Chapter 7 of Sefer Melachim B is a direct continuation of the siege of Shomron and the terrible famine described in the previous chapter, and it is the haftarah familiar to us all. In a single chapter we witness how a complete reversal takes place between evening and morning: a prophecy that seems impossible, four outcast lepers who become the messengers of salvation, the Aramean camp fleeing for its life from a sound that never was, and the king's officer who mocks the word of the prophet and pays for it with his life. We will proceed through the pesukim in order, according to the explanation of the Malbim.
Elisha's Prophecy: Not a Cheap Price, but Availability
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלִישָׁע שִׁמְעוּ דְּבַר יְהֹוָה, כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה: כָּעֵת מָחָר סְאָה סֹלֶת בְּשֶׁקֶל וְסָאתַיִם שְׂעֹרִים בְּשֶׁקֶל בְּשַׁעַר שֹׁמְרוֹן. - And Elisha said: Hear the word of Hashem. So says Hashem: At this time tomorrow, a se'ah of fine flour will sell for a shekel and two se'ah of barley for a shekel at the gate of Shomron.
Elisha sees the magnitude of the distress and the severity of the famine, and he receives a prophecy from Hashem that the famine is about to end. "Hear the word of Hashem" - I have a prophecy: at this time tomorrow a se'ah of fine flour will be sold for a shekel and two se'ah of barley for a shekel at the gate of Shomron.
The Malbim explains: this does not mean that the price will be especially cheap. This is an ordinary price, even a price that was customary during the years of famine. The essence of the trouble was not the price but that there was simply nothing to be had. Even one who was willing to pay all the wealth of his household could not buy, because there was no grain. And what does the prophet promise? That there will be. There will be grain at the gate of Shomron, and at the familiar price.
The Officer's Mockery
וַיַּעַן הַשָּׁלִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לַמֶּלֶךְ נִשְׁעָן עַל יָדוֹ אֶת אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאמַר: הִנֵּה יְהֹוָה עֹשֶׂה אֲרֻבּוֹת בַּשָּׁמַיִם הֲיִהְיֶה הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה? וַיֹּאמֶר: הִנְּכָה רֹאֶה בְּעֵינֶיךָ וּמִשָּׁם לֹא תֹאכֵל. - And the officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said: Behold, even if Hashem were to make windows in the heavens, could this thing be? And he said: You will see it with your own eyes, but from it you will not eat.
"The officer on whose hand the king leaned" - this is the king's close attendant, upon whom the king leaned. He turns to the man of God in mockery: why do you make them empty promises? Does Hashem make windows in the heavens to rain down through them wheat, barley and fine flour? Is it conceivable that Hashem would now bring down manna from the heavens? Elisha answers him: you have no faith in the words of the prophet and in the prophecy of Hashem - you will see it with your own eyes, but from it you will not eat.
Four Men Were Lepers: Who Were They?
וְאַרְבָּעָה אֲנָשִׁים הָיוּ מְצֹרָעִים פֶּתַח הַשָּׁעַר, וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל רֵעֵהוּ: מָה אֲנַחְנוּ יֹשְׁבִים פֹּה עַד מָתְנוּ? - And four men were lepers at the entrance of the gate, and they said to one another: Why are we sitting here until we die?
The wording seems imprecise. It should have said "and four leprous men were at the entrance of the gate" - since "were" refers to the place where they were. Why does it say "were lepers"?
The Malbim brings the words of Chazal that these were Gechazi and his three sons. And how do we know? For Elisha healed all the lepers who were in his time. And how do we know this? A kal vachomer from Naaman: if he healed the gentile, would he not heal a Jew who came to him to be cured of his leprosy? And even the young girl knew this, for she said to her mistress "Would that my master were before the prophet" - that her master should go to the prophet and he would rid him of his leprosy, for such was his way. She would not have said such a thing had she not known that the prophet rids of their leprosy all the lepers of his time, and that in this he would assist the people. If so, all were healthy, so how could four lepers be found here? Perforce these were Gechazi and his sons, whom he could not heal, for a decree had been decreed against them that the leprosy of Naaman would cling to him, on account of the desecration of Hashem's name that he committed when he went and demanded payment for Naaman's cure.
Therefore it says "were lepers": all the lepers up until that time had already been healed, and these remained still in their leprosy. And since they were stricken with leprosy in Shomron, they were sent outside the wall, as is the law of a leper who is sent out of walled cities, and therefore they sat at the entrance of the gate and not inside the city.
Measure for measure: the entrance of the gate
Another explanation for the phrase "were lepers at the entrance of the gate": Geichazi used to prevent students from coming to Elisha. When Elisha would ask why no students came today, or why so few came, Geichazi would answer: these ones, their inside does not match their outside, I did not let them enter. This is one of the reasons Elisha cursed him with leprosy. And if you recall, immediately after Geichazi was sent away, the sons of the prophets say "the place is too cramped for us," and they had to go build a new place by the Yarden, where the incident of the axe that we learned took place. This is a sign that until then Geichazi had been driving them away from the study hall and not letting them learn.
And when Geichazi returned from taking Naaman's money, Elisha asked him "Where from, Geichazi?", and he answered "Your servant went nowhere at all." Here we see that he himself was one whose inside did not match his outside: outwardly a tzaddik, but inwardly he went and took and even played the part of a tzaddik. Measure for measure: you claimed "their inside does not match their outside" and drove them from the study hall; you, whose inside does not match your outside, will be driven out. And this is "and four men were lepers at the entrance of the gate" - they were lepers because of the sin of the entrance of the gate. Since you locked the entrance of the gate before the students and did not let them enter, the entrance of the gate will be closed upon you and you will remain outside and be unable to enter the city.
Why did they sit together?
Another proof that these were Geichazi and his sons: a leper is required to dwell alone outside the camp. And what is the reason for dwelling in isolation? So that he will contemplate repentance, that he will think about his evil deeds, about the lashon hara he spoke, about the chillul Hashem he committed. If so, four lepers should each have sat in a separate corner, so how did they sit here together? Rather, you are forced to say that these were four for whom dwelling alone served no purpose, for this was not an ordinary punishment of a person who speaks lashon hara and repents and is healed, but a decree issued by the prophet, and even if they repented it would not help them and they would remain in their leprosy. And who were those four? Geichazi and his three sons.
And even in their words there is a hint: "why are we sitting here until we die" - for what reason are we sitting here? Do not read "poh" (here) but "peh" (mouth). Because of the sin of the mouth: that he lied to the prophet, and that he went and lied to Naaman and told him that the prophet had asked him to bring the money. "Why are we sitting" - because of the mouth.
The lepers' calculation
אִם אָמַרְנוּ נָבוֹא הָעִיר וְהָרָעָב בָּעִיר וָמַתְנוּ שָׁם, וְאִם יָשַׁבְנוּ פֹה וָמָתְנוּ. וְעַתָּה לְכוּ וְנִפְּלָה אֶל מַחֲנֵה אֲרָם, אִם יְחַיֻּנוּ נִחְיֶה וְאִם יְמִיתֻנוּ וָמָתְנוּ. - If we say we will enter the city, the famine is in the city and we will die there, and if we sit here, we will die too. Now come, let us fall to the camp of Aram; if they let us live, we live, and if they kill us, we die.
They make a simple calculation: we have nothing to lose. If we enter the city, even if they let us in, there is no food there and death is decreed upon us. If we sit here, here too we will die of famine. And if we go to the camp of Aram, there is a fifty percent chance they will kill us and a fifty percent chance they might let us live. And when there is such a doubt, the doubtful is preferable to the certain. Let us go to the camp of Aram, and perhaps Hashem will help and they will accept us and not put us to death.
They arose at twilight: timing from Heaven
וַיָּקֻמוּ בַנֶּשֶׁף לָבוֹא אֶל מַחֲנֵה אֲרָם, וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד קְצֵה מַחֲנֵה אֲרָם וְהִנֵּה אֵין שָׁם אִישׁ. - And they arose at twilight to come to the camp of Aram, and they came to the edge of the camp of Aram, and behold, there was no one there.
"Neshef" means the beginning of the evening. They do not enter at once, but approach slowly out of fear, until they reach the edge of the camp, and behold, there is no one there.
The Malbim explains: in order for the prophet's words "about this time tomorrow" to be fulfilled, it was necessary that the lepers already begin to set things in motion during the night. For had they waited until morning, by the time matters unfolded and reached Israel another day would have passed, and the prophet had said "about this time tomorrow." Therefore it was arranged from Heaven that they should go at the start of the night, see immediately, and run to inform the king.
The Miracle: The Sound of Chariots and the Sound of Horses
וַאדֹנָי הִשְׁמִיעַ אֶת מַחֲנֵה אֲרָם קוֹל רֶכֶב קוֹל סוּס קוֹל חַיִל גָּדוֹל, וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל אָחִיו: הִנֵּה שָׂכַר עָלֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת מַלְכֵי הַחִתִּים וְאֶת מַלְכֵי מִצְרַיִם לָבוֹא עָלֵינוּ. - And Hashem had made the camp of Aram hear the sound of chariots, the sound of horses, the sound of a great army, and they said one to another: Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come upon us.
Now the prophet describes for us what actually happened. Hashem made the camp of Aram hear, by a miracle, the sound of chariots, the sound of horses, the sound of a great army. They panicked and were certain that such a mighty roar was surely the army of the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt, whom they feared, coming upon them.
וַיָּקוּמוּ וַיָּנוּסוּ בַנֶּשֶׁף וַיַּעַזְבוּ אֶת אׇהֳלֵיהֶם וְאֶת סוּסֵיהֶם וְאֶת חֲמֹרֵיהֶם, הַמַּחֲנֶה כַּאֲשֶׁר הִיא, וַיָּנֻסוּ אֶל נַפְשָׁם. - And they arose and fled at twilight, and they left their tents and their horses and their donkeys, the camp just as it was, and they fled for their lives.
Already at the start of the evening they fled, and in their great panic they did not even have time to untie the horses and place a saddle on them. It is like an earthquake: a person does not run to his car to start it and think about where to drive, but takes to his feet and flees. So too here: the panic was so great that they felt the enemy was already upon them, and therefore they fled on foot, assuming that by the time the enemy reached the camp and busied himself with plundering the spoil, they would already manage to escape.
These Lepers: The Very Same Lepers
וַיָּבֹאוּ הַמְצֹרָעִים הָאֵלֶּה עַד קְצֵה הַמַּחֲנֶה, וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל אֹהֶל אֶחָד וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ וַיִּשְׂאוּ מִשָּׁם כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב וּבְגָדִים וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיַּטְמִנוּ, וַיָּשֻׁבוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל אֹהֶל אַחֵר וַיִּשְׂאוּ מִשָּׁם וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיַּטְמִנוּ. - And these lepers came to the edge of the camp, and they came to one tent and ate and drank, and carried off from there silver and gold and garments, and went and hid them, and they returned and came to another tent and carried off from there and went and hid.
It was already stated above, "and they came to the edge of the camp of Aram and behold, there was no one there," so why does it repeat and say "and these lepers came to the edge of the camp"? The Malbim explains: the camp has two edges. First they came to one edge, and they thought that perhaps for some reason the men were concentrated at the other edge, perhaps a guard was posted there. Therefore they came also to the other edge, and saw that all was empty.
"And they came to one tent and ate and drank" - a hungry person, the first thing he does is eat. But from here on we see that these lepers did not change their conduct, and therefore it says "these lepers": they were the very same, they remained in the same lust for money and the same craving. In the city people are dying of hunger, and with every moment of delay more people breathe their last, and they: all is well and good, we have eaten, but here is silver, here is gold. They go and hide, they go and hide.
And they say by way of hint: what is meant by "and they went and hid"? That each one not only looked out for himself, but even suspected his fellow, and therefore went to hide his portion in a private place where the others would not see. Even in the underworld there is a certain loyalty and basic rules about whom one steals from and whom one does not, yet here they were so consumed with the lust for money that each one knew he could not trust his fellow with a penny. This is the hint in "vayatminu," which can also be read as an expression of turning aside: each one turned away from his fellow and went to hide in his own corner.
And why does the verse stress that they went also to "another tent"? To emphasize their greed. Had they taken from only one tent, we might have said their financial situation was dire and they took some small thing and immediately went to report it. The verse comes and teaches that they went to one tent and afterward to a second tent, so that you understand how greedy they were. And for anyone to whom this was still not clear, the next verse comes and illustrates it.
A Conscience of Fear
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל רֵעֵהוּ: לֹא כֵן אֲנַחְנוּ עֹשִׂים, הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יוֹם בְּשֹׂרָה הוּא וַאֲנַחְנוּ מַחְשִׁים, וְחִכִּינוּ עַד אוֹר הַבֹּקֶר וּמְצָאָנוּ עָווֹן, וְעַתָּה לְכוּ וְנָבֹאָה וְנַגִּידָה בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ. - And they said to one another: We are not doing right. This day is a day of good tidings, and we are keeping silent. If we wait until the light of morning, punishment will overtake us. So now come, let us go and tell the king's household.
The conscience begins to work, but notice what its voice says. "We are not doing right, this day is a day of good tidings and we are keeping silent." And what will happen if we wait until the light of morning? Will people die in the city? That is not mentioned at all. Rather "punishment will overtake us": the king will say you knew there was food here and did not tell, and he will have our heads. Even when they finally went to report, this was the reason: what will they do to us, it is dangerous, the king will claim how could you keep silent on such a day of good tidings. But that they should care that people are dying? What do we care, there is money here.
And there is a further reason in their words: if we wait until the light of morning, the king will understand that we did not come in the morning but already at night, for no one goes out to raid a camp in the middle of the day, and he will say: if so, why did you not report immediately? Surely you spent the whole night hiding away loot. But if we come now, it will be clear to him that we came at the beginning of the night and immediately upon seeing we reported.
The News Reaches the King
וַיָּבֹאוּ וַיִּקְרְאוּ אֶל שֹׁעֵר הָעִיר וַיַּגִּידוּ לָהֶם לֵאמֹר: בָּאנוּ אֶל מַחֲנֵה אֲרָם וְהִנֵּה אֵין שָׁם אִישׁ וְקוֹל אָדָם, כִּי אִם הַסּוּס אָסוּר וְהַחֲמוֹר אָסוּר וְאֹהָלִים כַּאֲשֶׁר הֵמָּה. - And they came and called to the gatekeeper of the city and told them, saying: We came to the camp of Aram, and behold, there is no one there, nor the sound of any man, only the horse tied and the donkey tied, and the tents just as they were.
They come to the guard of the city, the gatekeeper, and report: there is no one there, and not even the sound of a man is heard from afar. The horse is tied and the donkey is tied, and the tents are just as they are: they did not fold them up nor take anything out of them, but abandoned them as they were.
וַיִּקְרָא הַשֹּׁעֲרִים וַיַּגִּידוּ בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ פְּנִימָה. - And the gatekeeper called, and they told the king's household within.
The gatekeeper of the city calls to the gatekeepers of the king's palace, who are different gatekeepers, and they are the ones who bring the matter to the king within.
The King's Fear: A Trap
וַיָּקׇם הַמֶּלֶךְ לַיְלָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל עֲבָדָיו: אַגִּידָה נָּא לָכֶם אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ לָנוּ אֲרָם, יָדְעוּ כִּי רְעֵבִים אֲנַחְנוּ וַיֵּצְאוּ מִן הַמַּחֲנֶה לְהֵחָבֵה בַשָּׂדֶה לֵאמֹר כִּי יֵצְאוּ מִן הָעִיר וְנִתְפְּשֵׂם חַיִּים וְאֶל הָעִיר נָבֹא. - And the king rose in the night and said to his servants: Let me tell you what Aram has done to us. They know that we are hungry, so they have gone out from the camp to hide in the field, saying, When they come out of the city we will seize them alive and enter the city.
The king suspects a conspiracy: there is a trick here, they are not so innocent. They left the camp and are setting a trap for us, a honey trap. Silver, gold and food, and they are waiting for us to come out. For months they have been besieging the city and cannot get inside, so they devised a scheme: just as at Troy they invented the Trojan horse to bring soldiers in and break the city from within, so here they will set a honey trap outside. The people of the city will go out, the gates will open, and when most or all of the city's people are outside, they will surround them, kill them and take the city with ease.
Yehoram king of Israel was wise, except that for a moment he forgot that the prophet had made a promise. Had he trusted the words of the prophet, he would immediately have said: here, the word of the prophet is coming to pass, there is food, and the prophet said that tomorrow there would be food. But because he doubted the words of the prophet, it did not occur to him at all that this was the fulfillment of the prophecy.
The Servant's Counsel
וַיַּעַן אֶחָד מֵעֲבָדָיו וַיֹּאמֶר: וְיִקְחוּ נָא חֲמִשָּׁה מִן הַסּוּסִים הַנִּשְׁאָרִים אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁאֲרוּ בָהּ, הִנָּם כְּכׇל הֲמוֹן יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁאֲרוּ בָהּ, הִנָּם כְּכׇל הֲמוֹן יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר תָּמּוּ, וְנִשְׁלְחָה וְנִרְאֶה. - And one of his servants answered and said: Let them take, I pray, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city; behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it, behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel that have perished; and let us send and see.
The servant replies: a trap can be checked. In order to ambush one must be in a nearby area, hidden and ready to spring; one who lurks from afar is no ambusher. Therefore let us send five men and search the surroundings, and there is no risk here of a large number of people but only of five.
And beyond that, there is no risk at all, for in any case they are about to die. This is exactly the calculation the four lepers made: "and if we sit here we die too." So too here: "behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it" - they are like those who still remain in the city, "behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel that have perished" - and the fate of those who remain will be like all those who have already perished from famine. If so, if they die they will only have hastened their death by a short time, and on the other hand if there is deliverance there, this brings deliverance to the whole city.
The Evidence of the Road
וַיִּקְחוּ שְׁנֵי רֶכֶב סוּסִים וַיִּשְׁלַח הַמֶּלֶךְ אַחֲרֵי מַחֲנֵה אֲרָם לֵאמֹר: לְכוּ וּרְאוּ. - And they took two chariot horses, and the king sent after the camp of Aram, saying: Go and see.
"Two chariot horses" - two horses with chariots and riders upon them. The king did not want to send five as had been suggested to him, but said that two would suffice to check whether it was a trap or not.
וַיֵּלְכוּ אַחֲרֵיהֶם עַד הַיַּרְדֵּן וְהִנֵּה כׇל הַדֶּרֶךְ מְלֵאָה בְגָדִים וְכֵלִים אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁלִיכוּ אֲרָם בְּחׇפְזָם, וַיָּשֻׁבוּ הַמַּלְאָכִים וַיַּגִּדוּ לַמֶּלֶךְ. - And they went after them as far as the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels which Aram had thrown away in their haste; and the messengers returned and told the king.
They begin to trace the trail and see a track of garments and vessels, and it becomes clear to them that this was the route of Aram's flight. For a man who flees while carrying a heavy load casts it off in order to run quickly, and even though he loses money, all that a man has he will give for his life. From the fact that everything was strewn along the way they understood that these were people who fled for their lives and were willing to throw away everything in order to save themselves.
The Fulfillment of the Prophecy
וַיֵּצֵא הָעָם וַיָּבֹזּוּ אֵת מַחֲנֵה אֲרָם, וַיְהִי סְאָה סֹלֶת בְּשֶׁקֶל וְסָאתַיִם שְׂעֹרִים בְּשֶׁקֶל כִּדְבַר יְהֹוָה. - And the people went out and plundered the camp of Aram, and a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Hashem.
The people go out and plunder the camp of Aram, and immediately the price becomes a seah of fine flour for a shekel, exactly as the word of Hashem had said. But note: the prophet said two things. The first was the "word of Hashem": the prophecy about the price. The second was the prophet's own statement: the curse he pronounced upon the officer, that he would see it with his eyes but would not eat from it. And this too was fulfilled.
וְהַמֶּלֶךְ הִפְקִיד אֶת הַשָּׁלִישׁ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁעָן עַל יָדוֹ עַל הַשַּׁעַר, וַיִּרְמְסֻהוּ הָעָם בַּשַּׁעַר וַיָּמֹת כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר בְּרֶדֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵלָיו. - And the king appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to be in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had spoken, who spoke when the king came down to him.
The officer was the king's agent, and his task was to stand at the gate and hold back the people so that no man would plunder for himself. For the spoil found in war belongs to the king, and so there needed to be someone standing and saying: Gentlemen, there is a king here, everything you gather belongs to the royal treasury. Sir, what did you bring? That belongs to the king.
Had the officer remained at the gate, the word of Hashem, "a seah of fine flour for a shekel," would not have been fulfilled. For if everything went to the king, the king would have profited off the miracle: taking it all for himself and setting the price as he pleased, leaving the people no choice but to pay. It would turn out that the king was making a profit off the miracle that the prophet performed. Therefore Hashem arranged for the officer to be trampled and to die, and through this the prophet's words would be fulfilled in full: not merely a seah of fine flour for a shekel in the camp of Aram, where that is no great feat, but at the gate of Shomron, so that even after the grain entered the city the price would remain as it was and the price at the gate would not rise.
The Officer's Sin from Several Angles
Here the Malbim enumerates the severity of the officer's sin. First, the prophet is a man of exalted stature, and the king too, in their perception, is a man of exalted stature. Imagine the one who serves the cup of tea at a meeting between the president of America and the president of Russia suddenly remarking to one of them that what he is saying is nonsense. They would say to him: What are you butting in for? Put down the tea and get out, you were not even supposed to be listening. It is even insulting that two important people are conversing and the tea server has a comment to make. Yet the officer inserted himself into the dialogue between the prophet and the king, an insolence without parallel.
Second, not only did he interject, but he came to contradict the prophet's words and to mock him. Even to ask a question is something that should not be done, but to mock the prophet's words at the very moment he is speaking?
Third, the prophet had not promised anything beyond the natural order at all. For he said two seahs of barley for a shekel and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, and this was the accepted price even in the years of famine. It was not cheap. What was new was only that there would be grain, whereas beforehand the price was the same but there was no grain. If so, how does it make sense to say, "Behold, Hashem is making windows in the heavens"? All that was required was that the enemy depart, and then the price would remain. Had the prophet said the price would be next to nothing, there would be room to say that windows in the heavens are needed so that wheat could be sold at next to nothing; but he stated the full price, and only promised that there would be grain, and that is a far smaller miracle.
Fourth, even if Hashem would indeed need to make windows in the heavens, is Hashem's hand too short? Could He who brought down manna from the heavens not make windows in the heavens? Why do you say it is inconceivable, as though such things never happened?
And fifth, he denies the words of the prophet, and one who denies the words of a prophet is liable to death. Therefore his punishment was measure for measure, and therefore it says, "And it happened to him thus": that it was fulfilled in him exactly as had been spoken.
Why Does the Text Repeat the Prophecy?
וַיְהִי כְּדַבֵּר אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ לֵאמֹר: סָאתַיִם שְׂעֹרִים בְּשֶׁקֶל וּסְאָה סֹלֶת בְּשֶׁקֶל יִהְיֶה כָּעֵת מָחָר בְּשַׁעַר שֹׁמְרוֹן. - And it came to pass, just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying: Two seah of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be at this time tomorrow in the gate of Shomron.
Why repeat what we already read at the beginning of the chapter? The verse is explaining why the death of the officer was necessary in order to fulfill the words of the prophet. For had he continued standing at the gate collecting the toll, the price would have jumped and risen, and the words of the prophet would have been fulfilled only in the camp of Aram, whereas the prophet said "in the gate of Shomron." Therefore it was necessary that he be trampled at the gate and not collect the tax the king had demanded.
וַיַּעַן הַשָּׁלִישׁ אֶת אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאמַר: וְהִנֵּה יְהֹוָה עֹשֶׂה אֲרֻבּוֹת בַּשָּׁמַיִם הֲיִהְיֶה כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה? וַיֹּאמֶר: הִנְּךָ רֹאֶה בְּעֵינֶיךָ וּמִשָּׁם לֹא תֹאכֵל. - And the officer answered the man of God and said: Behold, even if Hashem were to make windows in heaven, could such a thing be? And he said: Behold, you shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.
וַיְהִי לוֹ כֵּן, וַיִּרְמְסוּ אֹתוֹ הָעָם בַּשַּׁעַר וַיָּמֹת. - And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.
The verse repeats the words of mockery in order to teach us the other side: not only was his death needed for the fulfillment of the prophecy, but in his own right he was liable for death, for he denied the words of the prophet and spoke insolently. Therefore "and so it happened to him" - he saw the miracle with his own eyes just as the prophet had said, and the people trampled him in the gate and he died. So may all Your enemies perish, Hashem.
In summary:
Chapter 7 presents to us the precise fulfillment of Elisha's prophecy: not some wildly exaggerated abundance and cheapness, but the very existence of grain at the familiar price, and specifically in the gate of Shomron. Hashem orchestrates events with wondrous precision: the sound of a miracle that drives away Aram, four lepers (Gehazi and his sons) who were punished measure for measure for the gate they had locked in the faces of the disciples and for the sin of the mouth, who go out at twilight so that the salvation would arrive "at this time tomorrow," and the end of the officer who is trampled in the gate so that the price would not be inflated by the king's toll. Within all of this the chapter teaches us about human nature that does not change: even in an hour of salvation the lepers remained in their craving for money and in their suspicion, and their conscience awoke out of fear of punishment and not out of compassion for those dying of hunger. And on the other hand, about the insolence in mocking the words of a prophet, whose end is death, and that Hashem's hand is not too short to make windows in heaven.