And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?

2 KINGS 6:27KJV
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2 Kings 6:27 (KJV)

What does 2 Kings 6:27 mean?

2 Kings 6:27 shows the king of Israel telling a desperate woman that if the LORD does not help her, he himself cannot help either, since he has nothing to give from the barnfloor or the winepress. The verse highlights the king’s helplessness during a time of severe famine, making clear that only God could provide relief.

The king, likely Jehoram, is speaking to a woman who has come to him for help during the siege of Samaria, when food was extremely scarce. His response uses the image of the "barnfloor" (where grain is stored) and the "winepress" (where grapes are pressed for wine) to emphasize that he has no resources left. The king’s words show both his frustration and his recognition that human power is limited in the face of such disaster.

The Hebrew behind 2 Kings 6:27

  • "LORD" (יְהוָה, YHWH): This is the personal name of Israel’s God, emphasizing that the king sees ultimate help as coming only from God, not from human rulers.
  • "help" (יָשַׁע, yasha‘): This word means to save or deliver. The king repeats it twice, underlining that real rescue or salvation is beyond his ability.
  • "barnfloor" (גֹּרֶן, goren): This refers to the place where harvested grain is threshed and stored. Mentioning it stresses that there is no grain left to give.
  • "winepress" (יֶקֶב, yekev): This is where grapes are pressed for wine. The king’s mention of it shows that not only basic food, but even drink, is gone.

Why 2 Kings 6:27 matters

  • The verse clears up any idea that the king has hidden resources or power to solve the crisis; he is just as helpless as his people.
  • It highlights the severity of the famine and the desperation of the situation in Samaria under siege.
  • The king’s words set up the following verses, where the people’s suffering leads to even more shocking events, and the story turns to questions about God’s role in their hardship.

Where else these words appear

“winepress” Hebrew H3342 · used in 16 verses

  • Numbers 18:27 And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.
  • Job 24:11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
  • Hosea 9:2 The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.

“whence” Hebrew H370 · used in 17 verses

  • Genesis 29:4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.
  • Judges 17:9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
  • Job 28:12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?

“barnfloor” Hebrew H1637 · used in 36 verses

  • Genesis 50:10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
  • Ruth 3:14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
  • 1 Chronicles 21:22 Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.