# 2 Kings 07 đ: The Siege of Samaria Lifted
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Principles / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]] Elisha replied, âListen to the Lordâs message. This is what the Lord has said, âAbout this time tomorrow a seah of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.ââÂ
[[#Verse 02.]] An officer who was the kingâs right-hand man responded to the prophet, âLook, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?â Elisha said, âLook, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!â
[[#Verse 03.]] Now four men with a skin disease were sitting at the entrance of the city gate. They said to one another, âWhy are we just sitting here waiting to die?Â
[[#Verse 04.]] If we go into the city, weâll die of starvation, and if we stay here weâll die! So come on, letâs defect to the Syrian camp! If they spare us, weâll live; if they kill usâwell, we were going to die anyway.âÂ
[[#Verse 05.]] So they started toward the Syrian camp at dusk. When they reached the edge of the Syrian camp, there was no one there.Â
[[#Verse 06.]] The Lord had caused the Syrian camp to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a large army. Then they said to one another, âLook, the king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!âÂ
[[#Verse 07.]]Â So they got up and fled at dusk, leaving behind their tents, horses, and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
[[#Verse 08.]] When the men with a skin disease reached the edge of the camp, they entered a tent and had a meal. They also took some silver, gold, and clothes and went and hid it all. Then they went back and entered another tent. They looted it and went and hid what they had taken.Â
[[#Verse 09.]] Then they said to one another, âItâs not right what weâre doing! This is a day to celebrate, but we havenât told anyone. If we wait until dawn, weâll be punished. So come on, letâs go and inform the royal palace.âÂ
[[#Verse 10.]] So they went and called out to the gatekeepers of the city. They told them, âWe entered the Syrian camp and there was no one there. We didnât even hear a manâs voice. But the horses and donkeys are still tied up, and the tents remain up.âÂ
[[#Verse 11.]]Â The gatekeepers relayed the news to the royal palace.
[[#Verse 12.]] The king got up in the night and said to his advisers, âI will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know we are starving, so they left the camp and hid in the field, thinking, âWhen they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and enter the city.ââÂ
[[#Verse 13.]] One of his advisers replied, âPick some men and have them take five of the horses that are left in the city. (Even if they are killed, their fate will be no different than that of all the Israelite peopleâweâre all going to die!) Letâs send them out so we can know for sure whatâs going on.âÂ
[[#Verse 14.]] So they picked two horsemen and the king sent them out to track the Syrian army. He ordered them, âGo and find out whatâs going on.âÂ
[[#Verse 15.]] So they tracked them as far as the Jordan. The road was filled with clothes and equipment that the Syrians had discarded in their haste. The scouts went back and told the king.Â
[[#Verse 16.]] Then the people went out and looted the Syrian camp. A seah of finely milled flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, just as in the Lordâs message.
[[#Verse 17.]] Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man at the city gate. When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate. This fulfilled the prophetâs word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him.Â
[[#Verse 18.]] The prophet had told the king, âTwo seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of finely milled flour for a shekel; this will happen about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.âÂ
[[#Verse 19.]] But the officer had replied to the prophet, âLook, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?â Elisha had said, âLook, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!âÂ
[[#Verse 20.]]Â This is exactly what happened to him. The people trampled him to death in the city gate.
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Elisha promised a seah (about seven quarts) of fine flour for a shekel (7:1), an amazing price during a famine.
2. The officer "on whose arm the king leaned" (7:2) was the king's personal aide.
3. People with skin diseases had to live outside the camp or city (Leviticus 13:46), which is why the lepers were at the gate.
4. Jewish tradition later linked the four lepers with Gehazi and his sons, but the text never names them.
5. The Lord caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army (7:6).
6. The Arameans feared that Israel had hired the kings of the Hittites and of Egypt (7:6). Several small Hittite kingdoms still existed in Syria at this time.
7. The Arameans fled at twilight and left their tents, horses, and donkeys behind (7:7).
8. The Hebrew word for "good news" (7:9) comes from the same root Isaiah uses for the messenger who announces good news (Isaiah 52:7).
9. The scouts followed the road to the Jordan and found it full of clothes and equipment thrown away in panic (7:15).
10. The officer was trampled in the gate exactly as Elisha said, and the text repeats the prophecy to stress its fulfillment (7:17-20).
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the good news that must not be kept quiet. The lepers said, "This is a day of good news" and went to tell the city (7:9). Paul asks how people will hear about Jesus unless someone tells them (Romans 10:14-15).
## đ Key Principles / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. The king's officer mocked Elisha's promise as impossible (7:2). Where are you tempted to doubt what God has said?
2. The four lepers said it was wrong to keep the good news to themselves (7:9). Who in your life needs to hear the good news you have received?
3. God used four outcasts to bring rescue to a whole city (7:3-11). What does this teach about the kind of people God loves to use?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 1: Elisha promises that food will be cheap in Samaria by tomorrow.
- đ verse 9: The lepers realize it is wrong to keep this day of good news to themselves.
- đ verses 16-17: Everything happens just as the Lord said, including the officer's death.
## đ Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đ [[Romans 10#Verse 14.|Romans 10:14-15]] - How will they hear without someone preaching?
- đ [[Isaiah 52#Verse 07.|Isaiah 52:7]] - How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
- đ [[Acts 04#Verse 20.|Acts 4:20]] - We cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.
- đ [[Malachi 03#Verse 10.|Malachi 3:10]] - God opens the windows of heaven.
- đ [[Mark 09#Verse 24.|Mark 9:24]] - I believe; help my unbelief.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[2 Kings 07 - SOAP|From One Beggar to Another]]
## đ Internal Notes