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2 Kings 4:38 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

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

Cross Reference

2 Kings 8:1 STRONG

Then spake H1696 Elisha H477 unto the woman, H802 whose son H1121 he had restored to life, H2421 saying, H559 Arise, H6965 and go H3212 thou and thine household, H1004 and sojourn H1481 wheresoever H834 thou canst sojourn: H1481 for the LORD H3068 hath called H7121 for a famine; H7458 and it shall also come H935 upon the land H776 seven H7651 years. H8141

2 Kings 2:3 STRONG

And the sons H1121 of the prophets H5030 that were at Bethel H1008 came forth H3318 to Elisha, H477 and said H559 unto him, Knowest H3045 thou that the LORD H3068 will take away H3947 thy master H113 from thy head H7218 to day? H3117 And he said, H559 Yea, I know H3045 it; hold ye your peace. H2814

2 Kings 2:1 STRONG

And it came to pass, when the LORD H3068 would take up H5927 Elijah H452 into heaven H8064 by a whirlwind, H5591 that Elijah H452 went H3212 with Elisha H477 from Gilgal. H1537

Acts 22:3 STRONG

I G1473 am G1510 verily G3303 a man G435 which am a Jew, G2453 born G1080 in G1722 Tarsus, G5019 a city in Cilicia, G2791 yet G1161 brought up G397 in G1722 this G5026 city G4172 at G3844 the feet G4228 of Gamaliel, G1059 and taught G3811 according G2596 to the perfect manner G195 of the law G3551 of the fathers, G3971 and was G5225 zealous G2207 toward God, G2316 as G2531 ye G5210 all G3956 are G2075 this day. G4594

Luke 10:39 STRONG

And G2532 she G3592 had G2258 a sister G79 called G2564 Mary, G3137 which G3739 also G2532 sat G3869 at G3844 Jesus' G2424 feet, G4228 and heard G191 his G846 word. G3056

Leviticus 26:26 STRONG

And when I have broken H7665 the staff H4294 of your bread, H3899 ten H6235 women H802 shall bake H644 your bread H3899 in one H259 oven, H8574 and they shall deliver H7725 you your bread H3899 again H7725 by weight: H4948 and ye shall eat, H398 and not be satisfied. H7646

Luke 8:35 STRONG

Then G1161 they went out G1831 to see G1492 what was done; G1096 and G2532 came G2064 to G4314 Jesus, G2424 and G2532 found G2147 the man, G444 out of G575 whom G3739 the devils G1140 were departed, G1831 sitting G2521 at G3844 the feet G4228 of Jesus, G2424 clothed, G2439 and G2532 in his right mind: G4993 and G2532 they were afraid. G5399

Acts 15:36 STRONG

And G1161 some G5100 days G2250 after G3326 Paul G3972 said G2036 unto G4314 Barnabas, G921 G1211 Let us go again G1994 and visit G1980 our G2257 brethren G80 in G2596 every G3956 city G4172 where G1722 G3739 we have preached G2605 the word G3056 of the Lord, G2962 and see how G4459 they do. G2192

Acts 10:38 STRONG

How G5613 God G2316 anointed G5548 Jesus G2424 of G575 Nazareth G3478 with the Holy G40 Ghost G4151 and G2532 with power: G1411 who G846 G3739 went about G1330 doing good, G2109 and G2532 healing G2390 all G3956 that were oppressed G2616 of G5259 the devil; G1228 for G3754 God G2316 was G2258 with G3326 him. G846

John 21:9 STRONG

As soon G5613 then G3767 as they were come G576 to G1519 land, G1093 they saw G991 a fire of coals G439 there, and G2532 fish G3795 laid G2749 thereon, G1945 and G2532 bread. G740

John 21:5 STRONG

Then G3767 Jesus G2424 saith G3004 unto them, G846 Children, G3813 have ye G2192 any G3387 meat? G4371 They answered G611 him, G846 No. G3756

Luke 9:13 STRONG

But G1161 he said G2036 unto G4314 them, G846 Give G1325 ye G5210 them G846 to eat. G5315 And G1161 they said, G2036 We G2254 have no G3756 G1526 more G4119 but G2228 five G4002 loaves G740 and G2532 two G1417 fishes; G2486 except G1509 we G2249 should go G4198 and buy G59 meat G1033 for G1519 all G3956 this G5126 people. G2992

Luke 8:38 STRONG

Now G1161 the man G435 out of G575 whom G3739 the devils G1140 were departed G1831 besought G1189 him G846 that he might be G1511 with G4862 him: G846 but G1161 Jesus G2424 sent G630 him G846 away, G630 saying, G3004

Deuteronomy 28:22-24 STRONG

The LORD H3068 shall smite H5221 thee with a consumption, H7829 and with a fever, H6920 and with an inflammation, H1816 and with an extreme burning, H2746 and with the sword, H2719 and with blasting, H7711 and with mildew; H3420 and they shall pursue H7291 thee until thou perish. H6 And thy heaven H8064 that is over thy head H7218 shall be brass, H5178 and the earth H776 that is under thee shall be iron. H1270 The LORD H3068 shall make H5414 the rain H4306 of thy land H776 powder H80 and dust: H6083 from heaven H8064 shall it come down H3381 upon thee, until thou be destroyed. H8045

Luke 4:25 STRONG

But G1161 I tell G3004 you G5213 of G1909 a truth, G225 many G4183 widows G5503 were G2258 in G1722 Israel G2474 in G1722 the days G2250 of Elias, G2243 when G3753 the heaven G3772 was shut up G2808 G1909 three G5140 years G2094 and G2532 six G1803 months, G3376 when G5613 great G3173 famine G3042 was G1096 throughout G1909 all G3956 the land; G1093

Luke 2:46 STRONG

And G2532 it came to pass, G1096 that after G3326 three G5140 days G2250 they found G2147 him G846 in G1722 the temple, G2411 sitting G2516 in G1722 the midst G3319 of the doctors, G1320 both G2532 hearing G191 them, G846 and G2532 asking G1905 them G846 questions. G1905

Mark 8:2-6 STRONG

I have compassion G4697 on G1909 the multitude, G3793 because G3754 they have G4357 now G2235 been G4357 with me G3427 three G5140 days, G2250 and G2532 have G2192 nothing G3756 G5101 to eat: G5315 And G2532 if G1437 I send G630 them G846 away G630 fasting G3523 to G1519 their own G846 houses, G3624 they will faint G1590 by G1722 the way: G3598 for G1063 divers G5100 of them G846 came G2240 from far. G3113 And G2532 his G846 disciples G3101 answered G611 him, G846 From whence G4159 can G1410 a man G5100 satisfy G5526 these G5128 men with bread G740 here G5602 in G1909 the wilderness? G2047 And G2532 he asked G1905 them, G846 How many G4214 loaves G740 have ye? G2192 And G1161 they said, G2036 Seven. G2033 And G2532 he commanded G3853 the people G3793 to sit down G377 on G1909 the ground: G1093 and G2532 he took G2983 the seven G2033 loaves, G740 and gave thanks, G2168 and brake, G2806 and G2532 gave G1325 to his G846 disciples G3101 to G2443 set before G3908 them; and G2532 they did set them before G3908 the people. G3793

Mark 6:37 STRONG

He answered G611 and G1161 said G2036 unto them, G846 Give G1325 ye G5210 them G846 to eat. G5315 And G2532 they say G3004 unto him, G846 Shall we go G565 and buy G59 two hundred G1250 pennyworth G1220 of bread, G740 and G2532 give G1325 them G846 to eat? G5315

Ezekiel 24:3 STRONG

And utter H4911 a parable H4912 unto the rebellious H4805 house, H1004 and say H559 unto them, Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 Set on H8239 a pot, H5518 set it on, H8239 and also pour H3332 water H4325 into it:

Ezekiel 14:13 STRONG

Son H1121 of man, H120 when the land H776 sinneth H2398 against me by trespassing H4603 grievously, H4604 then will I stretch out H5186 mine hand H3027 upon it, and will break H7665 the staff H4294 of the bread H3899 thereof, and will send H7971 famine H7458 upon it, and will cut off H3772 man H120 and beast H929 from it:

Jeremiah 14:1-6 STRONG

The word H1697 of the LORD H3068 that came to Jeremiah H3414 concerning H1697 the dearth. H1226 Judah H3063 mourneth, H56 and the gates H8179 thereof languish; H535 they are black H6937 unto the ground; H776 and the cry H6682 of Jerusalem H3389 is gone up. H5927 And their nobles H117 have sent H7971 their little ones H6810 to the waters: H4325 they came H935 to the pits, H1356 H1360 and found H4672 no water; H4325 they returned H7725 with their vessels H3627 empty; H7387 they were ashamed H954 and confounded, H3637 and covered H2645 their heads. H7218 Because the ground H127 is chapt, H2865 for there was no rain H1653 in the earth, H776 the plowmen H406 were ashamed, H954 they covered H2645 their heads. H7218 Yea, the hind H365 also calved H3205 in the field, H7704 and forsook H5800 it, because there was no grass. H1877 And the wild asses H6501 did stand H5975 in the high places, H8205 they snuffed up H7602 the wind H7307 like dragons; H8577 their eyes H5869 did fail, H3615 because there was no grass. H6212

Proverbs 8:34 STRONG

Blessed H835 is the man H120 that heareth H8085 me, watching H8245 daily H3117 H3117 at my gates, H1817 waiting H8104 at the posts H4201 of my doors. H6607

2 Samuel 21:1 STRONG

Then there was a famine H7458 in the days H3117 of David H1732 three H7969 years, H8141 year H8141 after H310 year; H8141 and David H1732 enquired H1245 of H6440 the LORD. H3068 And the LORD H3068 answered, H559 It is for Saul, H7586 and for his bloody H1818 house, H1004 because he slew H4191 the Gibeonites. H1393

1 Samuel 19:20 STRONG

And Saul H7586 sent H7971 messengers H4397 to take H3947 David: H1732 and when they saw H7200 the company H3862 of the prophets H5030 prophesying, H5012 and Samuel H8050 standing H5975 as appointed H5324 over them, the Spirit H7307 of God H430 was upon the messengers H4397 of Saul, H7586 and they also prophesied. H5012

1 Samuel 7:16-17 STRONG

And he went H1980 from H1767 year H8141 to year H8141 in circuit H5437 to Bethel, H1008 and Gilgal, H1537 and Mizpeh, H4709 and judged H8199 Israel H3478 in all those places. H4725 And his return H8666 was to Ramah; H7414 for there was his house; H1004 and there he judged H8199 Israel; H3478 and there he built H1129 an altar H4196 unto the LORD. H3068

Deuteronomy 28:38-40 STRONG

Thou shalt carry H3318 much H7227 seed H2233 out H3318 into the field, H7704 and shalt gather H622 but little H4592 in; H622 for the locust H697 shall consume H2628 it. Thou shalt plant H5193 vineyards, H3754 and dress H5647 them, but shalt neither drink H8354 of the wine, H3196 nor gather H103 the grapes; for the worms H8438 shall eat H398 them. Thou shalt have olive trees H2132 throughout all thy coasts, H1366 but thou shalt not anoint H5480 thyself with the oil; H8081 for thine olive H2132 shall cast H5394 his fruit.

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.).