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2 Kings 4:1-44 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

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

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 2 Kings 4

Commentary on 2 Kings 4 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Verses 1-7

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).


Verses 8-37

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.


Verses 38-41

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.


Verses 42-44

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.).