A man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with his sack full of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first bread of the harvest. Elisha said, ‘Give it to the people to eat.’
‘Suppose we do go,’ Saul said to his servant, ‘what do we take the man? The food from our packs is gone, and there’s no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have? ’
Elisha replied, ‘Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says: “About this time tomorrow at Samaria’s gate, seven litres of fine flour will sell for ten grams of silver and fourteen litres of barley will sell for ten grams of silver.” ’
Saul and his servant went through the hill country of Ephraim and then through the region of Shalishah, but they didn’t find them. They went through the region of Shaalim #– #nothing. Then they went through the Benjaminite region but still didn’t find them.
When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. The sons of the prophets were sitting before him. He said to his attendant, ‘Put on the large pot and make stew for the sons of the prophets.’
curds from the herd and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs, rams from Bashan, and goats, with the choicest grains of wheat; you drank wine from the finest grapes.
You are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field, and observe the Festival of Ingathering , at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.
Therefore, the king of Aram said, ‘Go, and I will send a letter with you to the king of Israel.’ So he went and took with him 350 kilograms of silver, 70 kilograms of gold, and ten sets of clothing.