Footnotes

1. 2 Kings 6:25 The purpose of a siege was to starve out or weaken the inhabitants of a fortified city, minimizing risk to the attacking army. The success of the siege depended on whether the city was sufficiently stocked with food and water. Here, with a famine, not only does the city fall well short of adequate provisions, but those inhabitants who have a surplus of anything edible or useful make the situation even worse by engaging in price-gouging.
2. 2 Kings 6:25 Apparently the famine was so severe that the inhabitants were purchasing products that were barely edible as well as being ceremonially unclean.
3. 2 Kings 6:25 One kab is about two quarts.
4. 2 Kings 6:25 Normally dung was used as fertilizer or for fuel; however, in this verse “dove’s dung” may be a nickname for a wild pealike vegetable.