2 Kings 7:2

2 Then the captain, the king's right-hand man, responded to the man of God, "Look, [even if] the Lord were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?" Elisha announced, "You will in fact see it with your own eyes, but you won't eat any of it."

2 Kings 7:2 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 7:2

Then a lord, on whose hand the king leaned
Not figuratively, in whom the king confided, but literally, on whose hand he rested, and by whom he was supported, being a form and matter of state, while he and Elisha were talking together, or on whom he leaned as he came to him; this was a principal lord, the third to the king, as his title seems to denote; the word by which the Septuagint renders it is by Suidas ^F21 interpreted of such that held three spears in the hand together; and this was an honourable post, for a king to lean on him; such state was used by the king of Syria, ( 2 Kings 5:18 ) and by the kings and queens of Persia; so Gorionides ^F23 says of Esther, that on the third day; she put on her beautiful garments and glorious ornaments, and took two of her maidens with her, and put her right hand on one of them, and leaned upon her in a royal manner, or as was the manner of kings: the same

answered the man of God;
the prophet of the Lord, as the Targum:

and said, behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this
thing be?
it is impossible it should be, if he was to open the windows of heaven as at the flood, and let down showers of wheat and barley, in like manner as he rained manna in the wilderness:

and he said;
the prophet in reply to him:

behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof;
wheat and barley sold at the above price, but should not taste of it, as a punishment of his unbelief.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 In voce (tristatai) .
F23 Heb. Hist. l. 2. c. 4.

2 Kings 7:2 In-Context

1 Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says: 'About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, six quarts of fine meal [will sell] for a shekel and 12 quarts of barley [will sell] for a shekel.' "

2 Then the captain, the king's right-hand man, responded to the man of God, "Look, [even if] the Lord were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?" Elisha announced, "You will in fact see it with your own eyes, but you won't eat any of it."

3 Four men with skin diseases were at the entrance to the gate. They said to each other, "Why just sit here until we die?

4 If we say, 'Let's go into the city,' we will die there because the famine is in the city, but if we sit here, we will also die. So now, come on. Let's go to the Arameans' camp. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die."

5 So the diseased men got up at twilight to go to the Arameans' camp. When they came to the camp's edge, they discovered that there was not a [single] man there,