2 Kings 7:3 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

There were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate— The Jews are of opinion, that these four lepers were Gehazi and three of his sons. Leprous persons were not permitted to converse with other men, and by the law of Moses, while the Israelites lived in tents, were to be excluded the camp, Numb. ch. 2 Kings 5:2-3. But when they came to inhabit cities, it may be questioned whether they treated them with such rigour, since in chap. Exodus 8:4 we find Gehazi holding discourse with the king, though certainly he might do this by talking to him at a proper distance. Lepers, indeed, were carefully avoided, because their distemper in these hot countries was thought contagious; but in the case before us these four seem to have been excluded, not so much on account of their distemper, as because they were useless hands; they could neither fight nor work in communion with others. They were only fruges consumere nati, and were therefore no proper persons in a siege. See Calmet.