And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
There was a terrible famine in Samaria. The enemy army had surrounded the city for so long that people were desperate for food. A donkey's head was selling for eighty pieces of silver, and a small portion of dove droppings cost five pieces of silver.
This verse describes how desperate and starving the people of Samaria became during a siege, where even disgusting things became extremely expensive food.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred during the reign of King Jehoram of Israel, when the Syrian army besieged Samaria, the capital city. During ancient sieges, cities would be cut off from all food supplies, leading to extreme famine conditions. Items that would normally be considered worthless or unclean became valuable as people faced starvation.
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