2 Kings 4:42

Elisha Miraculously Feeds a Hundred People

4:42 Now a man from Baal Shalisha brought some food for the prophet ¹  – twenty loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the barley harvest, as well as fresh ears of grain. ²  Elisha ³  said, “Set it before the people so they may eat.”

2 Kings 6:22

6:22 He replied, “Do not strike them down! You did not capture them with your sword or bow, so what gives you the right to strike them down? ⁴  Give them some food and water, so they can eat and drink and then go back to their master.”

2 Kings 6:25

6:25 Samaria’s food supply ran out. ⁵  They laid siege to it so long that ⁶  a donkey’s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver ⁷  and a quarter of a kab ⁸  of dove’s droppings ⁹  for five shekels of silver. ¹⁰ 

2 Kings 7:2

7:2 An officer who was the king’s right-hand man ¹¹  responded to the prophet, ¹²  “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” ¹³  Elisha ¹⁴  said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” ¹⁵ 

2 Kings 7:19

7:19 But the officer replied to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” ¹⁶  Elisha ¹⁷  said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” ¹⁸ 

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¹ tn Heb “man of God.”

² tn On the meaning of the word צִקְלוֹן (tsiqlon), “ear of grain,” see HALOT 148 s.v. בָּצֵק and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 59.

³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “Are [they] ones you captured with your sword or your bow (that) you can strike (them) down?”

⁵ tn Heb “and there was a great famine in Samaria.”

⁶ tn Heb “and look, [they] were besieging it until.”

⁷ tn Heb “eighty, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.

⁸ sn A kab was a unit of dry measure, equivalent to approximately one quart.

⁹ tn The consonantal text (Kethib) reads, “dove dung” (חֲרֵייוֹנִים, khareyonim), while the marginal reading (Qere) has “discharge” (דִּבְיוֹנִים, divyonim). Based on evidence from Akkadian, M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 79) suggest that “dove’s dung” was a popular name for the inedible husks of seeds.

¹⁰ tn Heb “five, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.

¹¹ tn Heb “the officer on whose hand the king leans.”

¹² tn Heb “man of God.”

¹³ tn Heb “the Lord was making holes in the sky, could this thing be?” Opening holes in the sky would allow the waters stored up there to pour to the earth and assure a good crop. But, the officer argues, even if this were to happen, it would take a long time to grow and harvest the crop.

¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “the Lord was making holes in the sky, could this thing be?” See the note at 7:2.

¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸ tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”

tn In the Hebrew text vv. 18-19a are one lengthy sentence, “When the man of God spoke to the king…, the officer replied to the man of God, ‘Look…so soon?’” The translation divides this sentence up for stylistic reasons.