2 Kings 4:10

Contextual Overview

⁸One day Elisha went to Shunem. A prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to eat some food. So whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat. 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. 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. ⁸ One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. ⁸ One day Elisha went to Shunem, where an important woman lived. She begged Elisha to stay and eat. So every time Elisha passed by, he stopped there to eat. ⁸ One day Elisha traveled to Shunem, where a prominent woman lived. She insisted that he stop for a meal. So whenever he was passing through, he would stop in there for a meal. ⁸Now there came a day when Elisha went over to Shunem, where there was a prominent and influential woman, and she persuaded him to eat a meal. Afterward, whenever he passed by, he stopped there for a meal. ⁸ Now a day came when Elisha went over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she urged him to eat food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat food. ⁸ And on a time Elisha came to Shunem, and there a woman of great estimation constrained him to eate bread: and as he passed by, he turned in thither to eate bread. ⁸Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she prevailed upon him to eat food. Now it happened, as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat food.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Let us: Isaiah 32:8, Matthew 10:41, Matthew 10:42, Matthew 25:40, Mark 9:41, Luke 8:3, Romans 12:13, Hebrews 10:24, Hebrews 13:2, 1 Peter 4:9, 1 Peter 4:10

a little chamber: An aleeyah, or oleah, as the Arabs call it; a small back house annexed to the principal dwelling, in which the prophet could live in a great privacy as in his own house, and to which he could retire at pleasure, without breaking in upon the private affairs of the family, or being in his turn interrupted by them in his devotions. See note on Judges 3:20, and see note on 1 Kings 17:19

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 4:21 - the bed Proverbs 31:11 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
The LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Genesis 3:13
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Genesis 3:13
Then Yahweh God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "How could you have done such a thing?" She answered, "The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit."

Genesis 3:13
So the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman replied, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."

Genesis 3:13
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent beguiled and deceived me, and I ate [from the forbidden tree]."

Genesis 3:13
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Genesis 3:13
And the Lorde God saide to the woman, Why hast thou done this? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eate.

Genesis 3:13
Then Yahweh God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Genesis 3:13
The Lord God then asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The snake tricked me," she answered. "And I ate some of that fruit."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall,.... Either of the city, to which their house might join, or of their garden, a little distance from the house; though the Jewish writers commonly understand it of a little edifice built up of walls of stone or bricks, and not one with reeds, or stud and mud:

let us set for him there a bed; that he may stay all night when he pleases:

and a table; not only to eat his food, but to write on, and lay his books on he reads. Of the table of a scholar of the wise men, in later times, we are told t, that two thirds of it were covered with a cloth, and the other third was uncovered, on which stood the plates and the herbs:

and a stool; to sit upon at table:

and a candlestick; with a candle in it, to light him in the night to read by, and the like:

and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither; where he would be free from the noise of the house, and be more retired for prayer, reading, meditation, and study, and not be disturbed with the servants of the family, and be mixed with them; all this she contrived, both for his honour, and for his quietness and peace.

t Pirke Eliezer, c. 33.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A little chamber on the wall - The room probably projected like a balcony beyond the lower apartments - an arrangement common in the East.

A stool - Rather, “a chair.” The “chair” and “table,” unusual in the sleeping-rooms of the East, indicate that the prophet was expected to use his apartment for study and retirement, not only as a sleeping-chamber.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 4:10. Let us make a little chamber — Judges 1:3:20. As the woman was convinced that Elisha was a prophet, she knew that he must have need of more privacy than the general state of her house could afford; and therefore she proposes what she knew would be a great acquisition to him, as he could live in this little chamber in as much privacy as if he were in his own house. The bed, the table, the stool, and the candlestick, were really every thing he could need, by way of accommodation, in such circumstances.