How could one guard stop everyone? (a) Surely many people were close to death and too weak to go to the camp, and their family raced back to bring food to them. (b) After such terrible hunger, prices would not plummet so much if everyone took back only as much as food as he could carry at once. Surely most people raced to deposit in their houses, and return to the camp to take more! Perhaps the king appointed many servants to stop people; the verse mentions only the Shelish, to teach how Elisha's words were fulfilled. However, Malbim implies unlike this. Refer to 7:18:1:2 and the note there. (PF)

Surely, this is like Radak said about Elisha's promise to the Shunamis; he was confident that Hashem would fulfill his word. However, Radak also said that perhaps Hashem told him, just it is not recorded (refer to 4:16:1:1-2). (PF)