Israel · 24-hour prediction — famine to plenty
2 Kings 7:1
Elisha · ~850 BC · Status: Fulfilled · Confidence: 65%
“Thus saith the LORD, 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.”
King James Version
In besieged, starving Samaria — donkey heads selling for silver — Elisha names tomorrow's commodity prices: 'To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel... in the gate of Samaria.' The Syrian army flees in the night and the prices land exactly (2 Kgs. 7:16).
Fulfillment References
2 Kings 7:16-20
Archaeological & Historical Evidence
Siege warfare against Samaria by Aram-Damascus fits the ninth-century power balance documented in the Tel Dan Stele and the Zakkur Stele — Aramean royal inscriptions boasting exactly this kind of campaign; the 'gate of Samaria' as market space matches the excavated gate complexes at Israelite cities (Dan, Gezer, Megiddo).
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalA named price, a named place, a 24-hour clock — prophecy at its most falsifiable, and God met the deadline.
JewishElisha's word against total despair; the mocking officer's fate (7:2) warns against dismissing the prophet.
CatholicProvidence works through panic in the Syrian camp — natural means, supernatural timing.
ProtestantThe shortest-range prediction in Scripture may be its strongest evidentially: no room for reinterpretation, only fulfillment or failure.
AcademicThe narrative preserves authentic siege-economy details (paired grain prices, gate-market) recognizable from Mesopotamian siege documents.
Scholarship & Sources
Aramean-Israelite warfare is anchored by the Tel Dan Stele (Biran & Naveh); on siege economies see the comparative material in Cogan & Tadmor (II Kings, AB).
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