2 Kings 7:1

Elisha Promises Food

1 But Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the LORD, ¹Tomorrow about this time a seah^[a] of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel,^[b] and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria."

2 Kings 7:1 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 7:1

Then Elisha said, hear the word of the Lord
This he said to the king and those that were with him:

thus saith the Lord, tomorrow, about this time;
which very probably was the forenoon:

shall a measure of fine flour [be sold] for a shekel;
"a seah", the measure here spoken of, or "saturn", according to some ^F18, was a gallon and an half; but Bishop Cumberland ^F19 makes it two wine gallons and an half; and a shekel, according to his accurate computation, was two shillings and four pence farthing, and near the eighth part of one {t}:

and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria;
where the market was kept; the same sort of measure and of money is here used as before; and we learn from hence that a measure of wheat was equal to two of barley.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F18 Godwin, ut supra. (Moses & Aaron, B. 6. c. 9.)
F19 Of Scripture Weights and Measures, c. 3. p. 86.
F20 lb. c. 4. p. 104, 105.

2 Kings 7:1 In-Context

1 But Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the LORD, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria."

2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, "If the LORD himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" But he said, "You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it."

3 Now there were four men who were lepersat the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?

4 If we say, 'Let us enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die."

5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there.

Cross References

• 1. ver. 18

Footnotes

• [a]. A seah was about 7 quarts or 7.3 liters
• [b]. A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams