an entrance but a vital center for commerce, justice, and public announcements. That prices were to be normalized "at the gate of Samaria" (verses 1, 18) shows that this was the city's marketplace. Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, and its gate functioned as the commercial and judicial hub of the city. The gate was also where the royal officer was trampled to death—a place crowded with people when news spread.

The Jordan River – That the Aramean camp extended toward the Jordan (verse 15) shows that the Syrian army had come from the east, following common invasion routes from Damascus through the Jezreel Valley or via areas east of the Jordan.

Events and Customs

Siege Warfare – The extreme famine described in chapter 6 (donkey heads and dove droppings as food) was typical of prolonged sieges in antiquity. Assyrian reliefs and texts describe similar tactics where cities were starved out over months. The sudden flight of the Arameans represents the opposite of a normal siege outcome—usually such situations ended with the city's fall or negotiated surrender.

Plundering an Abandoned Camp – When the lepers first took silver, gold, and clothing and hid it (verse 8), they followed normal plundering practices. But their conscience that "this day is a day of good news" (verse 9) and fear that "guilt will fall upon us" shows an awareness of collective responsibility central to Israelite thought.

Key Terms

Seah (סְאָה) – A measure for dry goods, approximately 7–8 liters (about one-third of an ephah). That a seah of fine flour should cost one shekel, and two seahs of barley the same, represented a dramatic price reduction from famine prices. Barley was food for the poor compared to wheat flour, which explains the double quantity for the same price.

"Windows of Heaven" (אֲרֻבּוֹת בַּשָּׁמַיִם) – The officer's sarcastic comment in verse 2 plays on the idea from Genesis 7:11 of the "windows" of heaven opening at the flood. His point was that even such a supernatural intervention could not change the situation—a direct challenge to God's power through the prophet.

Chapter-Specific Findings

Hittite Kings and Egyptian Kings – The Arameans' fear that Israel had hired "the Hittite kings and the Egyptian kings" (verse 6) reflects the complex political landscape of the ninth century B.C.E. Neo-Hittite small kingdoms existed in Syria and Anatolia after the fall of the great Hittite Empire (around 1180 B.C.E.), and these were known as mercenaries and allies. Archaeological texts from this period confirm that coalitions among small states and the use of mercenaries were common strategies against major powers like Aram-Damascus. The Arameans' panic shows that such alliances were a real threat they feared.

Personas

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Palabras clave10

Prophecy — A prediction or announcement of future events, given by God through a prophet.
Elisha — A prophet in Israel who received God's word and communicated it to the people.
Samarians — The inhabitants of Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, who were under siege by the Arameans.
Arameans — A people from the region of Aram (present-day Syria) who attacked and besieged Samaria.
Siege — A military tactic in which an enemy force surrounds and isolates a city or fortress to force its surrender.
Leprosy — An infectious skin disease that led to social exclusion and isolation in ancient times.
Miracle — A supernatural act performed by God that breaks the laws of nature and demonstrates His power.
Deliverance — The act of saving someone from danger or distress, often linked to God's intervention.
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