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CHAP. VII.
BVt Elishah said, hear ye the word of the Lord, thus saith the Lord, to morrow by this time, a measure of fine flowr shall be bought for a shekle, and two measures of * 1.1 barley for a shekle, in the gate of Samaria.] Although the king had sent to behead Elishah, yet he seeing the extremity in which he was, stood not to expostulate with him about it, but accepting of his recantation, spake the greatest comfort unto him that might be. Whereby is shewed, that the Lord is so mercifull, that he graciously [Note.] passeth over that which is uttered impatiently in extream misery, and provideth not withstanding for his people, as their necessity requireth. There could not any thing more joyfull and fully contenting have been spoken by the Prophet, then to promise plenty, and to set the very day and hour; and therefore, as Iosephus saith, * 1.2 the king rejoyced greatly when he heard it, but his impious servant on whom he leaned (which argued that he was in great grace with him, as Naaman with the king of Syria) replied scoffingly with this great blasphemy, that if the Lord should make windowes in heaven, and rain down corn, it could not be so, as if he had never read or regarded not, what was recorded touching his feeding of the Israe∣lites with Manna in the wildernesse, being 600000. forty years together, and with flesh their fill an whole moneth. Moses himself doubted, as Martyr hath it, when * 1.3 God promised so to do, how it could be done; but his doubting was out of admira∣tion, as the Virgin Maries afterwards, and not out of unbelief, concluding it utterly impossible. Touching the measure which should be bought so cheap, it is Satum in Hebrew and Chald. and this word is also used by Iosephus, but in the Septuagint translation, Modius, and likewise in the vulgar Latin; but according to Ierom, a sa∣tum is as much as the measure called modius and half, because it contained 6. cabs, the modius but four. A cab then being 6. pints, as was partly touched before, six of them, which was a satum, amounted to 36. that is, four gallons and half, that is, half a gallon more then half a bushel, and comparing this with the price of doves-dung at this time, we shall finde it to be 120. times cheaper, and barley 240. which was a most admirable fall of price on such a sudden. This prince, that would not be∣leeve that it could be so, was by and by threatned, that he should see it, but not taste thereof, because he should by Gods just judgement be troden to death, as hereafter appeareth. If he shall seem not worthy so sore a punishment for not beleeving the Prophet, who shewed no signe to prove the truth of his prophesie; Tostatus saith well, that he did not onely not beleeve Elishah, but not the power of God him∣self, * 1.4 for which he was worthily so punished, and he alone beleeved not, as it seemeth, when the king and all the rest that heard it, by reason of their former ex∣perience, that he was a true Prophet of God, beleeved it.
There were 4 lepers at the entrance of the gate, &c.] The meanes whereby God brought it about, that corn proved so plentifull on such a sudden, was by causing a noise of chariots and horses, and of a great army to be heard in the Syrian army, v. 6. whereupon they imagined, that the kings of the Hittites and of Egypt, were hired to help Israel, and so hasted away leaving their tents full of all manner of provision; and the means whereby the Israelites besieged in Samaria came to know this, was the desperate adventure of foure lepers, who for their leprosie were not suffered to dwell within the city, but without the gate, they being at the point of perishing by famine, went to the tents of the Syrians very early in the morning, and so discove∣red it. The Rabbins say that these foure were Gehazi and his three sons, but with∣out all ground. But whatsoever men they were, it seemeth, that they had hither∣to received some provision out of the city, but now they began to be in extreame want, and this made them desperate. And from their living without the gate all this time of this siege, and not being cut off by the Syrians we may gather, that the camp lay a good distance from the city, neither did they fight with Israel with any other weapon but with famin. For the found, which the Lord caused the Syrians to heare; some think that it was not in the ayre, but only in their eares, because thus