1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.
12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.
15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.
16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.
20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.
22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.
23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
25 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:
26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well:
27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
30 And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.
31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.
37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.
38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.
39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.
40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.
42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.
43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.
44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.
1 Now there cried H6817 a certain H259 woman H802 of the wives H802 of the sons H1121 of the prophets H5030 unto Elisha, H477 saying, H559 Thy servant H5650 my husband H376 is dead; H4191 and thou knowest H3045 that thy servant H5650 did fear H3373 the LORD: H3068 and the creditor H5383 is come H935 to take H3947 unto him my two H8147 sons H3206 to be bondmen. H5650
2 And Elisha H477 said H559 unto her, What shall I do H6213 for thee? tell H5046 me, what hast H3426 thou in the house? H1004 And she said, H559 Thine handmaid H8198 hath not any thing in the house, H1004 save a pot H610 of oil. H8081
3 Then he said, H559 Go, H3212 borrow H7592 thee vessels H3627 abroad H2351 of all thy neighbours, H7934 even empty H7386 vessels; H3627 borrow not a few. H4591
4 And when thou art come in, H935 thou shalt shut H5462 the door H1817 upon thee and upon thy sons, H1121 and shalt pour out H3332 into all those vessels, H3627 and thou shalt set aside H5265 that which is full. H4392
5 So she went H3212 from him, and shut H5462 the door H1817 upon her and upon H1157 her sons, H1121 who H1992 brought H5066 the vessels to her; and she poured out. H3332
6 And it came to pass, when the vessels H3627 were full, H4390 that she said H559 unto her son, H1121 Bring H5066 me yet a vessel. H3627 And he said H559 unto her, There is not a vessel H3627 more. And the oil H8081 stayed. H5975
7 Then she came H935 and told H5046 the man H376 of God. H430 And he said, H559 Go, H3212 sell H4376 the oil, H8081 and pay H7999 thy debt, H5386 and live H2421 thou and thy children H1121 of the rest. H3498
8 And it fell on a day, H3117 that Elisha H477 passed H5674 to Shunem, H7766 where was a great H1419 woman; H802 and she constrained H2388 him to eat H398 bread. H3899 And so it was, that as oft H1767 as he passed by, H5674 he turned H5493 in thither to eat H398 bread. H3899
9 And she said H559 unto her husband, H376 Behold now, I perceive H3045 that this is an holy H6918 man H376 of God, H430 which passeth H5674 by us continually. H8548
10 Let us make H6213 a little H6996 chamber, H5944 I pray thee, on the wall; H7023 and let us set H7760 for him there a bed, H4296 and a table, H7979 and a stool, H3678 and a candlestick: H4501 and it shall be, when he cometh H935 to us, that he shall turn H5493 in thither.
11 And it fell on a day, H3117 that he came H935 thither, and he turned H5493 into the chamber, H5944 and lay H7901 there.
12 And he said H559 to Gehazi H1522 his servant, H5288 Call H7121 this Shunammite. H7767 And when he had called H7121 her, she stood H5975 before H6440 him.
13 And he said H559 unto him, Say H559 now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful H2729 for us with all this care; H2731 what is to be done H6213 for thee? wouldest H3426 thou be spoken H1696 for to the king, H4428 or to the captain H8269 of the host? H6635 And she answered, H559 I dwell H3427 among H8432 mine own people. H5971
14 And he said, H559 What then is to be done H6213 for her? And Gehazi H1522 answered, H559 Verily H61 she hath no child, H1121 and her husband H376 is old. H2204
15 And he said, H559 Call H7121 her. And when he had called H7121 her, she stood H5975 in the door. H6607
16 And he said, H559 About this season, H4150 according to the time H6256 of life, H2416 thou shalt embrace H2263 a son. H1121 And she said, H559 Nay, my lord, H113 thou man H376 of God, H430 do not lie H3576 unto thine handmaid. H8198
17 And the woman H802 conceived, H2029 and bare H3205 a son H1121 at that season H4150 that Elisha H477 had said H1696 unto her, according to the time H6256 of life. H2416
18 And when the child H3206 was grown, H1431 it fell on a day, H3117 that he went out H3318 to his father H1 to the reapers. H7114
19 And he said H559 unto his father, H1 My head, H7218 my head. H7218 And he said H559 to a lad, H5288 Carry H5375 him to his mother. H517
20 And when he had taken H5375 him, and brought H935 him to his mother, H517 he sat H3427 on her knees H1290 till noon, H6672 and then died. H4191
21 And she went up, H5927 and laid H7901 him on the bed H4296 of the man H376 of God, H430 and shut H5462 the door upon him, and went out. H3318
22 And she called H7121 unto her husband, H376 and said, H559 Send H7971 me, I pray thee, one H259 of the young men, H5288 and one H259 of the asses, H860 that I may run H7323 to the man H376 of God, H430 and come again. H7725
23 And he said, H559 Wherefore wilt thou go H1980 to him to day? H3117 it is neither new moon, H2320 nor sabbath. H7676 And she said, H559 It shall be well. H7965
24 Then she saddled H2280 an ass, H860 and said H559 to her servant, H5288 Drive, H5090 and go forward; H3212 slack H6113 not thy riding H7392 for me, except I bid H559 thee.
25 So she went H3212 and came H935 unto the man H376 of God H430 to mount H2022 Carmel. H3760 And it came to pass, when the man H376 of God H430 saw her afar off, H7200 that he said H559 to Gehazi H1522 his servant, H5288 Behold, yonder is that H1975 Shunammite: H7767
26 Run H7323 now, I pray thee, to meet H7125 her, and say H559 unto her, Is it well H7965 with thee? is it well H7965 with thy husband? H376 is it well H7965 with the child? H3206 And she answered, H559 It is well. H7965
27 And when she came H935 to the man H376 of God H430 to the hill, H2022 she caught H2388 him by the feet: H7272 but Gehazi H1522 came near H5066 to thrust her away. H1920 And the man H376 of God H430 said, H559 Let her alone; H7503 for her soul H5315 is vexed H4843 within her: and the LORD H3068 hath hid H5956 it from me, and hath not told H5046 me.
28 Then she said, H559 Did I desire H7592 a son H1121 of my lord? H113 did I not say, H559 Do not deceive H7952 me?
29 Then he said H559 to Gehazi, H1522 Gird up H2296 thy loins, H4975 and take H3947 my staff H4938 in thine hand, H3027 and go thy way: H3212 if thou meet H4672 any man, H376 salute H1288 him not; and if any H376 salute H1288 thee, answer him not again: H6030 and lay H7760 my staff H4938 upon the face H6440 of the child. H5288
30 And the mother H517 of the child H5288 said, H559 As the LORD H3068 liveth, H2416 and as thy soul H5315 liveth, H2416 I will not leave H5800 thee. And he arose, H6965 and followed H3212 H310 her.
31 And Gehazi H1522 passed on H5674 before H6440 them, and laid H7760 the staff H4938 upon the face H6440 of the child; H5288 but there was neither voice, H6963 nor hearing. H7182 Wherefore he went again H7725 to meet H7125 him, and told H5046 him, saying, H559 The child H5288 is not awaked. H6974
32 And when Elisha H477 was come H935 into the house, H1004 behold, the child H5288 was dead, H4191 and laid H7901 upon his bed. H4296
33 He went in H935 therefore, and shut H5462 the door H1817 upon them twain, H8147 and prayed H6419 unto the LORD. H3068
34 And he went up, H5927 and lay H7901 upon the child, H3206 and put H7760 his mouth H6310 upon his mouth, H6310 and his eyes H5869 upon his eyes, H5869 and his hands H3709 upon his hands: H3709 and he stretched H1457 himself upon the child; and the flesh H1320 of the child H3206 waxed warm. H2552
35 Then he returned, H7725 and walked H3212 in the house H1004 to H259 H2008 and fro; H259 H2008 and went up, H5927 and stretched H1457 himself upon him: and the child H5288 sneezed H2237 seven H7651 times, H6471 and the child H5288 opened H6491 his eyes. H5869
36 And he called H7121 Gehazi, H1522 and said, H559 Call H7121 this Shunammite. H7767 So he called H7121 her. And when she was come in H935 unto him, he said, H559 Take up H5375 thy son. H1121
37 Then she went in, H935 and fell H5307 at his feet, H7272 and bowed H7812 herself to the ground, H776 and took up H5375 her son, H1121 and went out. H3318
38 And Elisha H477 came again H7725 to Gilgal: H1537 and there was a dearth H7458 in the land; H776 and the sons H1121 of the prophets H5030 were sitting H3427 before H6440 him: and he said H559 unto his servant, H5288 Set H8239 on the great H1419 pot, H5518 and seethe H1310 pottage H5138 for the sons H1121 of the prophets. H5030
39 And one H259 went out H3318 into the field H7704 to gather H3950 herbs, H219 and found H4672 a wild H7704 vine, H1612 and gathered H3950 thereof wild H7704 gourds H6498 his lap H899 full, H4393 and came H935 and shred H6398 them into the pot H5518 of pottage: H5138 for they knew H3045 them not.
40 So they poured out H3332 for the men H582 to eat. H398 And it came to pass, as they were eating H398 of the pottage, H5138 that they cried out, H6817 and said, H559 O thou man H376 of God, H430 there is death H4194 in the pot. H5518 And they could H3201 not eat H398 thereof.
41 But he said, H559 Then bring H3947 meal. H7058 And he cast H7993 it into the pot; H5518 and he said, H559 Pour out H3332 for the people, H5971 that they may eat. H398 And there was no harm H1697 H7451 in the pot. H5518
42 And there came H935 a man H376 from Baalshalisha, H1190 and brought H935 the man H376 of God H430 bread H3899 of the firstfruits, H1061 twenty H6242 loaves H3899 of barley, H8184 and full ears of corn H3759 in the husk H6861 thereof. And he said, H559 Give H5414 unto the people, H5971 that they may eat. H398
43 And his servitor H8334 said, H559 What, should I set H5414 this before H6440 an hundred H3967 men? H376 He said again, H559 Give H5414 the people, H5971 that they may eat: H398 for thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 They shall eat, H398 and shall leave H3498 thereof.
44 So he set H5414 it before H6440 them, and they did eat, H398 and left H3498 thereof, according to the word H1697 of the LORD. H3068
1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear Jehovah: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two children to be bondmen.
2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me; what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil.
3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
4 And thou shalt go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons; they brought `the vessels' to her, and she poured out.
6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest.
8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passeth by us continually.
10 Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber and lay there.
12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no son, and her husband is old.
15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.
16 And he said, At this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid.
17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said unto her.
18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to his servant, Carry him to his mother.
20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut `the door' upon him, and went out.
22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the servants, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.
23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slacken me not the riding, except I bid thee.
25 So she went, and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the Shunammite:
26 run, I pray thee, now to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her; and Jehovah hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
30 And the mother of the child said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.
31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto Jehovah.
34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon him; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
35 Then he returned, and walked in the house once to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.
37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.
38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.
39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they knew them not.
40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.
42 And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.
43 And his servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus saith Jehovah, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.
44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of Jehovah.
1 And a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets hath cried unto Elisha, saying, `Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou hast known that thy servant was fearing Jehovah, and the lender hath come to take my two children to him for servants.'
2 And Elisha saith unto her, `What do I do for thee? declare to me, what hast thou in the house?' and she saith, `Thy maid-servant hath nothing in the house except a pot of oil.'
3 And he saith, `Go, ask for thee vessels from without, from all thy neighbours -- empty vessels -- let `them' not be few;
4 and thou hast entered, and shut the door upon thee, and upon thy sons, and hast poured out into all these vessels, and the full ones thou dost remove.'
5 And she goeth from him, and shutteth the door upon her, and upon her sons; they are bringing nigh unto her, and she is pouring out,
6 and it cometh to pass, at the filling of the vessels, that she saith unto her son, `Bring nigh unto me a vessel more,' and he saith unto her, `There is not a vessel more;' and the oil stayeth.
7 And she cometh and declareth to the man of God, and he saith, `Go, sell the oil, and repay thy loan; and thou `and' thy sons do live of the rest.'
8 And the day cometh that Elisha passeth over unto Shunem, and there `is' a great woman, and she layeth hold on him to eat bread, and it cometh to pass, at the time of his passing over, he turneth aside thither to eat bread,
9 and she saith unto her husband, `Lo, I pray thee, I have known that a holy man of God he is, passing over by us continually;
10 let us make, I pray thee, a little upper chamber of the wall, and we set for him there a bed, and a table, and a high seat, and a candlestick; and it hath been, in his coming in unto us, he doth turn aside thither.'
11 And the day cometh, that he cometh in thither, and turneth aside unto the upper chamber, and lieth there,
12 and he saith unto Gehazi his young man, `Call for this Shunammite;' and he calleth for her, and she standeth before him.
13 And he saith to him, `Say, I pray thee, unto her, Lo, thou hast troubled thyself concerning us with all this trouble; what -- to do for thee? is it to speak for thee unto the king, or unto the head of the host?' and she saith, `In the midst of my people I am dwelling.'
14 And he saith, `And what -- to do for her?' and Gehazi saith, `Verily she hath no son, and her husband `is' aged.'
15 And he saith, `Call for her;' and he calleth for her, and she standeth at the opening,
16 and he saith, `At this season, according to the time of life, thou art embracing a son;' and she saith, `Nay, my lord, O man of God, do not lie unto thy maid-servant.'
17 And the woman conceiveth and beareth a son, at this season, according to the time of life, that Elisha spake of unto her.
18 And the lad groweth, and the day cometh that he goeth out unto his father, unto the reapers,
19 and he saith unto his father, `My head, my head;' and he saith unto the young man, `Bear him unto his mother;'
20 and he beareth him, and bringeth him in unto his mother, and he sitteth on her knees till the noon, and dieth.
21 And she goeth up, and layeth him on the bed of the man of God, and shutteth `the door' upon him, and goeth out,
22 and calleth unto her husband, and saith, `Send, I pray thee, to me, one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I run unto the man of God, and return.'
23 And he saith, `Wherefore art thou going unto him to-day? -- neither new moon nor sabbath!' and she saith, `Peace `to thee'!'
24 And she saddleth the ass, and saith unto her young man, `Lead, and go, do not restrain riding for me, except I have said `so' to thee.'
25 And she goeth, and cometh in unto the man of God, unto the hill of Carmel, and it cometh to pass, at the man of God's seeing her from over-against, that he saith unto Gehazi his young man, `Lo, this Shunammite;
26 now, run, I pray thee, to meet her, and say to her, Is there peace to thee? is there peace to thy husband? is there peace to the lad?' and she saith, `Peace.'
27 And she cometh in unto the man of God, unto the hill, and layeth hold on his feet, and Gehazi cometh nigh to thrust her away, and the man of God saith, `Let her alone, for her soul `is' bitter to her, and Jehovah hath hidden `it' from me, and hath not declared `it' to me.'
28 And she saith, `Did I ask a son from my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?'
29 And he saith to Gehazi, `Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go; when thou dost meet a man, thou dost not salute him; and when a man doth salute thee, thou dost not answer him; and thou hast laid my staff on the face of the youth.'
30 And the mother of the youth saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth -- if I leave thee;' and he riseth and goeth after her.
31 And Gehazi hath passed on before them, and layeth the staff on the face of the youth, and there is no voice, and there is no attention, and he turneth back to meet him, and declareth to him, saying, `The youth hath not awaked.'
32 And Elisha cometh in to the house, and lo, the youth is dead, laid on his bed,
33 and he goeth in and shutteth the door upon them both, and prayeth unto Jehovah.
34 And he goeth up, and lieth down on the lad, and putteth his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and stretcheth himself upon him, and the flesh of the lad becometh warm;
35 and he turneth back and walketh in the house, once hither and once thither, and goeth up and stretcheth himself upon him, and the youth sneezeth till seven times, and the youth openeth his eyes.
36 And he calleth unto Gehazi, and saith, `Call unto this Shunammite;' and he calleth her, and she cometh in unto him, and he saith, `Lift up thy son.'
37 And she goeth in, and falleth at his feet, and boweth herself to the earth, and lifteth up her son, and goeth out.
38 And Elisha hath turned back to Gilgal, and the famine `is' in the land, and the sons of the prophets are sitting before him, and he saith to his young man, `Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.'
39 And one goeth out unto the field to gather herbs, and findeth a vine of the field, and gathereth of it gourds of the field -- the fulness of his garment -- and cometh in and splitteth `them' into the pot of pottage, for they knew `them' not;
40 and they pour out for the men to eat, and it cometh to pass at their eating of the pottage, that they have cried out, and say, `Death `is' in the pot, O man of God!' and they have not been able to eat.
41 And he saith, `Then bring ye meal;' and he casteth into the pot, and saith, `Pour out for the people, and they eat;' and there was no evil thing in the pot.
42 And a man hath come from Baal-Shalishah, and bringeth in to the man of God bread of first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in its husk, and he saith, `Give to the people, and they eat.'
43 And his minister saith, `What -- do I give this before a hundred men?' and he saith, `Give to the people, and they eat, for thus said Jehovah, Eat and leave;'
44 and he giveth before them, and they eat and leave, according to the word of Jehovah.
1 And a woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha saying, Thy servant my husband is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant feared Jehovah; and the creditor is come to take my two children to be bondmen.
2 And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid has not anything at all in the house but a pot of oil.
3 And he said, Go, borrow for thyself vessels abroad from all thy neighbours, empty vessels; let it not be few;
4 and go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels, and set aside what is full.
5 And she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons: they brought [the vessels] to her, and she poured out.
6 And it came to pass when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said to her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
7 And she came and told the man of God; and he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou [and] thy sons on the rest.
8 And it came to pass on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a wealthy woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, [that] as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
9 And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us continually.
10 Let us make, I pray thee, a small upper chamber with walls, and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a lampstand; and it shall be when he cometh to us, he shall turn in thither.
11 And it came to pass on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the upper chamber, and lay there.
12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And he called her, and she stood before him.
13 And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she said, I dwell among mine own people.
14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi said, Verily, she has no son, and her husband is old.
15 And he said, Call her; and he called her; and she stood in the doorway.
16 And he said, At this appointed time, when thy term is come, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid.
17 And the woman conceived, and bore a son at that appointed time in the next year as Elisha had said to her.
18 And the child grew, and it came to pass one day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19 And he said to his father, My head, my head! And he said to the servant, Carry him to his mother.
20 And he carried him, and brought him to his mother; and he sat on her knees till noon, and died.
21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut [the door] upon him, and went out.
22 And she called to her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I will run to the man of God, and come again.
23 And he said, Why wilt thou go to him to-day? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, [It is] well.
24 Then she saddled the ass, and said to her servant, Drive and go forward; slack not the riding for me, except I bid thee.
25 And she went and came to the man of God, to mount Carmel. And it came to pass when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, there is the Shunammite:
26 run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she said, It is well.
27 And she came to the man of God to the mountain, and caught him by the feet; and Gehazi drew near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her, and Jehovah has hidden it from me, and has not told me.
28 And she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
29 And he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way. If thou meet any man, salute him not, and if any salute thee, answer him not again; and lay my staff upon the face of the lad.
30 And the mother of the lad said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! And he rose up and followed her.
31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the lad; but there was neither voice, nor sign of attention. And he returned to meet him, and told him saying, The lad is not awaked.
32 And when Elisha came into the house, behold, the child was dead, [and] laid upon his bed.
33 And he went in and shut the door upon them both, and prayed to Jehovah.
34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and bent over him; and the flesh of the child grew warm.
35 And he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and bent over him. And the lad sneezed seven times, and the lad opened his eyes.
36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. And he called her; and she came to him. And he said, Take up thy son.
37 And she came and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.
38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And there was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. And he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.
39 Then one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it his lap full of wild colocynths, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage; for they did not know them.
40 And they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out and said, Man of God, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat [it].
41 And he said, Then bring meal. And he cast [it] into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.
42 And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn in his sack. And he said, Give to the people that they may eat.
43 And his attendant said, How shall I set this before a hundred men? And he said, Give the people that they may eat; for thus saith Jehovah: They shall eat, and shall have to spare.
44 And he set [it] before them, and they ate and left [thereof], according to the word of Jehovah.
1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant did fear Yahweh: and the creditor is come to take to him my two children to be bondservants.
2 Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? tell me; what have you in the house? She said, Your handmaid has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil.
3 Then he said, Go, borrow you vessels abroad of all your neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
4 You shall go in, and shut the door on you and on your sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and you shall set aside that which is full.
5 So she went from him, and shut the door on her and on her sons; they brought [the vessels] to her, and she poured out.
6 It happened, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. He said to her, There isn't another vessel. The oil stayed.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. He said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and live you and your sons of the rest.
8 It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. So it was, that as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread.
9 She said to her husband, See now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passes by us continually.
10 Let us make, Please, a little chamber on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a lamp stand: and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in there.
11 It fell on a day, that he came there, and he turned into the chamber and lay there.
12 He said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. When he had called her, she stood before him.
13 He said to him, Say now to her, Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for you? would you be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? She answered, I dwell among my own people.
14 He said, What then is to be done for her? Gehazi answered, Most assuredly she has no son, and her husband is old.
15 He said, Call her. When he had called her, she stood in the door.
16 He said, At this season, when the time comes round, you shall embrace a son. She said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid.
17 The woman conceived, and bore a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said to her.
18 When the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19 He said to his father, My head, my head. He said to his servant, Carry him to his mother.
20 When he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon, and then died.
21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut [the door] on him, and went out.
22 She called to her husband, and said, Please send me one of the servants, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.
23 He said, Why will you go to him today? it is neither new moon nor Sabbath. She said, It shall be well.
24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; don't slacken me the riding, except I bid you.
25 So she went, and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. It happened, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the Shunammite:
26 please run now to meet her, and ask her, Is it well with you? is it well with your husband? is it well with the child? She answered, It is well.
27 When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her; and Yahweh has hid it from me, and has not told me.
28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? Didn't I say, Do not deceive me?
29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way: if you meet any man, Don't greet him; and if anyone greets you, don't answer him again: and lay my staff on the face of the child.
30 The mother of the child said, As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. He arose, and followed her.
31 Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child has not awakened.
32 When Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid on his bed.
33 He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both, and prayed to Yahweh.
34 He went up, and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands: and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child grew warm.
35 Then he returned, and walked in the house once back and forth; and went up, and stretched himself on him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
36 He called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. When she was come in to him, he said, Take up your son.
37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.
38 Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.
39 One went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered of it wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of stew; for they didn't recognize them.
40 So they poured out for the men to eat. It happened, as they were eating of the stew, that they cried out, and said, man of God, there is death in the pot. They could not eat of it.
41 But he said, Then bring meal. He cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. There was no harm in the pot.
42 There came a man from Baal Shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He said, Give to the people, that they may eat.
43 His servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus says Yahweh, They shall eat, and shall leave of it.
44 So he set it before them, and they ate, and left of it, according to the word of Yahweh.
1 Now a certain woman, the wife of one of the sons of the prophets, came crying to Elisha and said, Your servant my husband is dead; and to your knowledge he was a worshipper of the Lord; but now, the creditor has come to take my two children as servants in payment of his debt.
2 Then Elisha said to her, What am I to do for you? say now, what have you in the house? And she said, Your servant has nothing in the house but a pot of oil.
3 Then he said, Go out to all your neighbours and get vessels, a very great number of them.
4 Then go in, and, shutting the door on yourself and your sons, put oil into all these vessels, putting on one side the full ones.
5 So she went away, and when the door was shut on her and her sons, they took the vessels to her and she put oil into them.
6 And when all the vessels were full, she said to her son, Get me another vessel. And he said, There are no more. And the flow of oil was stopped.
7 So she came to the man of God and gave him word of what she had done. And he said, Go and get money for the oil and make payment of your debt, and let the rest be for the needs of yourself and your sons.
8 Now there came a day when Elisha went to Shunem, and there was a woman of high position living there, who made him come in and have a meal with her. And after that, every time he went by, he went into her house for a meal.
9 And she said to her husband, Now I see that this is a holy man of God, who comes by day after day.
10 So let us make a little room on the wall; and put a bed there for him, and a table and a seat and a light; so that when he comes to us, he will be able to go in there.
11 Now one day, when he had gone there, he went into the little room and took his rest there.
12 And he said to Gehazi, his servant, Send for this Shunammite. So in answer to his voice she came before him.
13 And he said to him, Now say to her, See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? will you have any request made for you to the king or the captain of the army? But she said, I am living among my people.
14 So he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi made answer, Still there is this, she has no son and her husband is old.
15 Then he said, Send for her. And in answer to his voice she took her place at the door.
16 And Elisha said, At this time in the coming year you will have a son in your arms. And she said, No, my lord, O man of God, do not say what is false to your servant.
17 Then the woman became with child and gave birth to a son at the time named, in the year after, as Elisha had said to her.
18 Now one day, when the child was older, he went out to his father to where the grain was being cut.
19 And he said to his father, My head, my head! And the father said to a servant, Take him in to his mother.
20 And he took him in to his mother, and she took him on her knees and kept him there till the middle of the day, when his life went from him.
21 Then she went up and put him on the bed of the man of God, shutting the door on him, and went out.
22 And she said to her husband, Send me one of the servants and one of the asses so that I may go quickly to the man of God and come back again.
23 And he said, Why are you going to him today? it is not a new moon or a Sabbath. But she said, It is well.
24 Then she made the ass ready and said to her servant, Keep driving on; do not make a stop without orders from me.
25 So she went, and came to Mount Carmel, to the man of God. And when the man of God saw her coming in his direction, he said to Gehazi, his servant, See, there is the Shunammite;
26 Go quickly to her, and on meeting her say to her, Are you well? and your husband and the child, are they well? And she said in answer, All is well.
27 And when she came to where the man of God was on the hill, she put her hands round his feet; and Gehazi came near with the purpose of pushing her away; but the man of God said, Let her be, for her soul is bitter in her; and the Lord has kept it secret from me, and has not given me word of it.
28 Then she said, Did I make a request to my lord for a son? did I not say, Do not give me false words?
29 Then he said to Gehazi, Make yourself ready, and take my stick in your hand, and go: if you come across anyone on the way, give him no blessing, and if anyone gives you a blessing, give him no answer. And put my stick on the child's face.
30 But the mother of the child said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not go back without you. So he got up and went with her.
31 And Gehazi went on before them and put the stick on the child's face; but there was no voice, and no one gave attention. So he went back, and meeting him gave him the news, saying, The child is not awake.
32 And when Elisha came into the house he saw the child dead, stretched on his bed.
33 So he went in, and shutting the door on the two of them, made prayer to the Lord.
34 Then he got up on the bed, stretching himself out on the child, and put his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands; and the child's body became warm.
35 Then he came back, and after walking once through the house and back, he went up, stretching himself out on the child seven times; and the child's eyes became open.
36 And he gave orders to Gehazi, and said, Send for the Shunammite. And she came in answer to his voice. And he said, Take up your son.
37 And she came in, and went down on her face to the earth at his feet; then she took her son in her arms and went out.
38 And Elisha went back to Gilgal, now there was very little food in the land; and the sons of the prophets were seated before him. And he said to his servant, Put the great pot on the fire, and make soup for the sons of the prophets.
39 And one went out into the field to get green plants and saw a vine of the field, and pulling off the fruit of it till the fold of his robe was full, he came back and put the fruit, cut up small, into the pot of soup, having no idea what it was.
40 Then they gave the men soup from the pot. And while they were drinking the soup, they gave a cry, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot; and they were not able to take any more food.
41 But he said, Get some meal. And he put it into the pot, and said, Now give it to the people so that they may have food. And there was nothing bad in the pot.
42 Now a man came from Baal-shalishah with an offering of first-fruits for the man of God, twenty barley cakes and garden fruit in his bag. And he said, Give these to the people for food.
43 But his servant said, How am I to put this before a hundred men? But he said, Give it to the people for food; for the Lord says, There will be food for them and some over.
44 So he put it before them, and they had a meal and there was more than enough, as the Lord had said.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 2 Kings 4
Commentary on 2 Kings 4 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
From 2 Kings 4 through 2 Kings 8:6 there follows a series of miracles on the part of Elisha, which both proved this prophet to be the continuer of the work which Elijah had begun, of converting Israel from the service of Baal to the service of the living God, and also manifested the beneficent fruits of the zeal of Elijah for the honour of the Lord of Sabaoth in the midst of the idolatrous generation of his time, partly in the view which we obtain from several of these accounts of the continuance and prosperity of the schools of the prophets, and partly in the attitude of Elisha towards the godly in the land as well as towards Joram the king, the son of the idolatrous Ahab, and in the extension of his fame beyond the limits of Israel. (See the remarks on the labours of both prophets at pp. 161ff., and those on the schools of the prophets at 1 Samuel 19:24.), - All the miracles described in this section belong to the reign of Joram king of Israel. They are not all related, however, in chronological order, but the chronology is frequently disregarded for the purpose of groping together events which are homogeneous in their nature. This is evident, not only from the fact that ( a ) several of these accounts are attached quite loosely to one another without any particle to indicate sequence (vid., 2 Kings 4:1, 2 Kings 4:38, 2 Kings 4:42; 2 Kings 5:1; 2 Kings 6:8, and 2 Kings 8:1), and ( b ) we have first of all those miracles which were performed for the good of the scholars of the prophets and of particular private persons (2 Kings 4-6:7), and then such works of the prophet as bore more upon the political circumstances of the nation, and of the king as the leader of the nation (2 Kings 6:8-7:20), but also from the circumstance that in the case of some of these facts you cannot fail to perceive that their position is regulated by their substantial relation to what precedes or what follows, without any regard to the time at which they occurred. Thus, for example, the occurrence described in 2 Kings 8:1-6, which should undoubtedly stand before 2 Kings 5 so far as the chronology is concerned, is placed at the end of the miracles which Elisha wrought for king Joram, simply because it exhibits in the clearest manner the salutary fruit of what he had done. And so, again, the account of Naaman the leper is placed in 2 Kings 5, although its proper position would be after 2 Kings 6:7, because it closes the series of miracles performed for and upon private persons, and the miracle was wrought upon a foreigner, so that the fame of the prophet had already penetrated into a foreign country; whereas in order of time it should either stand between 2 Kings 6:23 and 2 Kings 6:24 of the sixth chapter (because the incursions of the flying parties of Syrians, to which 2 Kings 6:8-23 refers, had already taken place), or not till after the close of 2 Kings 7. On the other hand, the partial separation of the miracles performed for the schools of the prophets (2 Kings 4:1-7, 2 Kings 4:38-44, and 2 Kings 6:1-7) can only be explained on chronological grounds; and this is favoured by the circumstance that the events inserted between are attached by a Vav consec ., which does indicate the order of sequence (2 Kings 5:8. and 2 Kings 6:1.). Regarded as a whole, however, the section 2 Kings 4:1-8:6, which was no doubt taken from a prophetical monograph and inserted into the annals of the kings, is in its true chronological place, since the account in 2 Kings 3 belongs to the earlier period of the history, and the events narrated from 2 Kings 8:7 onwards to the later period.
2 Kings 4:1-7
The Widow's Cruse of Oil. - A poor widow of the scholars of the prophets complained to Elisha of her distress, namely, that a creditor was about to take her two sons as servants (slaves). The Mosaic law gave a creditor the right to claim the person and children of a debtor who was unable to pay, and they were obliged to serve him as slaves till the year of jubilee, when they were once more set free (Leviticus 25:39-40). When the prophet learned, on inquiry that she had nothing in her house but a small flask of oil ( אסוּך , from סוּך , means an anointing flask, a small vessel for the oil necessary for anointing the body), he told her to beg of all her neighbours empty vessels, not a few ( אל־תּמעיטי , make not few, sc. to beg), and then to shut herself in with her sons, and to pour from her flask of oil into all these vessels till they were full, and then to sell this oil and pay her debt with the money, and use the rest for the maintenance of herself and her children. She was to close the house-door, that she might not be disturbed in her occupation by other people, and also generally to avoid all needless observation while the miracle was being performed. תּסּיאי המּלא , let that which is filled be put on one side, namely by the sons, who handed her the vessels, according to 2 Kings 4:5 and 2 Kings 4:6, so that she was able to pour without intermission. The form מיצקת is a participle Piel , and is quite appropriate as an emphatic form; the Keri השּׁקת ( Hiphil ) is an unnecessary alteration, especially as the Hiphil of יצק is הצּיּק . השׁמן ויּעמד , then the oil stood, i.e., it ceased to flow. The asyndeton בניך ואתּ is very harsh, and the Vav copul . has probably dropped out. With the alteration proposed by L. de Dieu, viz., of ואתּ into ואת , “live with thy sons,” the verb תּחיי would necessarily stand first (Thenius).
The Shunammite and her Son. - 2 Kings 4:8. When Elisha was going one day (lit., the day, i.e., at that time, then) to Shunem ( Solam , at the south-western foot of the Lesser Hermon; see at 1 Kings 1:3), a wealthy woman ( גּדולה as in 1 Samuel 25:2, etc.) constrained him to eat at her house; whereupon, as often as he passed by that place in his subsequent journeys from Carmel to Jezreel and back, he was accustomed to call upon her ( סוּר as in Genesis 19:2).
2 Kings 4:9-10
The woman then asked her husband to build a small upper chamber for this holy man of God, and to furnish it with the necessary articles of furniture (viz., bed, table, seat, and lamp), that he might always turn in at their house. עליּת־קיר is either a walled upper chamber, i.e., one built with brick and not with wooden walls (Cler., Then.), or an upper chamber built upon the wall of the house (Ges.).
2 Kings 4:11-13
After some time, when Elisha had spent the night in the chamber provided for him, he wanted to make some acknowledgment to his hostess for the love which she had shown him, and told his servant Gehazi to call her, and say to her: “Thou hast taken all this care for us, what shall I do to thee? Hast thou (anything) to say to the king or the chief captain?” i.e., hast thou any wish that I could convey to them, and intercede for thee? There is something striking here in the fact that Elisha did not address the woman himself, as she was standing before him, but told her servant to announce to her his willingness to make some return for what she had done. This was, probably, simply from a regard to the great awe which she had of the “holy man of God” (2 Kings 4:9), and to inspire her with courage to give expression to the wishes of her heart.
(Note: The conjecture that Elisha would not speak to her directly for the sake of maintaining his dignity, or that the historian looked upon such conversation with women as unbecoming in a teacher of the law (Thenius), is already proved to be untenable by 2 Kings 4:15, 2 Kings 4:16, where Elisha does speak to her directly.)
She answered: “I dwell among my people,” i.e., not, I merely belong to the people (Thenius), but, I live quietly and peaceably among my countrymen, so that I have no need for any intercession with the king and great men of the kingdom. Ἀπραγμοσύνῃ χαίρω καὶ εἰρηνικῶς διάγω καὶ πρός τινα ἀμφισβήτησιν ούκ ἀνέχομαι (Theodoret).
2 Kings 4:14-16
When Elisha conversed with Gehazi still further on the matter, the latter said: “But she has no son, and her husband is old.” Elisha then had her called again, and told her when she had entered the door: “At this time a year hence ( חיּה כּעת , lit., at the time when it revives again; see at Genesis 18:10) thou wilt embrace a son.” The same favour was to be granted to the Shunammite as that which Sarah had received in her old age, that she might learn that the God of Abraham still ruled in and for Israel. She replied: “No, my lord, thou man of God,” אל־תּכזּב , I do not excite in thy servant any deceptive hopes.
2 Kings 4:17
But however incredible this promise might appear to her, as it had formerly done to Sarah (Genesis 18:12-13), it was fulfilled at the appointed time (cf. Genesis 21:2).
2 Kings 4:18-20
But even the faith of the pious woman was soon to be put to the test, and to be confirmed by a still more glorious revelation of the omnipotence of the Lord, who works through the medium of His prophets. When the child presented to her by God had grown up into a lad, he complained one day to the reapers of the field of a violent headache, saying to his father, “My head, my head!” He was then taken home to his mother, and died at noon upon her knees, no doubt from inflammation of the brain produced by a sunstroke.
2 Kings 4:21-23
The mother took the dead child at once up to the chamber built for Elisha, laid it upon the bed of the man of God, and shut the door behind her; she then asked her husband, without telling him of the death of the boy, to send a young man with a she-ass, that she might ride as quickly as possible to the man of God; and when her husband asked her, “Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day, since it is neither new moon nor Sabbath?”
(Note: From these words, Theod., Kimchi, C. a Lap., Vatabl., and others have drawn the correct conclusion, that the pious in Israel were accustomed to meet together at the prophets ' houses for worship and edification, on those days which were appointed in the law (Leviticus 23:3; Numbers 28:11.) for the worship of God; and from this Hertz and Hengstenberg have still further inferred, that in the kingdom of the ten tribes not only were the Sabbath and new moons kept, as is evident from Amos 8:5 also, but the prophets supplied the pious in that kingdom with a substitute for the missing Levitical priesthood.)
she replied, shalom ; i.e., either “it is all well,” or “never mind.” For this word, which is used in reply to a question after one's health (see 2 Kings 4:26), is apparently also used, as Clericus has correctly observed, when the object is to avoid giving a definite answer to any one, and yet at the same time to satisfy him.
2 Kings 4:24-25
She then rode without stopping, upon the animal driven by the young man, to Elisha at mount Carmel. לרכּב אל־תּעצר־לי , literally, do not hinder me from riding.
2 Kings 4:25-27
When the prophet saw her מנּגד (from the opposite), that is to say, saw her coming in the distance, and recognised her as the Shunammite, he sent Gehazi to meet her, to ask her about her own health and that of her husband and child. She answered, shalom , i.e., well, that she might not be detained by any further discussion, and came to the prophet and embraced his feet, to pray for the help of the “holy man of God.” Gehazi wanted to thrust her away, “because it seemed to him an immodest importunity to wish to urge the prophet in such a way as this, and as it were to compel him” (Seb. Schm.); but the prophet said, “Let her alone, for her soul is troubled, and Jehovah has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
(Note: All that we can infer from these last words with regard to the nature of prophecy, is that the donum propheticum did not involve a supernatural revelation of every event.)
2 Kings 4:28
The pious woman then uttered this complaint to the prophet: “Did I ask a son of the Lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?” What had happened to her she did not say, - a fact which may easily be explained on psychological grounds from her deep sorrow, - but Elisha could not fail to discover it from what she said.
2 Kings 4:29
He therefore directed his servant Gehazi: “Gird thy loins and take thy staff in thy hand and go: if thou meet any one, thou wilt not salute him; and if any one salute thee, thou wilt not answer him; and lay my staff upon the face of the boy.” The object of this command neither to salute nor to return salutations by the way, was not merely to ensure the greatest haste (Thenius and many others), inasmuch as the people of the East lose a great deal of time in prolonged salutations (Niebuhr, Beschr. v. Arab . p. 48),
(Note: Or, as C. a Lap. supposes: “ that Gehazi might avoid all distraction of either eyes or ears, and prepare himself entirely by prayers for the accomplishment of so great a miracle. ” Theodoret explains it in a similar manner: “ He knew that he was vainglorious and fond of praise, and that he would be sure to tell the reason of his journey to those who should meet him by the way. And vainglory is a hindrance to thaumaturgy. ” )
but the prophet wished thereby to preclude at the very outset the possibility of attributing the failure of Gehazi's attempt to awaken the child to any external or accidental circumstance of this kind. For since it is inconceivable that the prophet should have adopted a wrong method, that is to say, should have sent Gehazi with the hope that he would restore the dead boy to life, his only intention in sending the servant must have been to give to the Shunammite and her family, and possibly also to Gehazi himself, a practical proof that the power to work miracles was not connected in any magical way with his person or his staff, but that miracles as works of divine omnipotence could only be wrought through faith and prayer; not indeed with the secondary intention of showing that he alone could work miracles, and so of increasing his own importance (Köster), but to purify the faith of the godly from erroneous ideas, and elevate them from superstitious reliance upon his own human person to true reliance upon the Lord God.
2 Kings 4:30
The mother of the boy does not appear, indeed, to have anticipated any result from the measures adopted by Elisha; for she swears most solemnly that she will not leave him. But the question arises, whether this urging of the prophet to come himself and help arose from doubt as to the result of Gehazi's mission, or whether it was not rather an involuntary utterance of her excessive grief, and of the warmest wish of her maternal heart to see her beloved child recalled to life. We may probably infer the latter from the fulfilment of her request by Elisha.
2 Kings 4:31
Gehazi did as he was commanded, but the dead child did not come to life again; the prophet's staff worked no miracle. “There was no sound and no attention,” i.e., the dead one gave no sign of life. This is the meaning of קשׁב ואין קול אין both here and 1 Kings 18:29, where it is used of dead idols. The attempt of Gehazi to awaken the child was unsuccessful, not propter fidem ipsi a muliere non adhibitam (Seb. Schm.), nor because of the vainglory of Gehazi himself, but simply to promote in the godly of Israel true faith in the Lord.
2 Kings 4:32-35
Elisha then entered the house, where the boy was lying dead upon his bed, and shut the door behind them both (i.e., himself and the dead child), and prayed to the Lord. He then lay down upon the boy, so that his mouth, his eyes, and his hands lay upon the mouth, eyes, and hands of the child, bowing down over him ( גּהר ; see at 1 Kings 18:42); and the flesh (the body) of the child became warm. He then turned round, i.e., turned away from the boy, went once up and down in the room, and bowed himself over him again; whereupon the boy sneezed seven times, and then opened his eyes. This raising of the dead boy to life does indeed resemble the raising of the dead by Elijah (1 Kings 17:20.); but it differs so obviously in the manner in which it was effected, that we may see at once from this that Elisha did not possess the double measure of the spirit of Elijah. It is true that Elijah stretched himself three times upon the dead child, but at his prayer the dead returned immediately to life, whereas in the case of Elisha the restoration to life was a gradual thing.
(Note: The raising of the dead by Elijah and Elisha, especially by the latter, has been explained by many persons as being merely a revivification by magnetic manipulations or by the force of animal magnetism (even Passavant and Ennemoser adopt this view). But no dead person was ever raised to life by animal magnetism; and the assumption that the two boys were only apparently dead is at variance with the distinct words of the text, in addition to which, both Elisha and Elijah accomplished the miracle through their prayer, as is stated as clearly as possible both here (2 Kings 4:33) and also at 1 Kings 17:21-22.)
And they both differ essentially from the raising of the dead by Christ, who recalled the dead to life by one word of His omnipotence (Mark 5:39-42; Luke 7:13-15; John 11:43-44), a sign that He was the only-begotten Son of God, to whom the Father gave to have life in Himself, even as the Father has life in Himself (John 5:25.), in whose name the Apostle Peter also was able through prayer to recall the dead Tabitha to life, whereas Elisha and Elijah had only to prophesy by word and deed of the future revelation of the glory of God.
2 Kings 4:36-37
After the restoration of the boy to life, Elisha had his mother called and gave her back her son, for which she fell at his feet with thanksgiving.
Elisha Makes Uneatable Food Wholesome. - 2 Kings 4:38. When Elisha had returned to Gilgal, the seat of a school of the prophets (see at 2 Kings 2:1), i.e., had come thither once more on his yearly circuit, during the famine which prevailed in the land (see at 2 Kings 8:1), and the prophets' scholars sat before him (the teacher and master), he directed his servant (i.e., probably not Gehazi, but the pupil who waited upon him) to put the large pot to the fire and boil a dish for the pupils of the prophets. שׁפט answers to the German beisetzen , which is used for placing a vessel upon the fire (cf. Ezekiel 24:3).
2 Kings 4:39
One (of these pupils) then went to the field to gather vegetables ( ארת , olera: for the different explanations of this word see Celsii Hierobot . i. 459ff., and Ges. Thes . p. 56), and found שׂדה גּפן , i.e., not wild vines, but wild creepers (Luther), field-creepers resembling vines; and having gathered his lap full of wild cucumbers, took them home and cut them into the vegetable pot. because they did not know them. פּקּעת is rendered in the ancient versions colocynths (lxx πολυπὴ ἀγρία , i.e., according to Suid., Colocynthis ), whereas Gesenius ( Thes . p. 1122), Winer, and others, follow Celsius ( l.c . i. 393ff.), have decided in favour of wild cucumbers, a fruit resembling an acorn, or, according to Oken, a green fleshy fruit of almost a finger's length and an inch thick, which crack with a loud noise, when quite ripe, and very gentle pressure, spirting out both juice and seeds, and have a very bitter taste. The reason for this decision is, that the peculiarity mentioned answers to the etymon פּקע , to split, in Syr. and Chald. to crack. Nevertheless the rendering given by the old translators is apparently the more correct of the two; for the colocynths also belong to the genus of the cucumbers, creep upon the ground, and are a round yellow fruit of the size of a large orange, and moreover are extremely bitter, producing colic, and affecting the nerves. The form of this fruit is far more suitable for oval architectural ornaments ( פּקעים , 1 Kings 6:18; 1 Kings 7:24) than that of the wild cucumber.
2 Kings 4:40
The extremely bitter flavour of the fruit so alarmed the pupils of the prophets when they began to eat of the dish, that they cried out, “Death in the pot,” and therefore thought the fruit was poison. If eaten in any large quantity, colocynths might really produce death: vid., Dioscorid. iv. 175 (178).
2 Kings 4:41
Elisha then had some meal brought and poured it into the pot, after which the people were able to eat of the dish, and there was no longer anything injurious in the pot. וּקחוּ , then take, וּ denoting sequence in thought (vid., Ewald, §348, a .). The meal might somewhat modify the bitterness and injurious qualities of the vegetable, but could not take them entirely away; the author of the Exegetical Handbook therefore endeavours to get rid of the miracle, by observing that Elisha may have added something else. The meal, the most wholesome food of man, was only the earthly substratum for the working of the Spirit, which proceeded from Elisha, and made the noxious food perfectly wholesome.
Feeding of a Hundred Pupils of the Prophets with Twenty Barley Loaves. - A man of Baal-Shalisha (a place in the land of Shalisha , the country to the west of Gilgal, Jiljilia; see at 1 Samuel 9:4) brought the prophet as first-fruits twenty barley loaves and כּרמל = כּרמל גּרשׂ , i.e., roasted ears of corn (see the Comm. on Leviticus 2:14), in his sack ( צקלון , ἁπ. λεγ. , sack or pocket). Elisha ordered this present to be given to the people, i.e., to the pupils of the prophets who dwelt in one common home, for them to eat; and when his servant made this objection: “How shall I set this (this little) before a hundred men?” he repeated his command, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus hath the Lord spoken: They will eat and leave” ( והותר אכול , infin. absol .; see Ewald, §328, a .); which actually was the case. That twenty barley loaves and a portion of roasted grains of corn were not a sufficient quantity to satisfy a hundred men, is evident from the fact that one man was able to carry the whole of this gift in a sack, and still more so from the remark of the servant, which shows that there was no proportion between the whole of this quantity and the food required by a hundred persons. In this respect the food, which was so blessed by the word of the Lord that a hundred men were satisfied by so small a quantity and left some over, forms a type of the miraculous feeding of the people by Christ (Matthew 14:16., 2 Kings 15:36-37; John 6:11-12); though there was this distinction between them, that the prophet Elisha did not produce the miraculous increase of the food, but merely predicted it. The object, therefore, in communicating this account is not to relate another miracle of Elisha, but to show how the Lord cared for His servants, and assigned to them that which had been appropriated in the law to the Levitical priests, who were to receive, according to Deuteronomy 18:4-5, and Numbers 18:13, the first-fruits of corn, new wine, and oil. This account therefore furnishes fresh evidence that the godly men in Israel did not regard the worship introduced by Jeroboam (his state-church) as legitimate worship, but sought and found in the schools of the prophets a substitute for the lawful worship of God (vid., Hengstenberg , Beitrr . ii. S. 136f.).