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Verse 24
Theosis · English Bible
4 Kingdoms (2 Kings)

4 Kingdoms (2 Kings) 6

Old TestamentTheosis · English Bible

1And the sons of the prophets said to Elisaie, Behold now, the place wherein we dwell before thee is too narrow for us. 2Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and make for ourselves a habitation there. 3And he said, Go. And one of them said gently, Come with thy servants. And he said, I will go. 4And he went with them, and they came to Jordan, and began to cut down wood. 5And behold, one was cutting down a beam, and the axe head fell into the water: and he cried out, Alas! master: and it was hidden. 6And the man of God said, Where did it fall? and he shewed him the place: and he broke off a stick, and threw it in there, and the iron came to the surface. 7And he said, Take it up to thyself. And he stretched out his hand, and took it. 8And the king of Syria was at war with Israel: and he consulted with his servants, saying, I will encamp in such a place. 9And Elisaie sent to the king of Israel, saying, Take heed that thou pass not by that place, for the Syrians are hidden there. 10And the king of Israel sent to the place which Elisaie mentioned to him, and saved himself thence not once or twice. 11And the mind of the king of Syria was very much disturbed concerning this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, Will ye not tell me who betrays me to the king of Israel? 12And one of his servants said, Nay, my Lord, O king, for Elisaie the prophet that is in Israel reports to the king of Israel all the words whatsoever thou mayest say in thy bedchamber. 13And he said, Go, see where this man is, and I will send and take him. And they sent word to him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothaim. 14And he sent thither horses, and chariots, and a mighty host: and they came by night, and compassed about the city. 15And the servant of Elisaie rose up early and went out; and, behold, a host compassed the city, and horses and chariots: and the servant said to him, O master, what shall we do? 16And Elisaie said, Fear not, for they who are with us are more than they that are with them. 17And Elisaie prayed, and said, Lord, open, I pray thee, the eyes of the servant, and let him see. And the Lord opened his eyes, and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses, and there were chariots of fire round about Elisaie. 18And they came down to him; and he prayed to the Lord, and said, Smite, I pray thee, this people with blindness. And he smote them with blindness, according to the word of Elisaie. 19And Elisaie said to them, This is not the city, and this is not the way: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them away to Samaria. 20And it came to pass when they entered into Samaria, that Elisaie said, Open, I pray thee, O Lord, their eyes, and let them see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21And the king of Israel said to Elisaie, when he saw them, Shall I not verily smite them, my father? 22And he said, Thou shalt not smite them, unless thou wouldest smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow: set bread and water before them, and let them eat and drink, and depart to their master. 23And he set before them a great feast, and they ate and drank: and he dismissed them, and they departed to their master. And the bands of Syria came no longer into the land of Israel. 24And it came to pass after this, that the son of Ader king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up, and besieged Samaria. 25And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was valued at fifty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung at five pieces of silver. 26And the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, and a woman cried to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. 27And he said to her, Unless the Lord help thee, whence shall I help thee? from the corn-floor, or from the wine-press? 28And the king said to her, What is the matter with thee? And the woman said to him, This woman said to me, Give thy son, and we will eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow. 29So we boiled my son, and ate him; and I said to her on the second day, Give thy son, and let us eat him: and she has hidden her son. 30And it came to pass, when the king of Israel heard the words of the woman, that he rent his garments; and he passed by on the wall, and the people saw sackcloth within upon his flesh. 31And he said, God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisaie shall stand upon him this day. 32And Elisaie was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and the king sent a man before him: before the messenger came to him, he also said to the elders, Do ye see that this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? See, as soon as the messenger shall have come, shut the door, and forcibly detain him at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? 33While he was yet speaking with them, behold, a messenger came to him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?

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4 Kingdoms (2 Kings) 6:24

Ephraem the Syrian

Ephraem the Syrian4th century

Benadad, the king of Syria, assembled his entire army and laid siege to Samaria. This is the same Benadad who, according to divine decree, was condemned to death, with Ahab instructed to execute him (See 3 Kings 20:28-34). However, Ahab spared his life and allowed him to return unharmed. As a result, the Arameans besieged the city for an extended period. During this time, the inhabitants suffered from a severe shortage of food, leading to a devastating famine. Desperate, the townsfolk resorted to horrific acts, even turning to the bodies of the deceased for sustenance. Scripture recounts that some mothers faced such desperation that they made the dreadful decision to kill their children to curb their hunger. After one mother killed her son, a conflict arose when her companion concealed her own child. Their quarrel led them to seek justice from the king, Joram, the son of Ahab. Observing the dire situation, the king was consumed by rage towards Elisha, mistakenly believing the prophet was the source of their calamity. He lamented that while Elisha provided for the Aramean raiders, his own people were left in despair and starvation. In a fit of anger, he vowed to take vengeance on Elisha for the suffering of the people that same day. Yet Joram's accusations against the prophet were unfounded; he should have directed his ire towards his father, Ahab, who had derided the prophets. If Ahab had heeded their warnings and eliminated Benadad, the king would not have besieged Samaria and caused such devastation. Symbolically, the grave famine that beset the Samaritans serves as a metaphor for a spiritual hunger that afflicted all nations at that time. The plight of Samaria represents humanity as a whole, and their famine signifies a universal spiritual starvation. Nevertheless, through his prayers and by the grace of Christ, Elisha alleviated this suffering; the ailing were revived by his strength, and those who were well-fed were nourished (1 Kings 2:5). This signifies that the apostles, as bearers of the gospel, shared the message of salvation with the Gentiles, which flowed forth as Isaiah foretold, like water filling the seas (Isaiah 11:9). Similarly, it was established that the harvest of the foolish would be consumed by the hungry, and the thirsty would seize their possessions, as articulated by Job's companion (Job 5:5). Just as the Samaritans seized the provisions intended for the Arameans to supply their needs, the Gentile Church embraced the sacred texts preserved in Jewish synagogues and shared them for the benefit of future generations.