2 Kings 7:8

8 These four lepers entered the camp and went into a tent. First they ate and drank. Then they grabbed silver, gold, and clothing, and went off and hid it. They came back, entered another tent, and looted it, again hiding their plunder.

2 Kings 7:8 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 7:8

And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp,
they went into one tent
The first they came to:

and did eat and drink;
which was the first thing they did, being hungry, and almost starved:

and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it;
in a place without the camp, where they thought it would be safe, and where they could come at it again:

and came again and entered into another tent, and carried thence also,
and went and hid it;
this, Josephus says ^F26, they did four times.

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 9. c. 4.) sect. 5.

2 Kings 7:8 In-Context

6 The Master had made the army of Aram hear the sound of horses and a mighty army on the march. They told one another, "The king of Israel hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to attack us!"

7 Panicked, they ran for their lives through the darkness, abandoning tents, horses, donkeys - the whole camp just as it was - running for dear life.

8 These four lepers entered the camp and went into a tent. First they ate and drank. Then they grabbed silver, gold, and clothing, and went off and hid it. They came back, entered another tent, and looted it, again hiding their plunder.

9 Finally they said to one another, "We shouldn't be doing this! This is a day of good news and we're making it into a private party! If we wait around until morning we'll get caught and punished. Come on! Let's go tell the news to the king's palace!"

10 So they went and called out at the city gate, telling what had happened: "We went to the camp of Aram and, surprise! - the place was deserted. Not a soul, not a sound! Horses and donkeys left tethered and tents abandoned just as they were."