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2 Kings 7:3

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 2 Kings 7:3 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
2 Kings 7:3 — American Standard Version

Context — 2 Kings 7

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1And Elisha said, Hear ye the word of Jehovah: thus saith Jehovah, To-morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be [sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.
2Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if Jehovah should make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
3Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
4If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
5And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians; and when they were come to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no man there.
6For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate, etc.] Of the city of Samaria; lepers, according to the law, being obliged to be without the city and camp, (<031346>Leviticus 13:46) these might have a dwelling assigned them near the gate; or they might get as near to it as they could, partly to obtain relief from the city, and partly for fear of the Syrians; these, the Jews say f96, were Gehazi and his three sons, (see <120527>2 Kings 5:27) and they said one to another, why sit we here until we die? being ready to perish with hunger.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“there were four leprous men--The account of the sudden raising of the siege and the unexpected supply given to the famishing inhabitants of Samaria, is introduced by a narrative of the visit and discovery, by these poor creatures, of the extraordinary flight of the Syrians. leprous men at the entering in of the gate--living, perhaps, in some lazar house there (Lev 13:4-6; Num 5:3).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The position of the lepers is in accordance with the Law of Moses (marginal references); and shows that the Law was still observed to some extent in the kingdom of Israel. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“7:3 These four men were outcasts because of their condition and remained outside the city gates (Lev 13:45-46; see Luke 17:11-13).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“four leprous: Kg2 5:1, Kg2 8:4; Lev 13:46; Num 5:2-4, Num 12:14 Why: Kg2 7:4; Jer 8:14, Jer 27:13 4 Kings (2 Kings) 7:4”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“"Four men were before the gate as lepers," or at the gateway, separated from human society, according to the law in Lev 13:46; Num 5:3, probably in a building erected for the purpose (cf. Kg2 15:5), just as at the present day the lepers at Jerusalem have their huts by the side of the Zion gate (vid., Strauss, Sinai u. Golgatha, p. 205, and Tobler, Denkbltter aus Jerus. p. 411ff.). These men being on the point of starvation, resolved to invade the camp of the Syrians, and carried out this resolution בּנּשׁף, in the evening twilight, not the morning twilight (Seb. Schm., Cler., etc.), on account of Kg2 7:12, where the king is said to have received the news of the flight of the Syrians during…”
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Related study paths

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