2 Kings 7:17

Now the king had appointed the officer on whose arm he leaned to be in charge of the gate, but the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king had come to him.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator reports the fulfillment of Elisha’s prophecy at the moment the starving crowd rushes the Aramean camp. The king’s trusted officer is stationed at the city gate to manage the distribution, but the panicked multitudes crush him to death before the predicted time arrives.

The words — הִפְקִיד (hif.Kid) means “he appointed” or “he put in charge,” denoting the king’s formal assignment of duty. נִשְׁעָן (nish.'An) translates literally as “leaning,” a physical descriptor used to identify the officer by his constant proximity to the monarch.

The thread — The narrative repeats the pattern of divine word fulfillment established in 2 Kings 7:2, where the officer voiced doubt, and mirrors the encirclement motif of Judges 20:43, where pursuers overtake their target. The fulfillment directly addresses the officer’s earlier skepticism recorded in 2 Kings 7:2.

Why it lands — The text records that royal appointment cannot halt a prophetic timeline, as the man dies in the very gateway where the sign was given. It asks the reader to note how prophetic declarations are executed literally, without human intervention altering the outcome.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

2 Kings 6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”
2 Kings 7:2 But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”
Judges 20:43 They surrounded the Benjamites, pursued them, and easily overtook them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east.
2 Kings 9:33 “Throw her down!” yelled Jehu. So they threw her down, and her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses as they trampled her underfoot.
Isaiah 25:10 For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.
Micah 7:10 Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.
Hebrews 10:29 How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?