2 Kings 7:17

And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(17) And the king appointed.—Rather, Now the king had appointed.

The lord.—The adjutant (2Kings 7:2).

To have the charge of the gate.—To maintain order as the famished crowd poured out of the city.

Trode upon him.—Trampled him down, as he was trying to discharge his duty. This probably happened, as Thenius suggests, when the crowd was returning from the Syrian camp, wild with excess of food and drink, after their long abstinence. Thus he “saw the plenty with his eyes, but did not eat thereof” (2Kings 7:2). Reuss thinks the charge of the gate is equivalent to the charge of the market, as the market was held on the space adjoining the gate.

Had said.—Spake.

Who spake.—This is probably a spurious repetition. It is wanting in some Hebrew MSS., and in the Syriac, Vulg., and Arabic versions. If retained in the text, we must render, “And he died, according to that which the man of God spake, which he spake when the king,” &c. But perhaps the reading of one Hebrew MS. is correct: “And he died, according to the word of the man of God, which he spake,” &c.

Benson Commentary

2 Kings 7:17-20. The king appointed the lord to have the charge of the gate — To prevent tumults and disorders among the people, and to take care to have the gates shut, if need were, and if the Syrians should happen to return upon them. And that lord answered, &c. — This part of the history is repeated, because it attests a remarkable fulfilment of a divine prediction. The people trode upon him in the gate, and he died — Before he could enjoy, in any measure, the benefit of that plenty which God had bestowed upon them. This fact is an awful proof how heinously God resents men’s distrust of him, and of his power, providence, and promise. When Israel said, Can God furnish a table? the Lord heard and was wroth. Infinite wisdom will not be limited by our folly. God never promises the end, but he knows where to provide the means. Here also we learn how certain God’s threatenings are, and how sure to fall on the heads of the guilty. Let all men fear before the great God, who treads upon princes as mortar, and is terrible to the kings of the earth.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:12-20 Here see the wants of Israel supplied in a way they little thought of, which should encourage us to depend upon the power and goodness of God in our greatest straits. God's promise may be safely relied on, for no word of his shall fall to the ground. The nobleman that questioned the truth of Elisha's word, saw the plenty, to silence and shame his unbelief, and therein saw his own folly; but he did not eat of the plenty he saw. Justly do those find the world's promises fail them, who think that the promises of God will disappoint them. Learn how deeply God resents distrust of his power, providence, and promise: how uncertain life is, and the enjoyments of it: how certain God's threatenings are, and how sure to come on the guilty. May God help us to inquire whether we are exposed to his threatenings, or interested in his promises.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The Syrians had fled probably by the great road which led from Samaria to Damascus through Geba, En-gannim, Beth-shean, and Aphek. It crosses the Jordan at the Jisr Mejamia, about thirty-five miles northeast of Samaria.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2Ki 7:17-20. The Unbelieving Lord Trodden to Death.

17. the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned,—&c. The news spread like lightning through the city, and was followed, as was natural, by a popular rush to the Syrian camp. To keep order at the gate, the king ordered his minister to keep guard; but the impetuosity of the famishing people could not be resisted. The lord was trodden to death, and Elisha's prophecy in all respects accomplished.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

To have the charge of the gate; partly to prevent tumults and disorders and mischiefs amongst the people; and partly to take order about the shutting of the gates, if need were, and if the Syrians should happen to return upon them.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the king appointed the lord, on whose hand he leaned, to have the charge of the gate,.... Not to keep out the enemy, of which there was no danger; but to prevent disorders and tumults among the people, and that they might go out in an orderly and regular manner:

and the people trod upon him in the gate; being eager to get out for food; and he endeavouring to keep order among them, they pressed upon him, and threw him down, and trampled him under foot; or he was placed here to regulate the market, that everyone might be supplied in course, but through the people's pressing to get provisions, he was overborne, and trod upon:

and died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him; so that he saw the plenty, but partook not of it, as he said, see 2 Kings 7:2.

Geneva Study Bible

And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people {l} trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.

(l) As the people pressed out of the gate to run to the Syrian's tents, where they had heard meat and great spoil was left.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

17–20. The unbelieving captain is trodden to death in the gate (Not in Chronicles)

17. the king appointed the lord] R.V. captain. For the change cf. verse 2. The captain was told off to restrain the impetuosity of the crowd, where crowding would be most dangerous.

as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him] These words help us to understand the somewhat broken connexion of the language in verses 32 and 33 of the last chapter. Jehoram himself came down to Elisha’s house after he had sent his messenger. Hence Elisha says ‘Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?’ (the messenger). And we can then understand the question in the following verse, which is intelligible in the mouth of the king, but could hardly have been spoken by the messenger.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 17. - And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate. Anticipating disorder, unless special care were taken, through the probable eagerness of the people to purchase the corn which was offered to them at so moderate a rate, Jehoram appointed the officer on whose arm he had leant when he visited the house of Elisha (see ver. 2), to have the charge of the gate, and preside over the sale. Probably there was no thought of the post being one of danger. And the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died. It has been questioned whether the death was accidental (Bahr), and suggested that the eager and famished people resisted his authority, and violently bore down his attempts to control them. But there is nothing in the text that is incompatible with an accidental death. Such deaths ate not uncommon in dense crowds of anxious and excited people. As the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him. The varieties of reading here do not affect the general sense. The writer's intention is to lay special stress on the fulfillment of Elisha's prophecy; and to emphasize the punishment that follows on a lack of faith. The concluding passage of the chapter is, as Bahr says, "a finger of warning to unbelievers." 2 Kings 7:17

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When the returning messengers reported this, the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians, and this was followed by the consequent cheapness of provisions predicted by Elisha. As the people streamed out, the unbelieving aide-de-camp, whom the king had ordered to take the oversight at the gate (הפקיד, to deliver the oversight) for the purpose of preserving order in the crowding of the starving multitude, was trodden down by the people, so that he died, whereby this prediction of Elisha was fulfilled. The exact fulfilment of this prediction appeared so memorable to the historian, that he repeats this prophecy in 2 Kings 7:18-20 along with the event which occasioned it, and refers again to its fulfilment.